Bryanston Prep A GSG School

Other features

Music and dance scheme - government funding and grants available to help with fees at selected independent music and dance schools.

All-through school (for example 3-18 years). - An all-through school covers junior and senior education. It may start at 3 or 4, or later, and continue through to 16 or 18. Some all-through schools set exams at 11 or 13 that pupils must pass to move on.

Sports

Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since November 2023, Simon Ridley, previously deputy head. He began his career in education as a gap student at an independent school before becoming a year 2 teacher at Merley First School in Wimborne. He then moved to Ballard School in New Milton, progressing from key stage 2 teacher to subject coordinator to head of the lower prep. Prior to his teaching career he was a professional cricket player at Cork County in Ireland.

Entrance

Non-selective, although the school seeks a reference from a child’s previous school and asks applicants to take part in an age-appropriate assessment before they start so they can identify strengths and weaknesses. Children can join at any time as long as there’s room but the main entry points are nursery, reception, year 3 and year 7 (a few arrive in year 6 and year 8). ‘We’ve had quite a few joining mid-term post-Covid,’ says the school. ‘People’s lives have become much more fluid. Quite a few families are making lifestyle choices and moving to Dorset from the city or overseas.’

Exit

In the past children headed to a host of senior schools, both independent and state, including Bryanston, Canford, Sherborne, Leweston, Clayesmore, Taunton, Sidcot and Wellington School in Somerset. However, many more are now choosing Bryanston (numbers progressing to the senior school soared from two to 14 following the merger). Bryanston itself uses CAT4 tests instead of Common Entrance to assess academic ability and potential so the prep is geared up for this. The idea is that moving from Bryanston Prep to Bryanston should be as seamless and stress-free as possible, although if a child is heading to a school requiring Common Entrance the prep will prepare them for it.

Our view

The prep stands on rising ground above the floodplain of the River Stour in the tiny village of Durweston, just a mile from Bryanston. In the 18th century Knighton House was the village farmhouse but it was enlarged in the 19th century and became home to various members of the Portman family. When the Portmans rebuilt Bryanston in the late 19th century they decamped to Knighton House until it was completed. Knighton was bought by the Crown Estate in 1950 and then leased to Peggy and John Booker (the parents of Private Eye founder Christopher Booker), who set up a girls’ prep school, Knighton House, there. The Bookers had both had miserable childhoods so they wanted to make sure that other children had the time of their lives, playing in the fresh air to their hearts’ content, being kind and loving their learning.

The school has undergone a host of changes since the early days but much of the Bookers’ ethos remains. The grounds are as gorgeous as ever, with more than 30 acres to play in, an orchard, woods and two playgrounds. In 2020 Bryanston bought the freehold, renamed the school Bryanston Knighton House and opened its doors to boys all the way through, before settling on the new name of Bryanston Prep. It made sense and parents were supportive, particularly those welcoming the smooth transition from the prep to the senior school. A parent told us that merging the two schools has been a ‘gamechanger’. ‘We like the fact that the kids can go all the way through to 18,’ he told us. Another said: ‘The school has changed for the better. It hasn’t lost any of its charm but the children really benefit from being able to use the facilities at the senior school.’ The only gripe was that the girls’ distinctive and much-loved red dungarees of old have gone by the board and have been replaced by a smart new navy uniform. ‘It was really sad,’ said one girl about the disappearance of the dungarees, although another piped up: ‘They were fine when I was in year 5 but I mentally grew out of them.’ A mother agreed. ‘They were really sweet but very impractical,’ she said. ‘I’m glad they’ve gone.’ The prep is now 40 per cent boys and the school hopes it will eventually be 50:50 boys and girls.

Class sizes of 13 on average, with a maximum of 18. French taught throughout, with year 6s and up given the option of learning Spanish or Latin too. The older children said they get ‘quite a lot of homework’ – two pieces of homework a day, requiring 20 minutes on each. ‘But after 20 minutes you can stop,’ they chorused. Like pupils at the senior school, year 6s, 7s and 8s have a personal tutor whom they meet once a week. plus an e-chart where their effort and attainment is recorded. ‘The school really tries to match the children with the tutors who are right for them,’ said a parent.

Now that the school has moved away from Common Entrance it has developed a new skills-based curriculum. The idea is that how pupils learn is as crucial as what they learn – so even though learning knowledge is a key part of the curriculum, pupils also focus on the three Bryanston dispositions of individual spirit, creativity and unbounded thinking. These are a key part of every element at Bryanston Prep, and pupils develop skills that will benefit them for life.

The pre-prep is an integral part of the school, with specialist lessons in French, ICT, music, gymnastics and PE, and lots of opportunities for younger ones to engage with the older ones at the weekly whole school celebration assembly, family-style lunches, and break times.

The school has its own SENCo, plus a teaching assistant who supports her. Around 15 per cent of children have learning support, which is offered in class and in one-to-one sessions with the SENCo or Bryanston’s head of learning support, who visits the prep three times a week. The prep also offers extra targeted support for maths, reading and spelling. A parent who had recently moved back to the UK was impressed at the way teachers identified gaps in his children’s learning (they hadn’t done much French or Latin before, for instance) and quickly plugged them.

New initiatives since the prep joined forces with Bryanston range from a greater focus on the performing arts to a newly launched forest school for children up to year 5 (for rainy days there’s a covered outdoor classroom with benches and a woven hazel wall). There’s also an airy library with apple-green bookshelves, a new innovation room and a tranquil break-out room for children who want to get away from the hurly-burly of the school day.

Sport is a key part of school life, from traditional team games like hockey, football, netball, cricket and rounders to after-school sports clubs such as gymnastics, cross-country, fencing, skateboarding and swimming. Now the school is co-ed, girls get the chance to play football and tag rugby for the first time. Prep children also use the senior school’s jaw-dropping sports facilities (not surprisingly, the swimming pool and climbing wall are big hits). The senior school’s director of sport and head of PE runs games sessions at the prep once a week. Sixty prep pupils have riding lessons at school – children can keep their own ponies at the school stables or borrow one of the prep’s own. Lots of success in NSEA competitions but those who simply want to ride for fun can opt for picnic rides and early-morning hacks. There’s also a weekly polo club and polo team.

Bryanston is known for its arts provision – and so is the prep. Singing is huge: everyone joins the junior choir and there’s a senior choir as well. Termly concerts encourage musicians to perform in front of others, either in the orchestra, choirs or small ensembles. Year 1 to 8 pupils get the chance to use the art room for at least an hour a week, plus there are lunchtime art clubs and creative workshops for the boarders at weekends. Drama starts with the pre-prep children’s nativity play, followed by an annual public speaking competition from year 2 upwards and junior and senior productions, where pupils do everything from writing dialogue to making scenery and props.

Different year groups mix together in their free time. ‘This school is the least hierarchical I have been in,’ said a member of staff. A group of children in years 5 to 8 agreed that it was ‘really friendly’, with older pupils happily playing with younger ones. Four year 8s are chosen as prefects every year and there’s a head pupil as well as form captains. Clear guidance is given on what’s expected of pupils, with credits and debits given accordingly. ‘It’s not that strict though,’ a pupil told us. ‘The teachers are really approachable but they aren’t pushovers.’ Food is cooked on site and gets the children’s seal of approval, although one boy grumbled that the salad bar ‘gets a bit boring’.

Parents include farming families, health service professionals, business types and some who have quit city life for a new life in the country. ‘The atmosphere at the prep is warm, supportive and welcoming,’ said a new parent. ‘All the teachers know who your child is.’ A thriving friends’ society puts on six events a year – ‘very friendly and not cliquey,’ we were told. Boys seem to have settled in well although those we spoke to said that they tend to stick together. ‘Going co-ed has been a slow process but the girls have embraced it,’ said a parent. ‘After a couple of weeks it was like the boys had always been there.’

Most day pupils live within a 45-minute drive of the school, from north and west Dorset across to Bournemouth and Poole in the east (some prep children are already taking advantage of Bryanston’s new bus service from Sandbanks). Registration is at 8.30am and the school day ends at 4.45pm, although the top three years have clubs till 5.45pm. The Personal Enrichment Programme, fondly known as PEPs, offers a dizzying array of options, from early morning fitness and defibrillator training to spy skills, dance sessions and the wonderfully named ‘boisson et badinage’.

Boarders

Boarding from year 3 and up. Boarding numbers shrank during the pandemic but with a dynamic new boarding team in place they are gradually growing again. When we visited there were eight full boarders, including pupils from South Korea, China and Spain, but flexi boarding is increasingly popular, with 40 eager beavers booked in for Thriller Thursday, a night of Halloween excitement, the week we visited. Children can flexi-board any night, provided parents give 24 hours’ notice. Boarding is on the first floor of the house, the boys’ and girls’ sides separated by a hefty locked door. Wholesome dorms with bunk beds, mostly of fours. We particularly liked the boys ‘fun room’, filled with comfy sofas and lots of soft toys.

Money matters

Bryanston Prep’s merger with the senior school has enabled it to power ahead on all fronts, with the added benefit of being able to use Bryanston’s outstanding sporting, music, art and DT facilities.

The last word

After a turbulent few years, the future of Bryanston Prep looks bright. This small country prep now has the best of both worlds – children experience Bryanston’s world-class facilities and opportunities while enjoying the prep’s family atmosphere, small classes and buckets of rural charm.

Special Education Needs

Bryanston Prep has high expectations for all pupils and aims to ensure the development of the whole child, helping each pupil fulfil their full potential through effective teaching and learning. The Learning Support department co-ordinates support programmes for pupils beyond whole class teaching - this includes short term small group work to embed their learning, regular 1:1 work to overcome barriers to learning, EAL lessons and gifted and talented activities.