Clayesmore Preparatory School A GSG School

Other features

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.

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since September 2023 (as head of prep) and since 2016 (as head of senior school), Jo Thomson BA MBA. Previously senior deputy head for eight years at Christ’s Hospital in West Sussex. Educated at the National School (now the National Church of England Academy) in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Read English at the University of Warwick, where she captained the first XI hockey team and qualified as a teacher. ‘I always knew I wanted to go into teaching,’ she says. ‘I love my subject and I wanted to continue my passion for it.’

First job was at Repton Prep, where she taught English, coached sport and became an assistant housemistress. ‘I had the happiest time there,’ she says, ‘but after three years I wanted to go back into a secondary environment and teach GCSE and A level.’ She moved to Aiglon College in Switzerland, where her husband Frank became deputy head and she was head of the middle school. After 13 years at Aiglon she headed to Christ’s Hospital.

Sitting in her elegant study, lined with paintings and overlooking acres of playing fields, she vividly remembers her first visit to Clayesmore. ‘There was an overwhelming sense of warmth and a real family feel,’ she says. ‘The students were unpretentious and never arrogant. I immediately knew that it was a special place.’

The head has focused on bringing the academics up but not at the expense of everything else. ‘My aim is that every student achieves the best academically but we are not trying to become more selective,’ she says. ‘Having loved school myself I want everyone to look back on their time here and think it was the best time of their lives. I see it as a personal challenge.’ The pandemic made her reflect on the powerful role schools play in children’s lives and she’s hugely proud of the brand-new LEX initiative. ‘It encapsulates my vision,’ she says. LEX, a weekend programme of trips, events and experiences, has replaced traditional Saturday school. Aspects of the schools the head has worked at over the years are evident in its make-up – Aiglon, for instance, is very much about the outdoors, while Christ’s Hospital has always had a strong focus on service and community, both of which feature in LEX.

Parents told us that she’s ‘a breath of fresh air’, praising her relatability, her kindness and the positive ideas she’s introduced, particularly LEX and the decision to extend half-term to two weeks in the autumn term. ‘She’s lovely, really enthusiastic about the pupils – much more engaged than other heads I have experienced, very much part of the fabric of the school, always at events and happy to talk,’ said one. Another told us: ‘I really like her. She’s down-to-earth, talks a lot of sense and isn’t afraid to break with tradition, as she’s shown with LEX.’

She lives in a house on site with her husband, who is head of PSHE at Clayesmore, and they have two grown-up children. She’s very sporty and in her spare time she enjoys seeing friends, skiing, walking and running (she runs every day on a treadmill in her garage).

Entrance

Main entry points are years 3, 5 and 7 but children often start in other year groups too. The only proviso is that applicants must be able to access the curriculum and be likely to flourish academically in the senior school. Pupils joining year 6 and above take numeracy and literacy assessment tests. No nursery or reception class.

Exit

Around 95 per cent move up to the senior school. Everyone takes Common Entrance but prep pupils get their senior school offer prior to this (the prep flags up any concerns well in advance). ‘Pre-testing isn’t a feature of life here,’ says the head. ‘It’s a longer game being played and I think the pupils benefit.’ However, the prep is happy to accommodate those with their sights set on other senior schools, such as Bryanston, Canford and Sherborne.

Our view

Located in a generous corner of the senior school’s 66 acres and just five minutes’ walk from the senior school buildings, the prep has a warm, friendly, home-like feel. Even though it makes use of some of the senior school resources (children go to the main dining hall for lunch and use the senior school swimming pool), it has its own playing fields, adventure playground and grounds.

One class per year group in the younger years, two classes in years 6 and 7 and three classes in year 8. Average class sizes of 16 (maximum 18). Exciting teaching – we were particularly enthralled by a year 8 class working on a survey of music through the ages, from prehistoric times to the present day. One of their first assignments was to compose a piece of music for a conch shell – impressive indeed. Lessons for younger children are delivered by class teachers (specialist teachers for art, ceramics, DT, computing, French, games, music and PE), with specialist subject teaching in all subjects from year 5. Every child has a tutor from year 5 and pupils meet their tutors twice a day in small groups. School sets great store by what they call ‘attitudes to learning’, an initiative promoting self-reflection, personal challenge and regular discussion between pupils, teachers, tutors and parents. Homework for year 5s and up.

Parents say there’s plenty of intellectual rigour and challenge for the brightest children and support for those who need a bit more help. ‘It’s very clever teaching,’ said one. A quarter of the prep children have learning support from the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC), run by qualified teachers and situated right in the heart of the prep. The four TLC staff support children in all manner of ways – popping into lessons to work alongside pupils, teaching them one-to-one and running intervention groups. They offer help for everything from dyslexia and ADHD to bereavement and social skills. If a child is having a difficult day they can always pop into the TLC. ‘It’s all very flexible,’ says school.

Sport for all, with football, rugby, hockey, cricket, netball, tennis, athletics, swimming and cross-country on offer. ‘The children have a big fixture list,’ said a parent, ‘but the school does a great job of making sport fun without there being crushing pressure.’ Other facilities include a mountain bike track, squash courts and a dance and gymnastics studio. The prep makes the most of its capacious site by getting children into the great outdoors as much as possible. Breaks have been extended to allow more time for outdoor play and there’s also an outdoor classroom, forest school and bushcraft. The Woodland Trust awarded the prep a gold award after year 6 pupils planted 120 trees in the grounds.

Art, ceramics and DT are a particular strength. We chatted to a group of enthusiastic year 7 and 8 pupils who were busy making a wind turbine in their spare time. The DT department even has a technology museum, complete with dial telephones, boxy computers and the first brick-like mobile phones. ‘Children are often in awe of how fast design technology has moved on in such a short space of time,’ says the school. Nearly two-thirds of prep pupils play an instrument – numbers dipped slightly during the pandemic but they’re on the up again. Musicians are encouraged to join an orchestra, choir, jazz band or chamber group. Two prep drama productions a year in the senior school’s 160-seat theatre.

Like the senior school, the prep is full of enthusiasm for the innovative, new LEX programme. Named after Clayesmore founder Lex Devine, LEX gives children the chance to try their hand at a range of different lunchtime, after-school and Saturday activities. Saturdays are optional for prep children but sessions have proved so popular that 85 per cent of year 5s to 8s come in (there’s a later start and they can wear their home clothes). Pupils sign up for sessions like eco-warriors, book worms and even plimsoll painting (designing and painting a pair of white trainers sounds like fun) or drop into activities like survival skills, dance club and making a mobile.

House system, with four houses named after former heads of the prep and lots of activities and competitions. The very youngest children tend to come from nearby villages but older pupils travel from further afield. Nine different bus routes ferry them in from places like Blandford, Poole and Dorchester.

Boarders

Children can board from year 3 upwards (when we visited there were two year 3 boarders). Boarders live in a boarding house on the first floor – girls on one side, boys on the other. Large, bright dorms, although as usual the girls go to town with lots of photos and decorations, the boys less so. Husband-and-wife houseparents live at one end with their two children and black Labrador. A matron is there 24/7 and tutors too. Lots of exciting things to do in the evenings after prep – watching films, karaoke competitions, barbecues and baking brownies. Occasional boarding allowed for day pupils at £47 per night.

Boarders eat all their meals in the senior school but settle down to tea and toast in the prep boarding house before bed. Sunday mornings start with a continental breakfast in their pyjamas and dressing gowns in the Brew Room, a pretty dining room on the ground floor. Later on there are trips out to places like Dorset Water Park, Monkey World and the coast. Boarders can go home on Friday night or Saturday lunchtime (if they aren’t playing in fixtures) and return on Sunday night or Monday morning – whatever works best for them and their families.

Money matters

Academic and all-rounder scholarships available in year 5 and academic, all-rounder, sports and music scholarships in year 7 (with the intention that these will run until the end of year 11).

The last word

A vibrant, go-ahead school in a beautiful part of the world, Clayesmore Prep offers children an excellent education and a wealth of exciting opportunities.

Special Education Needs

Clayesmore Preparatory School has an excellent reputation for its provision of support for dyslexic pupils. Our Learning Support Department ensures that pupils have effective and targeted teaching, either individually or in very small groups, to meet their specific needs. Pupils are withdrawn at carefully selected times during the school day to attend their specialist lessons. They may also benefit from the support given by LS Teaching Assistants, who work alongside the teachers in some mainstream lessons. All Learning Support Tutors are fully qualified teachers with additional qualifications in teaching pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties. Mainstream teachers are empathetic with the needs and difficulties of some of the children in the mainstream classes and differentiate accordingly. The school is registered with CReSTeD. Nov 09.