Cheam School A GSG School
- Cheam School
Headley
Newbury
Berkshire
RG19 8LD - Head: William Phelps
- T 01635 268242
- F 01635 269345
- E [email protected]
- W www.cheamschool.com
- An independent school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 13.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: Hampshire
- Pupils: 380
- Religion: Church of England
- Fees: Day £12,945 - £25,425; Boarding £27,375 - £32,595 pa
- Open days: Open Morning, Friday 1st March 2024, 9.45am to 12.30pm Open Morning, Saturday 18th May 2024, 10am to 12.30pm Ready For Reception, Friday 27th February, 9.30am to 11.00am
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
- ISI report: View the ISI report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Parents highlighted ‘traditional values’, ‘beautiful manners’, ‘amazing results’. We saw them all in spades: bright-eyed children engaging wholeheartedly in prep school life. School not squeamish about a bit of competition. A loving environment – an awful lot cosier than in Prince Philip’s day – but expect lots of adventure and challenge. You don’t have to be…
What the school says...
Cheam School was founded in 1645 and offers a traditional first class education for boys and girls in the 3-13 range. The school has outstanding facilities including new classrooms, music school, science block and a magnificent indoor sports centre and Art, Design & Technology Centre. Children have the opportunity to board on a flexible basis in the build up to transfering to weekly boarding if they wish. This boarding/day split of children aged 8-13 is 1/4. Cheam was awarded Outstanding status by Ofsted in its last boarding inspection. Set in over 80 acres of magnificent Hampshire parkland, Cheam is within easy reach of London and mainline stations and Heathrow and Gatwick. The school strives for excellence in all areas of the broad education on offer. ...Read more
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Sports
Polo
Fencing
Shooting
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2022, Will Phelps, previously head of the Beacon School for seven years. Dabbled with being an Australian cowboy, aka a jackaroo, before following his family into teaching. Cut his teeth at Abingdon School where he was a popular, even legendary, housemaster and head of boarding, then a headship at the British International School of New York. Came home after five years – ‘it’s where my heart is’ – where he moved into the prep school world, bringing stability to the Beacon.
No calls for radical change, or at least not yet. Team needs ‘repointing’, job descriptions ‘redefining’. An admirable push on pastoral care and sustainability (cans of water rather than bottles for visitors). Eventually a new innovation suite will provide opportunity for teachers to trial tech before it gets rolled...
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Special Education Needs
Cheam caters for children with certain special needs. There is a thriving Learning Support Department on site which assists children with mild forms of dyslexia and dyspraxia. The staff are very experienced and fully attuned to the needs of the children. Detailed and accurate profiles are kept up to date and such information shared with the staff. There is effective communication between the LS Department and the teaching staff thus ensuring that each child's specific needs are met. Children can be screened in house and, if required, tested at school by an educational psychologist. Bright and gifted children are also well catered for and can fast track through the school into the scholarship streams in the final two years. Pupils are streamed from Year 4 upwards. Bright and gifted pupils are prepared for scholarship exams to their public schools in small, 'stand alone' scholarship forms in Years 7 and 8.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | Y |
| Aspergers | Y |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
| Has SEN unit or class | |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
Leavers' destinations
| School | Year | Places | Scholarships | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough College | 2023 | 18 | 6 | Scholarships: 1 Academic, 4 Sport, 1 DT |
| Bradfield College | 2023 | 7 | 2 | Scholarships: 1 Academic, 1 Sport |
| Radley College | 2023 | 7 | ||
| Sherborne School | 2023 | 5 | 2 | Scholarships: 1 Academic, 1 DT |
| Wellington College | 2023 | 5 | 2 | Scholarships: 1 Academic, 1 Music |
| Eton College | 2023 | 4 | ||
| St Edward's School | 2023 | 3 | 2 | Scholarships: 1 DT, 1 Art |
| Pangbourne College | 2023 | 2 | ||
| St Mary's Calne | 2023 | 2 | ||
| Winchester College | 2023 | 2 | ||
| Bryanston School | 2023 | 1 | 1 | Scholarships: 1 Academic |
| Canford School | 2023 | 1 | ||
| Charterhouse | 2023 | 1 | 1 | Scholarships: 1 Sport |
| Cheltenham College | 2023 | 1 | ||
| Cheltenham Ladies' College | 2023 | 1 | ||
| Lord Wandsworth College | 2023 | 1 | 1 | Scholarships: 1 Art |
| Milton Abbey School | 2023 | 1 |
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