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  • Culford Preparatory School and Pre-Prep
    Culford
    Bury St Edmunds
    Suffolk
    IP28 6TX
  • Head: Mr J Spowart
  • T 01284 385383
  • F 01284 385409
  • E admissions@culford.co.uk
  • W www.culford.co.uk
  • A mainstream independent school for pupils aged from 3 to 13 with a linked senior school
  • Boarding: Yes
  • Local authority: Suffolk
  • Pupils: 320
  • Religion: Methodist
  • Fees: Day £17,685 - £23,025; Boarding £28,020 - £37,155 pa

    Fees last updated: 09/12/2024

    Please note school fees are subject to VAT from January 2025. During this transition period, please contact school for full fee information.

  • Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
  • Linked schools: Culford School

What says..

The only boarding school in the area, with around 40 pupils, age 7+, utilising the flexi and full options (no weekly boarding, although some full boarders go home for weekends). Boarders come from across the UK, as well as Spain, India, Thailand, Japan. Good behaviour is ‘just expected,’ say pupils, who are shown the way by way of ‘benefecits and malefecits’ – and, as a result, are ‘conscientious, polite, respectful and organised,’ according to parents (many Old Culfordians). No prefects, but head boy and girl each has a deputy, and there are…

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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 August 2024, Jonny Spowart, previously deputy head pastoral at Heath Mount School.

Entrance

Main entry points are at 1+ into nursery, 3+ into pre-prep and 7+ and 11+ into prep, but pupils may join in any year group along the way if there are spaces, though it’s a big if - school is usually full with a waiting list. Forty places in nursery and 20 in pre-reception (popular with Old Culfordians). Families are invited in to see if it’s a fit, and a programme of parent-toddler sessions helps build familiarity. Seventeen more children join in pre-prep and a further eight for prep in year 3. An additional 20 from local primary and prep schools come along in year 7, following progress tests in English and maths as part of a ‘no-stress’ individual taster day. Pupils...

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Special Education Needs

We are an independent selective school that has a very clear academic emphasis. We aim to meet individual needs within a mainstream setting through the delivery of a differentiated curriculum. We have pupils with SEN. Mild dyslexia; mild dyspraxia and mild dyscalculia are the most common difficulties. We do not have a dedicated SEN unit but we do have fully qualified specialist staff who provide learning support lessons on a withdrawal basis.


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