Aldenham Prep School A GSG School

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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

Headmistress

Since 2023, Sarah Galpin, previously acting head and deputy head. Grew up in Watford, where her father was a college principal and her mother a teacher, then headteacher. The mere sight of ‘all those exercise books and registers with all those lovely ticks’ was enough to lure her to follow in their footsteps, she says. And so, following her own education at Rickmansworth School, she did a BEd (history) at the University of Hertfordshire, then worked in three primary schools – Harvey Road (Croxley Green), Newberries (Radlett) then Bromet (Watford) where she became assistant head – before switching sectors ‘to broaden my experience’, joining Aldenham Prep as a class teacher in 2014. It’s clear she still relishes the cheerful sounds of ‘Hello, Miss’ from her earlier charges, now in upper sixth or beyond.

A more smiley, positive head you’ll struggle to find – and who could fail to be impressed by her tattoos, spiky hair and electric guitar? We heard she looked good in a cowboy hat too. Alas, such delights were for one day only – Times Tables Rockstars Day for the former, Dads’ Day for the latter (for which she was also attached to an inflatable horse). ‘Another time, she was Winnie the Pooh,’ a younger pupil told us. No wonder they describe her as ‘funny’ and ‘easy to talk to’ – and she’s not averse to getting down on the floor with them to get stuck into phonics or to bring an English lesson to life for older ones. We joined her on her daily meet-and-greet in the car park and spotted her on lunch duty too. Parents say she has added ‘warmth’ and ‘energy’ to the whole feel of the place, also praising her for ‘opening the door to parents’ and ‘reviving the school’s core values, really bringing them alive for the children’. ‘What I like is that she’s not there on her mountain top, just a normal human being,’ said one.

A shrine to ‘the reds’ in the corner of her office tells you all you need to know about her loyalty to Liverpool FC – a great talking point with the children, she says. When she’s not watching football, you’ll probably find her cooking or walking her King Charles Cavalier, Archie.

Entrance

Main entry points at 3+ and 4+ via taster day, with around four applicants per place. Occasional places thereafter, with hopefuls assessed in English and maths, plus classroom observation and ‘a conversation’ with the head. While more academically selective than in the past, Aldenham is still relatively broad by North London standards, with school saying, ‘It’s not just about who gets the highest score but how they interact with other children and whether they’ll get involved beyond the classroom’. Helps too if families ‘believe in our ethos of focusing on the whole child’. Waiting lists in many year groups.

Exit

Around 70 per cent move up to the senior school although it’s not automatic, with pupils taking the same 11-plus entrance tests as external candidates (‘but there’s early warning if they don’t think your child will pass,’ assured a parent). School happy to prepare for other destinations, with Merchant Taylors’ and Habs regularly featuring regularly. No 11-plus tuition for the state sector but a few pupils do head off to Watford Grammar (boys and girls) and Queens’ School Bushey. Two scholarships in 2024.

Our view

For many, Aldenham Prep is a conscious rejection of the pushier north London preps – an unashamed move towards a more nurturing, less pressurised approach ‘that gets the best out of your child without hammering it out of them’, as one parent put it. Avoiding the 11-plus is seen as the icing on the cake (although take note, pupils sit the senior school entrance exam and good numbers do go on to more selective schools). The uber-cool (quite literally in summer when there’s aircon throughout) facilities and vast outside space don’t go amiss either. ‘You look around all the usual suspects then come here and breathe a sigh of relief at seeing these happy, confident and carefree children in this fabulous environment.' Idyllic spot neighbouring the senior school in a picture postcard village makes location a further draw.

Still, academics are no walk in the park and recent tightening up on this front has led to a greater emphasis on individual targets, active learning and classroom interventions across all abilities. ‘The days of anyone being able to coast are long gone,’ confirmed a parent. Classes (max size 23) we saw were fully engaged, with inquisitive, fearless learners. ‘Can you explain it another way?’, ‘Is this a good answer?’ and ‘Can I draw it instead of write it?’ asked the pluckier ones. ‘Good question, take a house point,’ respond the teachers, keen to encourage this two-way learning.

Not a school to front-load specialist teaching, although there are dedicated teachers from nursery in games and PE (including swimming), music and French (other MFLs include a term each of Spanish for year 5 and 6 and, when an external teacher is available, Mandarin in year 6). Far better, insists school, for the bulk of learning to fall to the class teacher ‘who knows each child best’. Maths pulled out by pupils as ‘the most fun’ – thanks to ‘enthusiastic teachers’, ‘lots of jokes and games’ and ‘learning fractions with cake’. Science clearly entertaining too – pupils had been crawling around the labs with torches to learn about shadows. Not much by way of cross-curricular learning, and no setting ‘because you might excel at one aspect of maths and struggle in another’, says head.

STEM is a big deal. Pupils told us of a recent model bridge building project which brought together DT, IT, engineering, science and maths. Reading also a focus – pupils are rightly proud of their practically neon library and gave us lengthy, detailed descriptions of the Accelerated Reading scheme although it was the stories-in-a-jar that caught our eye – who knew you could fit the likes of Jack and the Beanstalk or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory into a jam jar (we’d have taken the easy way out with A Squash and a Squeeze). iPads in frequent use from year 3 – for research on the heart when we visited. Outdoor classroom well-used, where reception were collecting named plants for Earth Day, untroubled by the rain. ‘Look, natural stickers!’ they shrieked with delight, slapping catchweed against their yellow sweatshirts. There’s also an established wildlife pond.

Parents say the school excels at early identification of SEN. It can’t hurt that the SENCo and assistant (both part-time) are both level 7 dyslexia trained, screening all pupils from year 1. ‘They really helped us on our journey to getting a diagnosis,’ said a parent, adding that they had seen a ‘dramatic improvement from the one-to-one support, reading is now back up to percentile’. Another said their child had ‘gone from bottom of the class for grammar to the top’. Around 10 per cent are on the SEN register – mainly dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and ADHD – around half of those receiving one-to-one learning support (included in fees and with detailed reports back to parents after each session; SENCo also has timetabled slots to update class teachers). Every class has a TA and there’s a visiting speech and language therapist. The SENCo is also a ‘relaxed kids coach’, running after-school clubs for this seven-step programme. We spotted a desk in the corridor with sensory and therapy toys created by year 6s.

Home to all this learning is a light, bright and roomy newbuild complete with free flow outside areas for younger pupils downstairs and rural views from older years upstairs. It certainly ticks the boxes with its hi-tech learning spaces and lovely wide corridors – and whereas on our last visit, you could practically smell the newness and we longed to be let loose with blue-tac and a big fat pile of children’s art to add some life to the place, this time we delighted in the colourful displays and more lived-in feel.

Music and drama have their own large room, with ukuleles lining the walls and a suite of accompanying practice rooms where around 60 per cent of children learn either an instrument or singing. Year 4s learn Samba instruments and the Djembe drums, year 5 those ukeleles and year 6 the keyboards. No orchestra, but there are ensembles and junior and senior choirs, with lots of concerts. Drama not on curriculum, though tinies do a nativity, years 3 and 4 a spring term performance (recently Aladdin Trouble) and years 5 and 6 a summer term bonanza (Joseph up next), the latter in the senior school theatre. There’s also LAMDA and a drama club.

The ‘creative space’ (aka art room) was a right old mess when we visited – and all the better for it, with year 4s having collected twigs and hay to make birds' nests. Surprisingly hard, it turns out. We’d spotted some younger pupils hauling in carrier bags of junk ready for sculpting later that day, while older pupils wanted to tell us about the moving monsters and pop-up books they’d made.

The senior school is known for sport, so it’s no surprise the prep offers a strong foundation – with these ruddy-cheeked children exercising at least three times a week by way of games, PE and swimming (the only slight downer among parents being the lack of on-site pool). Football is king, say parents, but hockey, cricket, netball, athletics and cross-country also taken seriously (note no rugby). Tournaments for tinies, fixtures from year 3. Fabulous facilities, both here and next door.

Clubs mainly after school, a few at lunchtimes. Most pupils do at least one, with chess, outdoor learning, karate, trampolining, Lego, fencing, maths and mad science all popular. Wraparound care from 8am to 5.30pm (4.30pm on Fridays). Day trips aplenty – Kew Gardens and a Stone Age activity centre recently. Residentials start gently in year 3 with camping in the school field, building up to a year 6 Lake District outward bound adventure. There’s also a bi-annual jaunt to France for years 5 and 6. ‘You get to pick who stays in your dorm at the chateau,’ said a pupil who decided this was the single best thing about both the trip and the school.

Great choice of home cooking including a very grown-up salad bar. It was meat-free Monday when we visited, which meant tomato pasta all round for the nursery and reception children we ate with on the long tables in the dining room. Staff oversee proceedings and (a nice touch) randomly pop round with additional things to try; impressively, most were game to have a go.

Emotional awareness and regulation are embedded, with children identifying their feelings on a mood meter every morning. ‘So if they’re sad, angry or frustrated that day, the school picks up on it and reports back – it really works,’ said a parent (although a few children confided they hadn’t done theirs for a week). Bespoke pastoral care on tap, added another – ‘My son sometimes doesn’t want to go in the morning and the teachers come and chat with him on the sofa, I’m amazed they have time!’ Discipline mainly light touch, with older ones carrying chance cards – three warnings land you a detention, but few get them. Uniform distinctive with navy blazers and yellow piping. Tights and ties ‘a bit itchy’ in winter, grumble a few.

There’s a more equal gender split than in the boy-heavy senior school, but it has the same rich ethnicity which parents say is ‘celebrated beautifully’, with particular praise for a recent Heritage Day, set to become an annual event. Pupils are chatty (‘Do you visit lots of schools?’), confident (‘I’m really clever at maths, are you?’) and polite (‘After you’ is practically a chant). There’s an easiness about them – they are comfortable here. Most live within a 40-minute drive. City types, medics and business owners prevalent among the parent body, with a sprinkling of celebs – all ‘very friendly and sociable’, we heard, it's a carousel of balls, bingo and coffee mornings for those with space in their diaries. One parent had just organised a hair braiding workshop – ‘a great skill for mums of daughters,’ she specified.

The last word

An antidote to higher-pressure preps in the vicinity, though more academic than it once was. All schools say they focus on the whole child, but this one really does – and it turns out happy, emotionally intelligent, adaptable and curious learners in the process. Glorious rural surroundings too.

Special Education Needs

Aldenham Prep School provides a broad and balanced curriculum for all children. When planning, teachers set suitable learning challenges and respond to children's diverse learning needs. Teachers take account of requirements and make provision, where necessary, to support individuals or groups of children and thus enable them to participate effectively in curriculum and assessment activities. Nov 09.