Hatherop Castle School A GSG School

Sports

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

Fencing

What The Good Schools Guide says

Headmaster

Since 2017, Nigel Reed BSc (sports science), PGCE, MEd (educational leadership). Previously spent five years as director of sport and subsequently deputy head at Wallhampton. His appetite for teaching was whetted during a stint coaching for the Spurs holiday programme and his sights set on a headship from the off. With a passion for boarding stemming from his own schooldays and a love of sports, it’s not difficult to see the appeal of the Hatherop gig. He has two boys, the youngest in year 5 at the school.

Parents describe him as ‘personable, enthusiastic, chatty’ and report that he ‘takes concerns seriously.’ Children welcome the fact that ‘he’s not scary’. As usual this year he’s ‘out with the tracksuit on,’ giving it some on the games field and filling the odd teaching gap as required. Parents report him really pushing sport forward (it previously lagged behind the arts). Testament to this is the crate filled with mud-caked trainers and an old battered football in the corridor just outside his front door.

He describes the school as a ‘wrapped present’; dispense with the shiny paper and the gift tags and release the potential. Whether understatement or modesty, we’re pretty sure it hasn’t been quite that simple. For years the school lacked a significant local profile and pupil numbers were low. Mr Reed had more ambitious plans, appointing a marketing director and focusing on growth. Admissions have dutifully increased and the school doubled in size since 2014. The aim is for two classes per year capped at 16. Any more would compromise the ‘small community feel’ and strain the existing infrastructure.

Academics also needed an overhaul, hence the introduction of project led teaching for pre-prep (‘obvious,’ he says) and moving away from the ‘rote learning’ of CE in humanities and RS. Instead, a curriculum based on the four Cs: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. ‘CE has its place,’ he reflects, and the school continues to follow the curriculum in maths, English, French and science, ‘but it was the be-all and end-all, and that was influencing everything’. Staff not up for the change are quite simply ‘no longer here’. Parents report ‘quite a fallout’ and ‘a rocky time’ but now describe the school as ‘updated, modern and efficient’.

It’s not been all change by any means - the outdoor culture and emphasis on good manners remain strong (expect a handshake at the end of the school day). After four years in charge, though, he says Hatherop is ‘now my school’.

Entrance

Non-selective. Entrance based on a taster day and previous school reports.

Exit

A handful to Dean Close each year. Beyond that, pupils scatter to Westonbirt, Cheltenham College, Malvern College, St Edward’s Oxford, Abingdon and Millfield amongst others, approximately half with scholarships.

Our view

Right, let’s deal with this first. ‘Castle’ is a misnomer. Granted, the school building is a supremely elegant 17th-century country residence set in 22 glorious acres, but expectations need to be managed. There’s no moat, no keep and no battlements. Castle it is not. Originally privately owned, it was a girls’ school until 1994 when it morphed into its current incarnation. It won’t, however, disappoint in terms of original features. Entrance is through a stately wood panelled hall with grand fireplace and a staircase flanked by murals of the school and surrounding countryside snakes its way up to the first floor. Outside there’s an Italianate formal garden and a walled garden with an avenue of ancient yew trees. Rumours of an elephant’s grave somewhere on the back lawn are sadly a myth (but no-one is letting on to the children).

Part of the Wishford group since 2014, the school now benefits from centralised finance, IT and transport. Mr Reed has overseen considerable capital investment in a new performing arts centre, floodlit Astroturf and refurbishment of pre-prep. Parents say of Wishford, ‘they know what they’re doing’ and note the ‘significant improvement in terms of paintwork and carpets’.

Nursery enrolment is a commitment to join the school rather than convenient early years childcare, so don’t expect your deposit back if you choose to move on to the local primary. Accessed through a Secret Garden style door, a world of small play inside the walled garden is revealed, complete with mud kitchen, construction-themed sand pit, bikes and trikes and bunnies Barney and Wilma. (Surely Fred and Wilma? We decided not to enquire of our year 7 guides, just in case there had been a Fred at one stage.) Pre-prep are resident in the cobbled stable block, with old horseshoes on the doors and the new paint smell of refurbishment. Long thin classrooms in the eaves lend themselves surprisingly well to dedicated learn through play zones. Photos of Forest School on the wall declare ‘we love digging for worms’ and Tessa the black lab roams freely. Everyone makes use of the outdoor classroom, but it was year 1 we joined on a cold November morning to make Greta Thunberg inspired eco placards.

A new deputy head academic has renewed the focus on academic measurement and creating ‘more robust trajectories’. Blazers are crammed with maths badges and the Aspire programme of lectures offers visiting speakers and workshops. Currently also responsible for learning support, she describes SEN as ‘no one person’s job’, not shoved into an outside department. One to ones still happen as required, but the focus is on in-class support. School accommodates dyslexia, autism, ADHD, Down's syndrome, visual and hearing impairments, although recognises its limits in terms of severe pastoral or behavioural issues.

Specialist science kicks in at year 4 and there’s a massive horse skull in the window of the lab. A year 6 lesson made us reconsider future purchases of the humble hula hoop - in an experiment designed to measure energy from food, a hula hoop burns for a thought-provokingly long time. ‘Point to the one you’d like to execute,’ says the teacher as they all vote on which jelly baby gets it in the ‘screaming jelly baby’ experiment (green of course), which resembles an indoor firework and leaves the lab filled with a delicious candy floss scented smoke. Results and data are recorded on new Surface Gos, now standard issue from year 5 (thoughtfully finding their way onto the school bill in instalments).

Art happens in the orangery studio, a high-ceilinged, deeply calming space with a massive skylight. Year 7 have not-so-secretly commandeered the small mezzanine above as their common room. Day to day the focus in music is singing, although up to 60 children have individual music lessons in guitar, piano, singing, brass, drums, violin and flute. The chapel choir, bedecked in formal robes, sings once a week in the adjoining local church on a Friday. Parents comment that there are ‘no orchestras and ensembles’ Drama benefits from the new performing arts centre, also used for assemblies, with clever retractable seating.

The ethos in sport is inclusion. The new Astro has been a gamechanger and netball/tennis courts are currently being resurfaced. Fencing happens anywhere and everywhere, including the entrance hall on our visit. The incredibly charismatic teacher seems able to turn any Hatherop pupil into a fencing force to be reckoned with. Sadly, the outdoor swimming pool had to be decommissioned, hence swimming is bussed out to Cricklade and Westonbirt. Small classes means that year groups may need to double up to make teams. Parents admit that ‘competition may be lacking for elite sportspeople’.

Parents are positive about the new hobbies afternoon on a Tuesday, giving a thumbs up to ‘encouraging children to think beyond the curriculum’. On top of that there are clubs every day after school. Activities include golf, cross country running, creating podcasts, Arts Award, cooking, Lego robotics, debating, ballet, karate, yoga, Young Enterprise and chess. Years 6 to 8 are treated to an annual trip to Dorset. Photos lining the corridors show grinning faces blackened with camo paint, fresh from a day of coasteering, den building and camping out overnight. Parents warn ‘you have to spray them down before they get back in the house’.

Pastoral care relies chiefly on small classes and a strong tutor system. One-to-one personal tutor time on a Friday enables staff to pick up on small things and nip them in the bud. The anti-bullying policy has been recently rewritten and pupil champions appointed. Children are now well versed in procedures to deal with issues, although older years expressed to us that more could be done. Dining requires three sittings due to the size of the hall, eat at mixed year tables. ‘It’s not that bad’ is their incisive critique of the food. None of the parents we spoke to were hearing any complaints, although comments apparently come up occasionally on the WhatsApp group.

School families live mostly within a 20-mile radius. Reflecting the local community, there are few pupils and no staff from ethnic backgrounds. Pre-Covid there were a few overseas boarders from China, Spain and France. Parents are a cross-section - business owners, professionals, farming and several forces families with RAF Fairford and Brize Norton nearby. ‘It’s not a society school,’ they say. Active parents’ group organises an annual Christmas at the Castle event, Burns night, bonfire night, auction and summer beach party with water slides on the back lawn.

Boarders

There are beds for 40, but majority living locally means that full/weekly boarding numbers are bound to be on the low side, 15 when we visited. However, new house parents have already whipped up greater excitement about boarding and figures are creeping up. There’s still work to do though - flexi is particularly popular on a Thursday, while the majority of beds lie empty other nights of the week and, while girls’ boarding is almost full, numbers of boy full boarders are lower than expected.

Dorms rotate according to year group numbers. There are very few bunks and a shared common room for all boarders to encourage mixing. At the time of our visit, year 4 boys had the trophy dorm, a stunning top floor room with large window and panoramic view. Boys’ bathrooms are, however, in need of refurbishment and extension, with only two showers, although they assure us ‘it’s not a struggle’ even on popular flexi nights. Flags pegged onto bunting over dorm doors indicate excellence in boarding behaviour, with those gaining the most flags expecting sweets, ice cream or a movie. A golden ticket means inviting a day pupil friend for a sleepover.

Weekend residents can expect to be woken up by Paddington the dog and a Saturday trip to the Dragonfly Maze, escape rooms, caving and climbing at Far Peak Adventure Centre, laser tag, We The Curious (a science centre in Bristol), cycling in the Forest of Dean or the Cotswold Wildlife Park. Sundays are lower key and ‘more home like’. Parents are always welcome to pop in for tea or to go for a walk.

Money matters

Pupils in years 5 and 6 are invited to sit for scholarships (academic, music, art, drama and sport). Bursaries are offered for families or individual children on application.

The last word

The head describes Hatherop as a ‘non-pressurised, down to earth environment’ with ‘no airs and graces’, and happy parents agree, commenting without criticism that while it may not be ‘a polished affair’, it’s a ‘warm, happy and cosy environment’ in which children ‘seem to find their identity’. Mr Reed hasn’t reached the end of his to-do list, but Hatherop is undoubtedly a school on the up.

Special Education Needs