Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and 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 of Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School

Since September 2019, Matt Turner, previously head of Bury Grammar Boys Junior. He has also been deputy head of Cheadle Hulme Junior. Married to Gemma, with one son in the school, he is a keen rugby and football player and coach, and a lover of water sports but also has a passion for drama which he insists is a vital part of the curriculum, a view shared by the students we spoke to who told us the drama opportunities at Rossall are excellent. A charismatic leader with boundless energy, he is considered by parents and pupils to have breathed new life into the school and the curriculum. Also known for sharing a joint vision with the head of the senior school and for being as concerned about mental health and wellbeing as he is about academic outcomes and extracurricular activities. Very visible around school. 'He is shaking things up, he is always there at morning drop off and has an open door policy,' said one parent.

Entrance

Children come to a taster day and parents come in for a chat, but it’s extremely rare for the school to tell parents they can’t support their child’s needs. References are called from previous schools. School is rapidly becoming oversubscribed particularly in the nursery where numbers have risen from just 15 in 2019 to 76 by 2021; the rise is largely attributed to excellent provision during Covid lockdowns. The nursery takes children from three months. From April 2021 Rossall Juniors was re-branded as Rossall Prep and Pre Prep.

Exit

Almost all juniors progress to the senior school, with family relocation the main reason for not doing so. Everyone sits the entrance exam for the seniors (maths, English and non-verbal reasoning), but for junior school pupils it’s just used as a baseline assessment and to assess for a possible scholarship.

Our view

In 2020 the school ditched the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) in favour of the more conventional British National Curriculum. But it has maintained a strong emphasis on research and independent learning, enhancing it with subject specific teaching. We saw lessons with a clear focus on handwriting, grammar and spelling. Parents with children who had already passed through the junior school welcome the move as far better preparation for the senior school. They see the increasing emphasis on academic standards as a great step forward. They particularly praise the benchmarking system which gives them a much better idea of how well their child is doing. Pupils also experience the Rossall Rotation where they have a chance to study coding, baking, astronomy, farming, beach and forest studies.

Classes are small - 18 is the aim, with some smaller, though some parents feel this is coming under pressure as the school becomes more popular. Two classes in year 6. SEN is supported at no extra cost. ‘My son had been provided with an iPad and is making much better progress than in the past,’ one parent told us.

The junior school buildings are an integral part of the impressive Rossall campus and the juniors also get to share the top-quality facilities of the senior school. The nursery was refurbished and enlarged to a high standard in 2020 and provides three lovely spaces for learning, as well as a garden and woodland area where Forest School takes place. Sports facilities include a multi-use games area, £4m sports centre with indoor sprinting track and golf and football academies and 25-metre indoor swimming pool. In addition, there’s a nature conservation area, farm, theatre and a space science and astronomy centre. The school even has its own beach school, sharing a private beach with the senior school. ‘I love that we can go to the beach for maths and draw perimeters in the sand,’ said a pupil.

The grand, historic chapel – which wouldn’t look out of place in an Oxbridge quad – is also a significant part of school life, even for the youngest pupils, providing a fantastic venue for performances by the likes of the choirs and orchestra. Although it’s Anglican, the chaplaincy aims to meet the needs of pupils of all faiths and of none. The pupils all eat together in the baronial dining hall where they select their food at the servery. Staff let them try anything they fancy before committing to a plateful. They still sit with teachers who keep an eye on them to make sure they’re actually eating. Uniform in the junior school is blazer for all and kilt for girls, with a smart tracksuit for PE and games.

Specialist taught PE lessons from nursery upwards and for older ones, the school now runs elite football programmes for girls and boys in association with Fleetwood Town Football Club. Some students told us they’d like more sports to be on offer. Many take LAMDA exams and quite a few are learning musical instruments, including clarinet, violin, drums, piano and flute. New impressive kitchen for food technology lessons and the Rossall Bake Off where dozens compete for the title of star baker. The wide range of after-school clubs are popular, with many juniors staying until 5pm most evenings to take advantage of these activities as well as support with homework. There are science, chess and reading groups, as well as various art, theatre and music activities and a very wide range of sporty clubs including Danish long ball club, urban workout and judo. Pre-prep are not encouraged to stay late every day as they get tired, though full wrap around care is available.

There’s a strong family feel to the school which extends into the classroom. All the students we spoke to made reference to this and we noticed, when we were being shown round by senior students, that they interacted warmly with the juniors. There are firm structures and policies are in place to ensure good discipline but you get the sense that they’re very seldom brought into force. Pastoral care in the juniors is largely provided by class teachers, with whom pupils are closely bonded.

The pupils love it here and achieve good results. ‘The teachers just make it fun,’ said one. A parent told us that her stock punishment threat was, ‘If you don’t do what I say then you won’t be allowed to sleepover at school’ – needless to say, it works a treat. The parents we met were highly satisfied, with mother telling us she only brought her child here for the nursery as she had a place ready in a state school but, once she was here, she just couldn’t bring herself to take her daughter away. The excellent staff retention rates speak of a happy community among the adults too.

Hats off to the school for the way it managed Covid, with iPads for all having helped with online learning throughout lockdowns, while and the school’s excellent precautions and risk management strategy has also earned it quite a local reputation for being ahead of the game during the pandemic.

Boarders

The junior boarding house is homely and lived-in, with a common room, a large, well-equipped games room and bedrooms customised with pictures and decorations. Most rooms sleep two, three or four and there are no longer bunk beds. Houseparents say they see themselves as comforting, supportive stand-in parents not just authority figures. Boarders, around 30 per cent from overseas, have days out every Sunday and - temptingly for parents who struggle for babysitters - day pupils can have sleepovers in the boarding house (temporary boarding) any night of the week or weekend. Some pupils also opt for a regular night of boarding (flexi-boarding) when they can work in supervised pre-prep, have their tea and take part in extracurricular activities. A popular option is to stay over on the Saturday night so that you can go on the Sunday outing.

Money matters

Although scholarship and bursary funds are directed towards students in the senior school, emergency bursary support and extended payment plans are often made available to prep school parents who suffer financial hardship.

The last word

A sparky dynamic school with plenty of old-fashioned values and tradition, happy pupils and parents but also a new rigour that helps pupils reach their potential. The emphasis is very much on inclusion, with students from all backgrounds. As one member of staff put it, 'This is a school where it is very easy to fit in.'

Special Education Needs

We support children with a wide variety of special educational needs, however, this support is offered on an individual basis.