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What says..

Academic performance closely monitored. The school has an impressive system for assessing potential on entry, as well as tracking performance. Head is of the belief that ‘academic achievement is the ultimate outcome, the most important, but this will only come if everything else is in place’. Children from prep upwards encouraged to ‘hold meaningful conversations with adults and each other whilst looking you in the eye’. Parents comment on the nurturing from ‘lovely staff’ and ‘the community feel’. A significant part of the programme to develop this confidence is the half term year 7 trip to...

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What the school says...

Boarding is central to the ethos of the school, with the Headmaster and his family living in the heart of the building. There is a full weekend programme, together with a broad range of evening and extra-curricular activities. Music, drama and sport are particularly strong. Roughly 70% of children in the Prep School are full boarders. The school has high academic expectations and children achieve entry to the country's leading public schools.

Children in Year 7 spend a whole term at Chateau de Sauveterre near Toulouse in France, where they are immersed in the French culture and language. Mowden Hall is a member of the Cothill Educational Trust.
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What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since 2020, Kate Martin, formerly deputy head. Born locally in Shotley Bridge and educated in the state sector, then Northumbria University and Cheltenham for PGCE to be a teacher of English and PE. Came to Mowden Hall in 2011 after teaching in schools including Oundle, Ampleforth and two separate day schools in Newcastle. Has held several positions including director of sport.

Parents say she is ‘brilliant – really approachable’ and ‘leads by example’. Very easy to talk to, she is ‘everywhere all the time’ and makes a point of attending away sporting fixtures. Values ‘tradition and competition’ but not ‘winning at all costs’. Rates steering Mowden through Covid as her greatest achievement to date. Pupils say they ‘love her’ and that she is ‘very determined’. ‘When she says it’s fun time,...

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Special Education Needs

The Learning Support Department's aim is to help children with specific learning difficulties to read, spell and cope with the academic curriculum, ultimately resulting in them passing Common Entrance in their final year. Pupils follow a multi-sensory teaching programme delivered by a specialist teacher, mostly on a one-to-one basis. The number of lessons they attend and the speed at which they complete the programme is tailored to their individual needs. The department liaises with colleagues across the teaching staff in order to provide support and encouragement to pupils across the whole curriculum, as well as outside agencies when necessary.

Condition Provision for in school
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Aspergers Y
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders Y
CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia
Dyscalculia
Dysgraphia
Dyslexia Y
Dyspraxia
English as an additional language (EAL)
Genetic
Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory
Has SEN unit or class Y
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

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