Grimsdell Mill Hill Pre-Preparatory School

Since 2014, Kate Simon. Degree in English lit and drama from Sheffield; did her PGCE in Liverpool and cut her teeth working in ‘very tough’ inner city schools. Has known she wanted to teach since she was 14.

‘You have to live and breathe the job, you can’t fake it – it can be emotional and draining, but I love it.’ And she should know, having worked on both sides of the educational spectrum. This is a head who has taught in Stockbridge Village – ‘one of the most deprived areas of Liverpool’ – followed by a stint abroad at an international school in the Cayman Islands (‘beautiful but I missed my busy London life’). A headship of the junior school of the Royal School Hampstead followed between 2002 and 2008, before becoming head of the girls’ upper school at Garden House School in Chelsea. However, with a son and two daughters herself, she no longer wanted to work in a single-sex school and decided to look for a role in co-education: ‘We don’t live in a single-sex world – I wanted to work in a school that reflects the world.’

When her predecessor at Grimsdell retired, she jumped at the opportunity of becoming head. After a ‘rigorous selection procedure’, she was offered the position and nine years on she is still there and bubbling with enthusiasm. And lucky for the parents, Ms Simon’s heart is most definitely in the Mill Hill foundation – ‘I can’t see myself moving on,' she says.

A Grimsdell parent herself even before taking the helm – 'says something about the school,' reckoned one parent. Looks much younger than she is, given she has a teenage son who was about to choose his GCSE options when we spoke. ‘Good lighting,’ she jokes (our update was via Zoom due to Covid restrictions). However, we think it’s partly down to her youthful demeanour. She exudes warmth and we liked her instantly. Popular with parents too, one calling her ‘exceptionally approachable and likes parents to give her ideas’. Another added that she is 'totally passionate about the school, which is clear when you meet her’.

Married with three children, she loves nothing more than family time when she gets the chance, playing the piano to relax and being outdoors. She has also started writing poetry for the children at Grimsdell and collecting them in a book.

Leaving in June 2025 to take up headship at ‘our first international school in Thailand’. To be replaced by Kevin Dobson, who returns to Mill Hill after seven years as head of The Hall Junior School. Prior to this, he spent 10 years at Grimsdell as deputy head.

Heavily oversubscribed, with over 100 families vying for 20 places in reception. Register early is the school’s advice. Entry via a first-round ‘playdate’ group assessment in the outdoor learning area and a second-round family assessment including individual pupil assessment while parents are informally interviewed by the head. This is not about a child being a genius at age 4, says school, although 'we do have to be a bit selective now because of the demand for places’. Thirty-four places offered at nursery, so far better chance of securing a place (and good news is that it's recently moved from half to full days).

The majority (over 95 per cent) continue on to Belmont School and through the Mill Hill Foundation – ‘one of the major plus points of this school,’ said one parent. However, a small proportion moves on to single-sex schools, faith schools, schools overseas or schools that are perceived to be more academic. Most recently, these have included Habs (boys and girls), Heath Mount, Channing and Highgate. In a few rare cases, where students may not have made enough progress to move to Belmont, discussions about alternatives take place from year 1. ‘We have to be realistic,’ says school.

Unfortunate name for a very pretty school. On a beautiful autumnal day, Grimsdell was the antithesis of ‘grim’. Situated on Mill Hill’s Ridgeway, but accessed via a small and very lovely private road, the school occupies the rather grand Winterstoke House. Originally a vicarage for the vicar of St Paul's and sold to Mill Hill School in October 1923, Winterstoke House was purchased to become a school boarding house to host some 42 boys.

The school became Grimsdell in 1995 when it joined the Mill Hill Foundation, which was founded in 1807 by non-conformist reformers and encompasses pre-prep (Grimsdell), prep school (Belmont), senior (Mill Hill) and international boarding (The Mount, Mill Hill International) - plus, more recently, Cobham Hall School, Lyonsdown School and Keble Prep. Idea is to help provide a smooth transition to the senior school. This school's formation was largely due to a Mrs Grimsdell, widow of an Old Millhillian, who bequeathed a large part of her late husband's estate to Mill Hill School. Following a request from the school governors, Mrs Grimsdell agreed that the benefaction be applied to create a ‘much required’ pre-preparatory school, and Grimsdell opened its gates. The school is situated adjacent to Mill Hill School but has its own grounds – not quite on the scale of the other two schools, but more than adequate for a pre-prep.

This is a cute, cosy school on the inside – nothing grand and pretentious, despite the impression given by its exterior. We were seated in a colourful and bright reception area with a large aquarium to gaze at while we waited to meet the head. Familiar sounds of overexcited kids emanated from one or two of the classrooms. All classrooms are light, airy and well equipped – particularly the Sunshine Room which, as its name suggests, is a warm and nurturing space. This is where pupils go who need extra learning support, which can include intervention groups, one-to-ones, play therapy and school counselling. Specialist onsite teachers in music, PE and French are on hand and 4 to 7-year-olds have weekly keyboard lessons with a music specialist.

Like all the schools in the Mill Hill Foundation, Grimsdell has an air of individuality which sets it apart from many other fee-paying schools. Nowhere is this better highlighted than in the bespoke, creative curriculum, introduced by the head four years ago – ‘There was a lot of spoon-feeding in the last curriculum. I wanted to throw it out and start again.’ This has been a collaborative venture with parents working as a team – ‘lots of coffee mornings’ – to establish a programme which was more forward thinking and child centred. Topics are theme based, with the whole school following the same curriculum, but at different levels. It also becomes an immersive experience which ‘promotes reflective learning and adaptability’. When learning about the North Pole, for example, the classroom was transformed into an igloo with one large block of ‘ice’ which the pupils had to break open to discover a letter from an Arctic explorer – ‘This sort of attention to detail gives the child a motivation to learn and to become inquisitive.’

Parents we spoke to enthused about this new way of learning. One said, ‘The new curriculum is amazing. They are learning loads of new things they don’t even realise they are learning,’ while another added that ‘the attention to detail is flawless. When my daughter returned to school after being off for a while, they dressed the class up like a hospital and made the teaching very relevant around her.’

The pastoral care is another element which has seen an increase in support and attention, with a triage system of care which includes an assistant pastoral head, a head of SEN and a play therapist. Since Covid, the school concentrates more than ever on wellbeing – ‘Children at the school have lost grandparents due to Covid; we have been reaching out to them and their families as much as possible.’ We loved the idea that all pupils returning to school after lockdown were issued with tickets and passports sent to their homes with a section on it called ‘tummy wobbles’, where the pupils were able to draw on their passports anything they might be worried about.

‘Amazing communication from the school throughout,’ said one parent regarding lockdown. Another told us that the ‘second and third lockdowns were much better dealt with and there were live lessons, live reading sessions and assemblies as opposed to videos. Children were also sent whiteboards and paint palettes to their homes.’ One parent did say, though, that sometimes it was tricky as the online days were not that full, although she did add the caveat that, ‘You can’t really have a four-year-old sitting down for five to six hours a day.’

One positive outcome of Covid for the school has been the four large tents erected in the school grounds, enabling music lessons to continue outside safely. While this was only supposed to be a temporary measure, it proved so successful that the school decided to purchase the tents as a permanent fixture. ’It is a great way of bringing the outside learning inside. Who says you need four walls to learn maths?’ says the head.

As with Belmont and Mill Hill, Grimsdell’s selling point is undoubtedly its idyllic surroundings. Pupils not only have access to 120 acres of beautiful parkland at Mill Hill school with its sports pitches, swimming pool and woodland, but they have their own great adventure playground and science garden to enjoy. A firm believer in the great outdoors, Grimsdell has its own forest school. Each session has a theme and activities can range from mini-beast hunting to fire building and cooking outdoors.

With a school that states boldly in its prospectus, ‘There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing’, you had better be sure your little darlings have a healthy interest in outdoor pursuits. But, as our last visit testified, there is a lot more to the school than that.

Parents appreciate the expertise of the large foundation and the lack of pressure to take exams for future schools. ‘If you’re looking for a hothouse, this is not the place for your child. We are about the whole child, but academia is not compromised,' says head. Very much an individual and forward thinking school (over 1,000 followers on Instagram) but with good, old-fashioned values. One parent told us, ‘Grimsdell is a secure and nurturing stepping stone, which is illustrated by my own excited and eager children.’