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Reviewed

Taunton Prep and Pre-Prep School

Independent school · Taunton, TA2 6AE
  • Primary/prep
  • Co-ed
  • Ages 1-13
  • From £10,650 pa
  • 441 pupils
  • Boarding
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Down-to-earth, caring and quietly ambitious, this is a terrific all-rounder school that offers excellence in everything from academics to sport. Pupils are happy and cared for and clearly love their time here.

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Overview & data

Pupil numbers
441 ·
Offers boarding
Yes ·
Religion
None
Fees
Day £10,650 - £22,290; Boarding £17,487 - £37,920 pa
Local authority
Somerset County Council
Linked schools

Headteacher

Headmaster

Ed Burnett

Since January 2024, Ed Burnett BSc PGCE MBA, previously senior deputy head of the senior school. He studied economics and politics at the University of Southampton and after a PGCE in London began his teaching career at Cranleigh. He moved to an

Entrance

Non-selective. Children are invited in for a taster day and to meet the head. The prep also seeks a report and reference from their current school. Some start in the nursery and go all the way through but others join in years 3 and 7 – and at other

Open days
See website

Exit

Virtually all head to the senior school (96 per cent in 2025), often with scholarships and awards. Year 7 and 8 pupils have some lessons at the senior school, plus a ‘moving-up morning' for year 8s to see the senior school properly, meet teachers and

Latest results

There are no results to show for this school. Find out more.

Teaching & learning

9:1
Pupil to teacher ratio
18
Average class sizes

Learning support & SEN

0.46 %
Students with a SEN EHCP
20.32 %
Students with SEN support

Boarders

Boarders live in the newly refurbished Thone House, one of the main buildings in the heart of the school, with 32 girls on the first floor and 24 boys on the second (56 full boarders in all). Six international boarders from all over the world,

62
Total boarders
62
Full time boarders

Mobile phone policy

A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.

Mobile phone policy

Provided by the school and not part of our review

Phones are handed in to houses at 8.20am each morning and returned after 5pm each day.

Updated Oct 2025

Pupils

441
Number of pupils

Money matters

A variety of 11+ scholarships for children entering year 7, including academic, sports, art, music, dance, drama and design.

Fee information
Day £10,650 - £22,290; Boarding £17,487 - £37,920 pa

Our view

Founded in 1994 following the merger of the girls’ and boys’ junior schools, the prep sits on its own self-contained campus next to the senior school on the northern outskirts of town. Its buildings are a mix of Victorian and more modern, all ultra

The last word

Down-to-earth, caring and quietly ambitious, this is a terrific all-rounder school that offers excellence in everything from academics to sport. Pupils are happy and cared for and clearly love their time here.

Inspection reports

What the school says

Taunton Prep School is a day and boarding school for children in years 3 to 8 and aims to unearth the potential in every pupil. A broad curriculum encourages independent learning and thinking skills. Our vast co-curricular provision gives the opportunity to learn new skills and interests and develop confidence. Pupils take part in a wide range of sports, drama productions, musical performances, trips and academic challenges every term. Pastoral care is at the heart of everything we do, and pupils are encouraged to respect each other and live by our ‘Taunton Twelve’ values.

Contact the school

Address

Staplegrove Road
Taunton
Somerset
TA2 6AE
Get directions

Telephone: 01823 703307

Email: admissions@tauntonschool.co.uk

Website: https://www.tauntonschool.co.uk

Local authority: Somerset County Council

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School data & information Taunton Prep and Pre-Prep School Staplegrove Road, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 6AE
441 Pupil numbers
241/200 Pupil numbers boy/girls split
62 Total boarders
62 Full time boarders
18 Average class sizes
9:1 Pupil to teacher ratio

Mobile phone policy

Provided by the school and not part of our review

Phones are handed in to houses at 8.20am each morning and returned after 5pm each day.

Updated Oct 2025

We do not receive results data for this school. Find out more.

Entry and exit data

Here we report figures on pupils moving between schools at the usual entry and exit points, as well as student destinations into higher education. We publish publically available data for state schools. For independent schools, The Good Schools Guide collects data from its prep schools as to where their pupils go on to. Find out more

Our review contains additional entry and exit data reported to us and is updated annually. See the review

Recent leavers' destinations

SEN overview

Taunton Prep and Pre-Prep School is a mainstream school. The school may provide support for students with special educational needs as detailed below. If you require more information on conditions the school can support, we encourage you to contact the school directly.

SEN statement

Provided by the school and not part of our review

We are fortunate in having a Learning Success department at Taunton Preparatory School, to give additional support to a variety of learning needs. This is staffed by a team of highly qualified specialist teachers, able to give extra support in literacy and/or numeracy, to the child’s specific level of learning, where the child is failing to respond sufficiently to the small classes offered at Taunton Preparatory School.

We do, however, anticipate that the child will be able to cope with the mainstream curriculum. Our provision allows for specialist support rather than for extensive individual teaching.

This type of specialist support is partly financed from the school budget. The remaining costs are met by the additional payments from those receiving the individual/small group specialist tuition. Details of the cost of extra fees per term are given in the fee schedule.

Please note that the initial internal assessment is free of charge. Discussion of charges may be needed if a child requires considerable extra support. Should further assessment by an outside specialist be required, this can be arranged, and parents are billed directly by the outside specialist.

Updated Feb 2017
0.46 %
Students with a SEN EHCP UK mainstream school avg. 3%
20.32 %
Students with SEN support UK mainstream school avg. 14.1%

SEN conditons supported

Schools report the conditions they might be able to support. Please note, this may not be a complete list. Find out more.

Conditions (Might cover/be referred to as) Provision
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Social skills Yes
HI - Hearing Impairment Yes
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty Learning needs Yes
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment Sensory processing Yes
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic, Tics, Tourettes Yes
PD - Physical Disability
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health Anxiety, Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication Selective mutism Yes
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty Complex needs
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Auditory processing, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting Yes
VI - Visual Impairment Special facilities for Visually Impaired
Our data explained
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