Ages 
‘Don’t grow up: it’s a trap!’ warns a poster on the common room wall, and the tweenage girls playing on the wooden fort certainly seem to have heeded that advice. With energetic new leadership and an injection of resources from the neighbours, Wellington College Prep seems to be flying – ‘The closer the connection with Wellington, the shinier it becomes,’ as one parent put it – but we found at its heart a relaxed, playful prep where children can get ready for big school whilst remaining little for that much longer.
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 387 ·
- Offers boarding
- Yes ·
- Religion
- None
- Fees
- Day £17,880 - £27,105; Boarding £37,725 pa
- Local authority
- Bracknell Forest Council
- Area guides
- Linked schools
Headteacher
Head
Mr Ed Venables
Since 2023, Ed Venables, previously director of admissions at Wellington College. Grew up in south- west London, boarding at Wellington before Oxford (classics) and 12 years in the City. What brought him back to the mothership? Was ‘in bed with flu’
Entrance
Most join in nursery and years 3, 5 and 7. Register early. Taster day for all, plus CAT test from year 4. Years 7 and 8 a popular bridge for Wellington offer-holders leaving primaries or preps at 11+. Changed its name from Eagle House School to
- Open days
- September
Exit
Some to local 11+ destinations (Lord Wandsworth, Reading Blue Coat, RGS Guildford); ‘I need to give parents the best advice,’ says head, ‘and I mustn’t be swayed to keep them in year 7 and 8.’ Majority stay until 13+, when at least half skip up the
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Learning support & SEN
Boarders
Almost 70 beds across ten dormitories. Just over 50 flexis at the time of our visit with a big handful of weeklies and a few full boarders providing consistency in the boarding house. Flexis share dorms with weeklies, so that it’s not just a
Pupils
Money matters
Fees not quite top of the market. Wellington College Prince Albert Foundation funds life-changing bursary places from year 7 for those going on to Wellington; means-tested support also available for others joining in years 7 and 8.
- Fee information
- Day £17,880 - £27,105; Boarding £37,725 pa
Our view
We saw innovative teaching, planned with actual children in mind: movement breaks aplenty and ‘practical maths’ on a Friday afternoon, ‘with card games and treasure hunts,’ pupils explain. Year 5s were playing scattergories with parts of speech; word
The last word
‘Don’t grow up: it’s a trap!’ warns a poster on the common room wall, and the tweenage girls playing on the wooden fort certainly seem to have heeded that advice. With energetic new leadership and an injection of resources from the neighbours,
