tatler.com Tatler Schools Guide 2020 10 9MIDLANDS & EAST ANGLIAPREPPACKWOOD HAUGH
SCHOOL
Shrewsbury, Shropshire
SY4 1HX
Website packwood-haugh.co.uk
Head Robert Fox Pupils 207 day
and boarding: 142 boys, 65 girls
Faith C of E Ages 4–11 Term fees
Day: £6,324; boarding £8,083
With its 65-acre grounds, variety is
the spice of life at Packwood Haugh.
When they’re not off to Sorrento
for a classics trip or Amsterdam
for history, geography and art, the
students are turning their capable
hands to fencing, sailing, golf and
gardening before happily tucking in
to imaginatively themed meals.
They’re working hard too, of
course, with plenty of scholarships
to top schools (academic, sports,
drama, art and music); Shrews-
bury remains the most popular for
leavers. It’s early days for Head
Robert Fox, but the signs are look-
ing very good indeed – parents de-
scribe him as ‘extremely engaging,
passionate about the school and its
pupils, very positive and energetic’.S. ANSELM’S
Stanedge Road, Bakewell,
Derbyshire DE45 1DP
Website sanselms.co.uk
Head Lisa Donnelly (Acting Head)
Pupils 239 day and boarding:
132 boys, 107 girls Faith C of E
Ages 3–16 Term fees Day: £6,900;
boarding: £8,700
As a parent searching for the right
school, when you know, you know,
and S. Anselm’s – in the pictur-
esque Peak District – ‘just gives
you that great feeling that you can’t
quite articulate’, according to one
delighted mother. Music is alive
and kicking, with a huge number
of ensembles including an a capella
choir, a swing band and a string
group. Hockey is another forte,
with a full-sized Astro pitch and
coaching from former England
players. Small class sizes and excep-
tionally dedicated teachers mean
that children are nurtured as well
as challenged; on occasional Sun-
days, parents relish the opportuni-
ty to bring boarders back and stay
for supper with the whole school.‘Learn to Lead’ programme. Next
on the agenda are ‘Mastery
Mornings’, a series of Saturday
masterclasses in academic subjects,
music, art and drama, which will
no doubt continue the streak of
scholarships to top schools. A new
Transport to London scheme will
provide a convenient route to and
from the capital, perfect for city
dwellers seeking a proper country
prep education.WITHAM HALL
Witham on the Hill, Stamford,
Lincolnshire PE10 0JJ
Website withamhall.com Head
Charles Welch Pupils 246 day and
boarding: 140 boys, 106 girls
Faith C of E Ages 4–13 Term fees
Day: £5,550; boarding £7,485
Housed in handsome Georgian
buildings in a Lincolnshire village,
Witham Hall has a strong sense of
community. ‘Everybody knows
everybody!’ reports one happy in-
habitant, a sentiment shared by
popular Head Charles Welch, who
calls the school ‘one big family’,
underpinned by ‘the reassurance
of an enviable track record of suc-
cess in entry to leading senior
schools regionally and nationally’.
There’s no faulting his logic: an
average of 50 per cent gain top
scholarships. Alongside academia,
outstanding facilities (including a
new sports centre with a dance and
drama studio) cater to all interests.
The National Schools Shakespeare
Festival is a highlight; last year stu-
dents performed an abridged ver-
sion of The Merchant of Venice in a
professional theatre. (ST FAITH’S
Trumpington Road,
Cambridge CB2 8AG
Website stfaiths.co.uk
Head Nigel Helliwell Pupils 540
day: 306 boys, 234 girls Ages 4–13
Term fees £5,530
With around two to four appli-
cants per place, spaces fill up fast at
this Cambridge day school. Proud
of its academic prestige, it’s known
for its forward-thinking focus on
subjects like engineering and com-
puting. ‘We put a particular em-
phasis on the needs of the future
workforce,’ the school reports. It’s
famous for its healthy eating op-
tions: chocolate and avocado layer
cakes are de rigueur and the exten-
sive breakfast offering is ever-pop-
ular. Immediately recognisable in
striped blazers, the students feel
lucky to be there: ‘enjoy the time
you have at St Faith’s because it
doesn’t last forever,’ one pupil rath-
er poignantly muses. Around 50
per cent of leavers move to The
Leys, while others win scholarships
to The Perse and Uppingham.ST JOHN’S COLLEGE
SCHOOL
Grange Road, Cambridge
CB3 9AB
Website sjcs.co.uk Head Neil
Chippington Pupils 460 day:
260 boys, 200 girls Faith C of E
Ages 4–13 Term fees Day: £5,365;
boarding: £8,475
When asked what they would
change about St John’s, studentsORWELL PARKgave a simple answer: ‘nothing’. The
head, Neil Chippington (who one
parent praises as ‘diligent, caring
and always available’), describes the
school’s ideal pupil as ‘curious
about learning all there is to know
about the world around them,’
adding that they’re ‘looking for a
child who is going to make the
most of our breadth of education’.
It’s true, there’s no shortage of vari-
ety, with more than 80 extracur-
ricular clubs across sport, art and
languages, as well as creative writing,
cookery and gardening. On aver-
age, over the past six years, 46 per
cent of leavers have gained scholar-
ships, with the majority opting for
Cambridge day schools, as well as
local and national boarding schools.WINCHESTER
HOUSE
High Street, Brackley,
Northamptonshire NN13 7AZ
Website winchester-house.org
Head Emma Goldsmith Pupils
298 day and boarding: 179 boys,
119 girls Ages 3–13 Term fees
Day: £6,410; boarding: £8,110
Resplendent on the Oxfordshire,
Northamptonshire and Bucking-
hamshire borders, this beautiful
school is all about ‘developing cu-
rious minds’. Much effort is made
to spark the students’ curiosity,
from an ‘Ignite Lectures’ series for
the upper school (speakers have in-
cluded an Invictus athlete and a
criminal barrister) to a mini Olym-
pics run by Year 8s as part of theirPublics with preps: see page 56Bromsgrove School
Ellesmere College
Gresham’s
King’s High
Moreton Hall
Norwich School
Oundle
The Perse School
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