WHAT? WHERE?

Cranleigh Prep School is a day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 7 to 13 years (Year 3 to Year 8). It sits on a stunning 40-acre site with a dazzling array of facilities and also makes use of the wider 240-acre site that is Cranleigh School across the road.

The school is gaining a strong reputation for its excellent all-rounder offering, and with good reason, academics are impressive, music and art are strong, and there’s a big focus on sport. And then there’s the extra-curricular programme – if there’s an activity, hobby or sport you can think of, it’s probably on offer here.

The school has a long history – officially opening on the existing site in 1913. And while it’s rooted in tradition, it’s anything but old-fashioned and stuffy with a busy, vibrant and innovative feel. There’s lots going on, but not in an intense all-consuming sort of way – it’s more relaxed than that.

There are 320 pupils with a pretty even mix of boy to girls. Many of the pupils are from local families – and there’s a strong community feel – but the school is also gaining in popularity with Londoners and a growing contingent come from south-west London each week (there’s a weekly bus service).

The school fosters a happy and supportive atmosphere with the strong belief that happy and contented children are the key to a positive learning environment.

FACILITIES

Impressive doesn’t even come close. Let’s start with the grounds – 40 acres in total all made up of nine grass rugby / football pitches, four cricket squares, three tennis courts, two netball courts, a five-a-side football pitch, a full-size astro hockey pitch, wooded areas and vast playgrounds. Phew! It’s a lot – and you can’t fail to be dazzled.

There’s also everything else you’d expect from a school of this size and calibre: library, fully equipped science labs, food technology kitchens, a DT centre, three beautiful art studios, plus a separate dining hall and a multi purpose sports hall.

And then, as if that’s not enough, Cranleigh Prep also makes regular use of the facilities at the impressive 240-acre Cranleigh School across the road, which includes a nine-hole golf course, equestrian centre and stables, climbing wall, 25-metre indoor swimming pool, Fives courts, grass pitches and netball courts.

SPORT

Pupils playing hockey at Cranleigh Prep School, Surrey

They take sport seriously at Cranleigh – aiming to make it part of every pupil’s daily routine. Each pupil has three or four games sessions a week, and plays fixtures once or twice a week against a network of local and regional schools – football, rugby, hockey and cricket for boys, and hockey, netball and cricket for girls. Up to 34 teams, including A, B, C, D and even E and F teams, play on any one afternoon – which indicates a true sport-for-all philosophy. In the younger years, each pupil will also have swimming lessons, and there’s a wide range of other sports on offer ranging from athletics, judo and golf to horse riding, tennis and skiing.

THE ARTS

Visual and performing arts are highly valued at Cranleigh Prep, and the Headmaster Neil Brooks has worked hard since his arrival in 2018 to bring it up to the same impressive standard as the school’s sporting achievements.

The art studio has designated areas for drawing and painting, print-making, sculpture, ceramics and textiles, and the pupils’ artwork is on display throughout the school, as well as in dedicated gallery spaces.

The school has taken an innovative approach to music though Cranleigh Music 7-18, which links the prep school’s music programme with that of the senior school, creating the opportunity for shared teaching and use of performance spaces. More than 50 visiting music teachers deliver individual lessons to almost 200 pupils, which is around 60% of all pupils. That’s a big number for a prep school. There are various musical ensembles, bands, orchestras and choirs including a chamber choir and chapel choir.

Dance and Drama are offered as part of the curriculum in the lower years (Years 3 and 4), and there are workshops and optional additional classes in ballet, tap and modern dance, plus the opportunity to participate in small and fully-staged productions, musicals, concerts and other events throughout the year. Informal concerts are held in the school chapel every week.

ACADEMICS

Pupils in the library at Cranleigh Prep School, Surrey

The school is made up of the Lower School, Middle School and Upper School. The Lower School (Years 3 and 4) housed in the Wheeler and Roulston buildings where children are taught by their form tutors with specialist teachers for Art, Science, Music, Dance, French, Games and PE. There are two forms in Year 3 and three forms in Year 4. Class sizes are kept to around 16 pupils.

Going up into the Middle School, children start to gain more independence and have specialist subject teaching for Science, History, Geography, Religion and Philosophy. From Year 5, children are taught according to sets in Maths, French, Science and English.

In the Upper School (Years 7 and 8) children are in sets for each subject and taught by specialist staff. For the most able students, there’s also a scholars’ set for boys and girls who may be entered for academic scholarships at their prospective senior schools.

NEXT SCHOOLS

As you’d expect, the Cranleigh Prep has strong links to Cranleigh School, but a place there isn’t guaranteed. The school prides itself on helping steer children to the most suitable senior school for them, and while the majority (about 80 per cent) do end up across the road – leavers have also gone on to senior schools such as Wellington College, Charterhouse, Tonbridge, Brighton College, Reigate Grammar, Prior’s Field, King Edward’s Witley, RGS Guildford, Seaford College, Reed’s School, Epsom College and St John’s Leatherhead.

PASTORAL CARE

The attitude at Cranleigh Prep is that children who feel safe, secure and happy will learn and as such the wellbeing of each child is taken very seriously (as you’d expect). An online system is used to track each child’s emotional and social wellbeing as well as their academic progress, which enables the school to look at the whole picture and keep the dots connected across all aspects of each pupil. There’s also a close connection with parents, and the school operates an open-door policy which means parents are welcome to talk to staff about any concerns.

All members of take an active role in monitoring the children’s wellbeing, but in reality the form tutor will most likely be the first stop if there’s a problem. The boarding matrons also have a big role to play, and there are also doctors, nurses and counsellors available, plus Cranleigh Prep shares a 24-hour medical centre with the senior school, run by a team of Registered Nurses with qualifications in paediatric minor injuries.

There are Anti-bullying Ambassadors as well as an Eco Council, Charity Council, Food Council, year group Prefects and a Head Boy and Head Girl. There is a great emphasis on the importance of being kind and inclusive people.

BOARDING

The Chapel at Cranleigh Prep School, Surrey

About 70 pupils board at Cranleigh Prep, as either weekly boarders or as flexi boarders for a minimum of two nights a week. The boarding houses are across two floors – one each for boys and girls – of the main school building, called School House, and there’s a warm home-from-home vibe going on. Bedrooms have from three to eight beds, and all boarders are allocated their own bed (no hot-bedding here) which means they can make the space their own with pictures, bunting and other personal bits and pieces.

There are separate common rooms for the girls and the boys – comfy spaces with big squishy sofas and oversized floor cushions – plus a games room that includes table foosball and an arcade machine loaded with games from the Eighties and Nineties which is hugely popular (and not only with the children). After supper, the boarders also make use of The Hub, a multi-use space, where activities are held for the boarding students. There are also kitchens for evening snacks, and large bowls of fruit are readily available – and quite often emptied – by the children.

Children can board from age 7 upward, although in reality most are in Years 6, 7 and 8. The school has made a real effort to make the boarding houses feel like a home-from-home: one night a week the boarders get to choose what they’ll be having for dinner, just as they might get a say at home, and a close eye is kept on all pupils to make sure their prep is up to date, as parents would do at home.

Fun fact: the Head of Boarding and one of the three house parents, Toby Batchelor, was once a pupil and a boarder at Cranleigh Prep – days he looks back on with fondness.

THE HEAD

Neil Brooks, head master at Cranleigh Prep School, Surrey

Neil Brooks is an experienced head. He arrived at Cranleigh Prep in 2018, having been previously the Principal at Fulham Prep School and Cothill House in Abingdon. He’s been in education for more than 20 years, and before that was an officer in the British Army. He has two children, both boys, who are aged in their 20s, and lives on the school site with his wife, Tracy.

Warm and charismatic, he’s big on outdoor education and a strong believer in instilling a sense of responsibility, understanding, tolerance and thoughtfulness into his charges. He’s well aware that many of these kids are likely to go onto positions in later life as leaders, and he’s keen for them to understand they have a responsibility to their community, the environment and wider world around them – a strong sense of service, if you will.

Until recently, he was still teaching humanities subjects (geography, history, philosophy, religion), in addition to his headship role – which says a lot about him. He’s hands-on and genuinely interested in every child.

The next step for Cranleigh Prep is a review of the curriculum to tailor it more effectively to a future that includes great advances in tech and artificial intelligence. He’s keen to develop in children the so-called softer skills like collaboration, leadership, communication and problem solving. He says that while it’s important children have a good foundation of general knowledge, they also need to learn how to gather information, make decisions, and apply those actions. This, he says, comes by learning to ask why. Things have already started to move in this direction – in science, for instance, learning has become more skills-based – but over the next two or three years a more bespoke and unique curriculum will be developed. Watch this space!

WRAP AROUND CARE

The school day starts with registration at 8am, but children can be dropped off from 7.30am. The school day ends at 4.45pm – that’s when the after-school activities kick in and children are encouraged to make the most of the activities on offer. And there are a lot – from art club to chess, mindfulness and stone masonry, sporting clubs

ISI REPORT

Cranleigh Prep was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in November 2022 – you can read the full report here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

There’s a no-phones policy at school. Boarders who may want to have a mobile phone so they can communicate with parents are allowed to have their phone when travelling to and from school, but must hand it in to staff when they’re at school. The same rule applies to day pupils who have mobile devices.

TRANSPORT

School buses come in from Wimbledon and Parsons Green on a Monday morning and Friday after school – a service well-used by boarders.

FEES

The annual fees for day pupils in Year 3 and 4 is £19,110 and for Years 5 to 8 it’s £24,795. Boarding is £29,940 a year for those in Years 5 to 8. There are attractive discounts for siblings – 20% for a third sibling and 30% for subsequent siblings attending either Cranleigh Prep or Cranleigh School.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents like the sporty element of the school, and the fact that the education is well-rounded with solid academics and strong music and art. The school is also welcoming and friendly, with a strong community spirit, which families also see as a strong point.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Cranleigh Prep is a buzzy school with a lot going on so and children who love to get involved will fit in well. The school is also good at pushing it’s more able pupils, but without creating a hot-house environment. It’s all about supporting and nurturing pupils to achieve their best.

Not for: If you’re child is a super-shy wallflower, they may feel Cranleigh Prep is too much. There’s an expectation that kids will have a go and make the most of the vast range of activities on offer.

Dare to disagree? Cranleigh Prep is holding an open morning on Sat 5 Oct. Book here.

Cranleigh Prep School, Horseshoe Lane, Cranleigh, GU6 8QH. Tel: 01483 542058. cranprep.org

Cranleigh Prep School, Cranleigh

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