WHAT, WHERE?

King’s College Prep School (formerly King’s Hall School), is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged from 2 to 13 years old, located on a gorgeous 50-acre site in Cheddon Fitzpaine, in the foothills of the Quantocks, just a mile or so outside the county town of Taunton. Whilst the Prep has all the – excellent – facilities it needs to be completely self-contained, it’s very much part of King’s College over in Taunton. The vast majority of the Prep pupils go onto the College.

King’s College (or King Alfred’s School as it was originally known) was founded in 1880 by a Church of England priest called Nathaniel Woodard, initially to provide middle class boys with an education based on ‘sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith’. In 1952, a separate junior school was established at Pyrland Hall, a Georgian mansion in Cheddon Fitzpaine, which later merged with the pre-school King’s House to become the co-ed prep, King’s Hall School. The school was renamed King’s College Prep School in 2023.

Today, King’s College is part of Woodard Schools, the largest group of independent Church of England schools in England and Wales, and although there’s an underlying Christian ethos (obvs), the school welcomes pupils of all faiths or none.

Currently there are about 300 pupils on the roll.

FACILITIES

The Georgian mansion sits at end of a long and sweeping drive with commanding views across lush green lawns which are used for cricket and athletics in the summer; rugby in the winter. This grand – but unstuffy – building houses the Head’s office and admin on the ground floor, the Woodard Room (used for all sorts of events), the school’s main library (where pupils gather for book breakfasts, author visits and more), with boys’ boarding dorms above.

Maths and geography take place in the separate West Wing (with girls’ boarding above).

The newish, large, airy and well-equipped science labs are rather swanky. On our visit the teacher was doing something dramatic with a long flame out of a Bunsen burner. Looking after the school tortoise (two large and healthy looking specimens) has become part of the science and technology curriculum.

There are two computer suites but tech doesn’t dominate here; pupils use it as tools as and when, within the wider curriculum. There are plans afoot for Year 6 pupils and beyond to each have a device for school work.

Portacabins have been transformed by wooden cladding to create rather cool-looking language labs. Modern languages may have fallen out of fashion in some schools but not here, where pupils learn French (school trips to the Alps améliorera les accents) and then Spanish, as well as Latin for some later on.

The light-filled art room is a light-filled space where pupils can learn drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, graphic design, as well as work on digital and computer-manipulated projects. Art history for context, trips out and artists in, complete the picture.

Design tech is impressively kitted out with all the laser cutters, CAD and 3D printers you can shake a stick at.

It’s a musical school, with the opportunity to learn a variety of instruments and perform from a young age, with assorted ensembles, orchestras and plenty of choirs (they love singing here). To give everyone a flavour of strings, brass and woodwind, in music lessons all Year 2 pupils learn the violin, Year 3 the trumpet and Year 4 the saxophone; individual lessons are available from Reception onwards. Pupils also learn how to use dedicated music software to make music (this is the 21st century, you know).

The fully-equipped (computerised lighting systems, radio mics and all) theatre hosts some stonking shows, including a Year 8 production of Moana, Year 6’s show of extracts from Roald Dahl’s The Witches, The Twits Fantastic Mr Fox and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with pupils involved both on stage and behind the scenes. The Rose Garden, in the heart of the school, is a lovely setting for smaller al fresco performances, like a Year 4 production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

Cookery School, in the cheerful, colourful, eight-station kitchen, is on the design tech curriculum for all Prep pupils as well as on the menu on Saturday mornings.

The school’s surrounded by green space – lawns and playing fields to the front, astros to the side (with a little cafe open for match day teas and parents’ coffee mornings) and vast playing fields behind the school – with the latter stretching as far as the eye can see, with the glorious Somerset countryside and historic Hestercombe House & Gardens on the hillside beyond. There’s also a state-of-the-art all weather pitch, four tennis courts, six Astro tennis courts and three netball courts; in summer, an athletics track, long jump, high jump and throwing areas. Did we mention it was a sporty school? A huge sports hall does what it says on the tin. Pupils love the heated outdoor swimming pool, which is used as often as possible throughout the year. In winter, they can, very handily, zip up to use the College’s indoor pool – and have a game of squash while they’re at it.

With all this space – fields and woodlands – you won’t be surprised that Outdoor Education (not merely ‘forest school’) is an important part of everyday life, with Little Woods for the younger children and the wilder Big Woods with a impressive wooden roundhouse, fire pits and all, for the older ones.

PRE- PREP & NURSERY

The self-contained Pre-Prep and the Pelican Nursery includes a cluster of log cabins – very Little House on the Prairie – with brightly decorated classrooms, library, computer suite, dedicated play areas and Little Woods forest area complete with impressive mud kitchen, animals (not just feeding the guinea pigs and rabbits but collecting eggs from their own chickens), and a hand-built cob pizza oven. As much of the curriculum as possible is delivered in the open air – lucky kids!

Using the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, the focus is on communication and language, physical development and PHSE development; literacy, maths, understanding the world and expressive arts and design with an emphasis on play, with school days gradually becoming more structured. Classes range from 10 to 20 pupils. A Skills Development teacher is on hand to provide extra support to any pupil.

SPORTS

The school excels in cricket, with excellent facilities, training programmes and coaching for both boys and girls (no rounders here except in the Pre-Prep) and with an emphasis on respect – for opponents, captain and teammates, umpires and for the game’s traditional values. Teams play national and international fixtures (previous tours have included Zimbabwe and South Africa). No wonder over 20 pupils have been selected to play for Somerset’s junior team.

Also on the sporting calendar: hockey, netball, rugby (girls can play Saturday mornings), athletics, tennis, football (though there’s no additional coaching like in rugby and cricket), cross country, swimming and squash. The school tends to excel across the board, with squash national champions, world medallists for biathle (a run-swim combo) and tennis county champions as well as the team successes – but sport’s not just for the elites; everyone has a go, represents the school and is supported at the appropriate level.

ACADEMICS

Describing themselves as ‘gently selective’ from Year 5, pupils study the usual academic subjects plus music, art, drama, design tech, sport and games. In Years 7 & 8, the top set also take Latin. Classes range from 12 to 20 pupils, and generally increase in size as children get older. Pupils work towards the ‘tough but attainable’ Common Entrance, not so much to ensure places at a top independent senior school but for academic ambition and as a framework for learning, to create more able, independent learners and as a good foundation for GCSEs. Senior schools tend to offer places before Year 8 but if pupils do choose to move onto the likes of Eton, Harrow or Cheltenham Ladies, they’ll need that CE under their belts. Learning Strategies offers specialist teaching and learning programmes to pupils with dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, as well as extra tuition for pupils taking scholarship exams.

PASTORAL CARE

Although there are way more day pupils than boarders, the school’s strong boarding school ethos underpins its pastoral care, with tutors and tutor groups and a traditional house system with house parents for boarders, all adding up to creating an environment where each child is known and understood. Pupils describe the staff as really kind and supportive and say that they feel like they can talk to any member of staff if they’ve had an argument, are worried about something, or just feel sad. As a Woodard School, there’s an underlying Christian ethos, with traditional values, positive outlook and sense of responsibility towards each other. In Year 7, children can volunteer to become Pelican Pals to some of the younger ones. Pupils have a voice on the Pupil Council; head boys and head girls are selected each term. There are golden rules reflecting the core values of honesty, inclusion, self respect and consideration for others.

HEAD TEACHER

The very affable Justin Chippendale – previously Deputy Head at Chafyn Grove in Salisbury, Housemaster at the Dragon School in Oxford, graduate of Oxford Brookes University and an Old Aluredian (former old boy at King’s College Taunton) – has been in the hot seat since 2009.

kings college prep headmaster justin chippendale

He describes the school as a joyful, nurturing place focused on ‘building’ people, rather than churning out pupils with top marks in the Common Entrance (though they don’t do badly on that score either). His aim is for pupils to feel empowered and liberated; celebrate strengths and accept foibles; be ambitious yet unafraid to fail or fear the judgment of others, have a strong sense of self and be at peace with themselves. It’s important to not only work hard in lessons, he says, but to give it your all when you’re having fun; extolling pupils to ‘breathe it [the King’s Prep culture] in and sweat it out’. Collaboration is a big thing, with school, parents and the pupils working together in partnership; it’s a three-way relationship based on trust. Kindness and respect is important too.

All the pupils I met were down-to-earth, enthusiastic, articulate, polite – and super proud of their school – just like the Head.

REPORTS

The latest reports from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), equivalent to Ofsted in the state sector, judged the Prep to be ‘Excellent’ in both pupils’ achievement and personal development. You can read more here.

BOARDING

Pupils can board from Year 3, and there are currently around 30 pupils boarding full time in one boarding house, divided into three different areas around the school – for senior boys, junior boys and girls – each with nice, big happy dorms and cosy common rooms with TVs, games and squashy sofas. Snoops, everyone’s favourite cockapoo, makes an appearance in all. There are a number of flexi boarders (maximum of five nights between Sunday and Saturday) and pupils who board for up to three individual nights a week. Unlike many schools, flexi boarders have their own designated bed, integrated amongst the ‘full’ boarders, so it feels like a home-from-home, and they get to bond with their dorm buddies. Day pupils are invited to sleep over a few times a year – like on a film night – sounds like a great way of bringing everyone together. Everyone’s kept busy at weekends with lots of activities and outings: to the beach, go-karting, pumpkin carving, paddleboarding, Flip Out trampolining and the like.

QUIRKS & BOASTY BITS

Year 8 have gained more than 200 senior school scholarships over the past six years.

Sports awards aplenty, including U11, U12, and both boys and girls U13s county cricket champions 2022; hockey U12 regional champions 2022. . Football National IAPS semi-finalists.

England cricketers Jos Buttler OBE and James Rew are just two of the former pupils who’ve gone on to play professionally.

Explorers The Turner Twins say their formative years here laid the foundations for their adventurousness.

Juno Temple cut her teeth in various drama productions. They have significant success in local drama and music festivals.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Pre-Prep and Nursery days run from 8.30am–3.30pm but you can drop off at 8am and they can stay for Hobbies (clubs) until 4.30 or for Tea Time Club until 6pm during term time; Woodlands Adventures activity club takes over during the hols.

Older day pupils can stay at school for prep and supper (very handy) and join in with the Saturday morning activities programme, if they wish. School clubs at lunch times and after school are called ‘Hobbies’ and include activities like fencing, abseiling, cookery, forensic science and dry slope skiing – even Snoops, the school dog, has his own club.

TRANSPORT

A fleet of College buses link to points north, south, east and west as well as between the Prep and the College.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

No mobiles allowed during the school day; boarders are allowed limited use their phones at suitable times after school.

FEES

2023/24 fees per term: Nursery (2-4 years), £68 per day, £39.80 per half day; Reception (4-5 years), £3,200; Years 1 & 2, £3,330; Years 3 & 4, £4,015 day pupils/£7,750 full boarding (UK); Years 5 & 6, £5,190 day pupils/£8,225 full boarding (UK); Years 7 & 8, £6,800 day pupils/£9,995 full boarding (UK). Flexi boarding (max 5 nights), £950; single night £55.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents describe the school as vibrant, inclusive, nurturing, values-based, happy and fun. Children are really ‘seen’ as individuals. One parent of four, each with very different characters, interests and abilities, said it has been the perfect fit for all of them. Children feel challenged, supported and loved; never bored. Staff – a good mix of young and older generation – are seen as caring and approachable by pupils and parents alike. They stimulate and encourage each child to do their best, building confidence and encouraging them to take on responsibilities from an early age but aren’t pushy with it. They do a great job of ensuring new pupils feel at home. Also coming in for special praise: the facilities, high standard of teaching, and the wide range of sports, play time and extra-curricular activities.

I asked a group of pupils from across the age range what they liked most about the school and back came ‘cricket’, ‘music’, ‘school trips’, ‘the woods’, ‘Latin’ … and ‘lunch breaks’! It seems the school really does have something for everyone.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Everyone. This is a happy, nurturing school with a wide range of opportunities there for the taking, whatever your child’s interests and abilities (though if sport’s their thing, they’ll be in seventh heaven). The school boasts both academic and sporting success without being a hot house or elitist. If you’re looking for continuity, the combo of a rural prep, where kids can gambol in the countryside, with a senior school in a big green space in the county town is a winning one.

Not for: Hmmm. It’s hard to think of a child who wouldn’t flourish here.

Don’t take our word for it: Check the school out for yourself. Call 01823 328204 to arrange a personal tour or taster day or visit the school on one of its open days in spring and autumn. To reserve your place on the next one and get a prospectus, click here.

King’s College Prep School, Kingston Road, Taunton, Somerset TA2 8AA
Tel. 01823 285920.

King’s College Prep School, Taunton

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