There are 520 members of the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools in the UK and Eire, with a combined total of around 110,000 pupils. In addition there are some 40 schools overseas in membership. IAPS schools include boys', girls' and co-educational; boarding, day, and mixed; urban and rural schools; individual and with senior schools attached. The size varies from over 400 to under 100, with the majority between 150 and 250, considerably smaller than their senior school counterparts. Most schools are charitable trusts, some limited companies, and a declining number are proprietorial. In choosing a Prep School above all visit a number before you finalise your choice.


Preparatory Schools generally take children from the age of seven to thirteen, unless they have a pre-prep section. They are normally prepared to accept entry at any age in between, with 7, 8, and 11 the most popular and convenient. They can offer full, weekly and, on occasions, flexible boarding, which allows parents rather more access to their children at weekends, something that can be appreciated by the dual career parent.


Entry is usually dependent on an interview with the Head, and a satisfactory report from the previous school. Some schools set verbal and written tests in English and Mathematics. Details on the entrance requirements can be obtained from the individual schools.


Almost all Preparatory Schools prepare pupils for the Common Entrance Examination, which is used for transfer to their own senior school or other senior schools at the ages of 11+, 12+, and 13+. The syllabuses are devised and monitored by an Examinations Board, which comprises of members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, the Girls' Schools Association, and IAPS. The papers are set by the board, but the papers are marked by the first choice school for which the pupil is entered.


Preparatory Schools also prepare pupils for Scholarship Examinations to senior schools. There are a very wide range of Entrance Scholarships, Musical, Choral, Art and Design and Technology, and other Educational Awards and Bursaries available, and details are summarised in the Independent Schools Yearbook, which can be found in most Public Libraries. Full details can be obtained from each individual school.

Summary

• A smaller individual Preparatory School is set up to prepare their students for entry into any one of a number of senior schools in totally different locations,
  
  

• It allows the parents to delay the choice of a senior school, and crucially to have more appropriate advice and evidence on the kind of senior school most suitable for their child.
  
  

• It also gives the parents more flexibility on where to live in relation to the postings they have at the time, and whether the child should board or be a day pupil.
  
  

• The individual Prep School, because of its relatively smaller size and setting, will tend to have a more family and friendly atmosphere than its larger school counterparts.
  
  

• There will also be more opportunities to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond, and to be prepared more effectively for the greater competition there is going to be eventually for places in teams, plays, orchestras, and choirs in a senior school
  
  

• Many of the essentials of an all round education are instilled here, and cannot be left until it is too late in adolescence.

THE PREPARATORY SCHOOL PARENT PARTNERSHIP
– Peter Kirk, Headmaster of Bilton Grange Prep School

I well remember our next door neighbours in Naval married quarters in Portsmouth conveying their relief and delight when they found the right prep school for their children, something that had been playing on their minds and creating considerable anxiety, given that their father was a Royal Navy seaman officer who would spend long periods of time away from home during the years ahead. They knew, quite rightly, that the right schools for their children would offer a firstrate education, would embrace a boarding community when the time came and would also, most importantly, understand the particular requirements of families where one or more parent is a serving member of the armed forces. As a former Royal Navy Officer, I think I understand something of the flexibility needed to respond to the needs of such families, particularly when their domestic plans change at short notice or when they are called to active service. Putting the children’s needs ahead of rigid school routine and convenience, is all important.


A good boarding school will always offer high standards of pastoral care but I wonder how many readily offer the flexibility that life in the armed forces can often demand? The partnership will work best when the bond between parents and Houseparents is strong enough to cope seamlessly with the constraints imposed by a way of life that often carries a much greater degree of uncertainty than most civilian occupations. The school will need to have an additional degree of flexibility and to be able to offer 360º, wraparound care when life becomes complicated.


Occasions, for example, when Houseparents represent parents at meetings with teachers which service parents cannot attend, perhaps swiftly e-mailing a summary to wherever parents find themselves. Or it might be going that extra mile, literally and figuratively, to make sure that boarders catch the right flight at leave-out weekends or the end of term, sorting out luggage and smoothing domestic routine, to allay the fears that parents will undoubtedly have. It has much to with mutual trust and good communication but can make life so much more straightforward when parents do not live near to the school.


At Bilton Grange, a flourishing full and weekly boarding community co-exists happily alongside day children who commute to school daily. I am aware that many members of the armed forces can expect to see active service more frequently in 2008 than when I was a member of the Royal Navy, some 25 years ago. However, having served during the Falklands campaign, I well remember the anxiety of families whose loved ones were at the centre of operations. A great deal of support can be required and that is something that service communities are very adept at. I would like to think that schools like Bilton Grange can respond in a similar fashion by supporting children in every possible way. Sometimes one has to be sensitive about newspaper headlines that children of prep school age might see in the morning, when a balanced explanation to children by supportive and caring boarding staff will offer reassurance and greater understanding. It goes without saying that there must be at least one adult to whom every child can turn when in need of comfort and advice and, again, there must not be any time of the week when this will be inconvenient to school staff.


Nor is it always the father who is involved in such operations. We have a girl boarder at Bilton Grange whose mother was posted to Afghanistan on active service some months ago, and whose father lives and works in Luxembourg. There has to be a special but discrete plan to deal with all issues when life is less than straightforward. However, this way of life leads to a great deal of mutual trust and respect and it is no wonder that so many former pupils stay in touch with us and regularly return to see their former teachers and Housestaff.


All this, of course, is in addition to the academic and many other benefits offered by a good boarding school, many of which I suspect those of us who live and work in such an environment take for granted. I remember receiving wise counsel as a parent some years ago when being urged by a family friend not to change our own children’s schools too often, as we maintained a mobile lifestyle as part of natural career development.

Continuity in education becomes ever more important as children leave the early learning years behind and 5 years’ in a good prep school, followed by a similar period in senior school, is a well tried and tested formula. And if you are wondering which are the best boarding schools in the UK, you ought to read the reports of the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate (ISI), which can be found at www.isi.net. Further to that, visit the school, talk to the people who devote their lives to the children in their care and intuition will tell you all you need to know.

Peter Kirk is Headmaster of Bilton Grange Prep School in Warwickshire. He was a Royal Navy Officer from 1977-1982 before becoming a schoolmaster. He taught at Welbeck College, Marlborough College and Glenalmond College before becoming Headmaster of Bramcote School in Scarborough. He moved to Bilton Grange in 2003