Early opportunities - preparatory school

James Barnes discusses the advantages of the free-standing preparatory school

The differences between junior schools and preparatory schools are interesting. I could be said to be discussing this from a somewhat individual position as Lambrook Haileybury, near Ascot in Berkshire, stands alone yet also united. Historically Lambrook School has been open since 1860 and includes amongst its past pupils Prince Christian Victor, one of Queen Victoria’s many grandchildren. Haileybury Prep in Windsor, on the other hand, began life as the Imperial Services College Junior School in 1922 and morphed into Haileybury Junior School. The two operated happily in separation until the mid 1990s when a series of chance coincidences led to the opportunity for the two schools to merge under the overall umbrella of Haileybury, the coeducational senior school which occupies a magnificent 500-acre site near Hertford. The newly established Lambrook Haileybury opened in 1997 as an entity in its own right, albeit with links to Haileybury.

Having previously run two completely free-standing preparatory schools, I find there are some interesting comparisons to be made between them, Lambrook Haileybury and a junior school which is closely linked to its parent senior school. In terms of day-to-day operation, an unencumbered prepartory school stands or falls on its success as a distinctive independent venture. It has neither the name nor muscle of a senior partner. Its governance is independent and, perhaps as a result of that, many preparatory school governing boards are somewhat parochial. There is little reason for persons other than past or present parents to be involved in the life of the majority of preparatory schools: Senior schools throw a wider and more impressive net and it is a moot point whether the best interests of many smaller preparatory schools are well served by the expertise of their governors. On the flip side, they are fiercely independent and don’t suffer from the attentions of a Board that may not understand them. Stories abound of junior schools governed by senior schools that only have an interest in their surplus and are happy to see success just so long as they get a fiscal slice of it! At Lambrook Haileybury, we have a stand-alone governing body, but we report to the Haileybury Board. They have an interest in how prudently we are operating, but do not meddle in the day-to-day affairs of the school.

Of course, all of the above is incidental to the primary purpose of preparatory schools – the preparation of their pupils for senior school and beyond. If preparatory schools educate their pupils effectively up to the age of 13, the young adults have every chance of not only making the most of the challenges and opportunities ahead of them at senior school, but, critically, becoming the balanced and fulfilled adults that must be our aim for them. The freedom of preparatory schools is to advise and encourage parents towards the schools best suited to the needs and aspirations of their children – not, incidentally, the aspirations and social desires of their parents! Junior schools, to my mind, are in a less enviable position, being effectively feeder schools to their senior partners. The freedom of choice often doesn’t exist and that has to be a consideration for parents as they are committing to an ethos and style of education for possibly 14 years at a time when they have no idea of the potential strengths and weaknesses of their children. Preparatory schools are selected by parents on their merits for specific reasons, are completely focused on their age range, and able to guide and nurture precisely because of that. Junior schools, however good, represent the ideals of their senior schools.

By far the most important aspect of all this, however, is the age of transfer. Junior schools increasingly transfer to senior schools at 11 and one has to ask oneself what is preferable: 11-year-olds thrust amongst 17-year-olds, or preserving childhood with the oldest pupils being 13? The difference in maturity and capability between 11 and 13 is astounding. The natural pace of academic life which builds through 13+ Common Entrance exams, on to GCSE options, through GCSEs and through AS (a damnable creation, although that is nothing to do with this piece!) and A levels has a natural flow of academic demand and progress. Compare this with a narrower hurdle of non-specific type at 11, followed by three potentially unchallenging years without specific targets before GCSE courses kick in, and the danger of under-achievement is clear. Moreover, the pressure to hit targets at 11 undermines the very reason behind so much that is good in preparatory schools – breadth in all its guises – academic, cultural and sporting. The junior school has to fight hard to keep breadth to the forefront; either that or its entry exams are paper tigers.

In a market increasingly dominated by day places over boarding, geographical constraints often mean that choosing a single school for the whole educational process is preferable and there is also the benefit of a virtually assured place at senior school. For some families, a single continuous ‘flow through’ education does have an appeal and many parents rate that benefit as paramount. The demands of the family are increasingly important, so it is an excellent thing that a range of genuine options exists for parents and children. As long as decisions are made in the best interests of a balanced education, then junior schools and free-standing preparatory schools thriving on their independence can happily co-exist and provide choice and excellence in equal measure. Personally, I believe the benefits of free-standing preparatory schools educating pupils up to the age of 13 outweigh those of the seamless transition guaranteed by the junior school – but then the joy of independent education is having room for both!

James Barnes is Headmaster of Lambrook Haileybury and was previously Headmaster of Perrott Hill School, Somerset, and Chafyn Grove School in Salisbury.

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