WHAT? WHERE?

Sherborne House School is a small co-ed day school tucked away in a largely residential area just outside of Chandlers Ford. The school sits in four acres of space, surrounded by woodland, in the quiet village of Hiltingbury and caters for 224 pupils between the ages of 6 months and 11 years, with average class sizes of just twelve.

Originally founded as an all-girls school by Mrs. Eva Wise, Sherborne House is named after the Dorset town she hailed from. Today, the buildings are flanked around the central playground, a mix of original buildings from when the school opened in 1933, along with newer wooden-clad classrooms, a sports hall and nursery.

The majority of Sherborne House pupils come from the immediate surrounding area, with others commuting from the New Forest, Winchester and Romsey. Close to the M3 and M27 motorways, because of its location near to the busy city of Southampton it’s pretty ideal for commuting parents, as well as those who live around the area.

FACILITIES

Sherbourne House School hall gym class sports

While Sherborne House School doesn’t have its own pool or acres upon acres of playing fields like other settings, it does have some very nice facilities, including the gorgeous little library in the main building.

There’s dedicated music and drama room and two instrumental practice rooms too. Drama is real focus for the school and it’s very popular, with most current Year 4 – 6 pupils taking LAMDA exams (72%). And they’re pretty good at it too – in 2021, Sherborne House had a 100% pass rate, with 60% earning distinctions.

Sherborne House School is also very musical, fielding an orchestra, plus a chamber choir and various musical ensembles. Instruments of all types are offered and 73% of children from Year 3 upwards have individual music lessons, from string and woodwind to brass, keyboard and electric guitar. And in recent years, pupils have had a 100% pass rate in ABRSM, Trinity and Rock School exams, with 75% achieving merit or above.

With a site of this acreage sports spaces are limited, but the multi-purpose sports hall with sprung floor and gymnastics cage is impressive and used for assemblies, lessons and concerts, as well as sports. Outdoors, there are also football pitches, cricket nets, a short athletics track and three short tennis courts.

Making sure pupils don’t miss out, Sherborne House also makes use of some of the brilliant external facilities in the area, like Trojans Rugby, Southampton Sports Centre and Romsey Rapids for swimming. And while it’s far from a heavyweight in the competitive independent prep sports scene, the school has fielded two cup-winning ISI regional U11 netball teams in recent years, who were also twice runners-up in the National Competition.

Opened in autumn 2023, there’s much excitement about the new wellbeing garden at Sherborne House, a multi-use space the children can use for lessons and playtime with a pond, outdoor classroom, beds for planting and sensory herbs and plants.

LITTLIES

Sherborne House School nursery Chandlers Ford Hampshire

Fully renovated in 2020, the nursery takes littlies aged 6 months to 3 years. It’s divided into three different rooms with close, nurturing attention paid to the small classes and weekly specialist French, music and P.E. lessons for those age two upwards. Despite being located in a separate building, the nursery feels very much part of the school.

Children are graduated gently into reception with part then full uniform in pre-reception, shared playtimes with reception, main school assemblies and plenty of opportunities to see older siblings.

Unusually, Sherborne House youngsters are also taught philosophy – including being introduced to the likes of Socrates. It’s all done in a very thoughtful, age appropriate way and delivered by the rather lovely Mr. Thom, who’s clearly very popular with the children.

New workshops also give the option for parents to find out more about learning through play and other communication pointers.

ACADEMICS

For a non-selective, the academics at Sherborne House School are strong. Pupils head off to a mixture of state, grammar and other independent settings and each child is given a good head start towards their next step – recent benchmarking data showed 91% reached age-related expectations and above in combined reading, writing and mathematics attainment compared with 57.3% nationally and 65% in the local authority area.

Pupils have a wide choice of options and a brilliant success rate getting into their chosen schools, supported all the way by the school on a very individual level. The majority go on to nearby independents Embley, King Edward VI School and The Gregg School. Well-rated local Academy, Thornden School, is also a popular choice, along with grammar schools in nearby Salisbury.

In 2023, an impressive 19 Sherborne House pupils achieved academic, sport, performing arts and music scholarships.

PASTORAL CARE

Sherborne House School Hampshire best schools

Small class sizes and an active pupil voice via the School Council make this a very close knit school. Teachers provide day-to-day pastoral care supported with emotional literacy support where needed from two trained ELSAs and there’s a dedicated wellbeing room open to whoever needs it. Staff say they have seen raised levels of anxiety among pupils post-lockdown, something they’ve worked hard to deal with both individually with pupils and in confidence-building lessons and activities.

THE HEAD

Cordelia Cripps Head Teacher Sherborne House School Hampshire

Promoted in September 2023, Cordelia Cripps is new to the role of Head Teacher but not Sherborne House, having already been Deputy Head for three years and holding other senior posts here before that.

With the advantage of not needing to find her feet, she has already seen through the completion of a new wellbeing garden and outdoor classroom and the appointment of a new Forest School and Bushcraft Teacher.

Friendly and proud of the school, Cripps’ appointment as Head brings a continuity that parents and children will no doubt appreciate. Moving forward, she’s tight-lipped about any further major investments but has confirmed that there’s plenty of community projects and parent workshops in the pipeline.

QUIRKS

Sherborne House School Mr. Thom metacognition podcast

There’s a big emphasis on ‘metacognition’ (cue confused faces) in pretty much all aspects of academic learning and co-curricular at Sherborne House.

The school has a whole podcast on it but, put simply, it’s all about encouraging kids to collaborate, take chances, become independent thinkers and have a say. As part of this, there’s a creative writing ‘provocation’ on the first of each month – previously involving a real reindeer, exploding bombs and Chinese New Year gift envelopes.

Mobile phones aren’t permitted in school for any pupils. But the school is very pro-technology, with an active Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. When I visit, they’re using laptops to send programmable spheres whizzing around the hall. The school drone is also well used too, with one enterprising pupil using it to pinpoint the location of build-up of leaves causing a leaky roof (1,000 House Points).

WRAP AROUND CARE

The school has an early morning breakfast club (7.30 – 8.30 am) and an after-school club with craft activities or a chance to play on the playground equipment. After-school interest clubs including team sports and specialist lessons in judo, gymnastics and dance are well subscribed. There’s also a quiet homework area set aside from 4 – 5pm for children in Years 3 – 6.

ISI REPORT

The latest ISI Report was a full statutory inspection in June 2021. It ranked the quality of pupils’ academic and personal development as excellent. In 2022, Sherborne House nursery was rated ‘Good’ following its first Oftsed inspection.

TRANSPORT

Most children are dropped off and collected by parents in the car. Cars aren’t permitted on site but as the school is located in a quiet residential area, finding a spot nearby to park-up walk from isn’t usually a problem.

FEES

Good value. Fees are £3,381 per term for reception up to Year 3 and £3,932 per term for Years 3 – 6, slightly lower than other independent prep schools in the area.

WORD ON THE GROUND

The Sherborne House School pupils I talk to are enthusiastic, with special mentions for things like musical theatre, the school council, games clubs and lunchtime puds. Parents point to the nurturing environment, good academics and lower than average fees for the area.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Kids who need a smaller pond and a warm and enriching environment. The close-knit setting is perfect for the shy types and those who may struggle in a super-competitive arena. Smaller class sizes mean plenty of individual attention and the chance for children not being challenged academically in their existing schools to shine.

Not for: If you want a school with a huge roll call of facilities, you won’t find it here.

Dare to disagree? Don’t take my word for it! Contact the Registrar on 023 80 252440 or email info@sherbornehouse.co.uk to arrange a visit. The next open event is on Saturday 5 October 2024.

Sherborne House School, 39 Lakewood Road, Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, SO53 1EU. Tel. 023 8025 2440.

Sherborne House School, Chandlers Ford

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