WHAT? WHERE?

Tucked away in rural Northeast Hampshire, close to the Surrey and Berkshire borders, St Neot’s Prep is a non-selective, co-ed day school. The school is popular with parents living in towns, cities and villages around the Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey commuter belt. Pupils come from a wide 15-mile catchment area, including Hook, Yateley, Wokingham, Basingstoke, Reading, Camberley and Fleet.

Founded in 1888 in Sunningdale, Berkshire, St Neot’s moved to the Hampshire site in 1894. It took over from an existing boys’ boarding school (founded in 1869) which itself moved out to Wokingham. Previously taking on boarders, St. Neot’s became a day school in 2012.

Class sizes at St. Neot’s start at 14 in reception, up to 18 in Year 2 and max out at a manageable 20 or fewer from year 3 upwards. Currently, a modest 289 pupils aged between 2 and 13 have the run of sizeable grounds and 70 acres of woodlands, with numbers continuing to rise steadily, mainly through word-of-mouth parent recommendation.

In 2021, the school formed a partnership with nearby Lord Wandsworth College. A popular next step, around 40% of leavers now choose the well-known and well-regarded seniors as their next destination.

FACILITIES – SPORTS & OUTDOOR LEARNING

As well as the original large Victorian main building, St Neots’ classroom spaces are spread across several newer buildings added from the 1950s onwards. There’s a large sports hall with five badminton courts, five mini and one full-size tennis court, plus netball, basketball and indoor cricket nets.

Sports like cricket, hockey and football are popular – and competitive – but the school’s biggest calling card has to be its whopping 70-acres of fields and woodland. Sports fields, tennis courts and an Astro pitch sit in between large woodland glades where there are outdoor classrooms, a woodland story area, a mountain bike track and a pizza oven.

Not surprisingly, St Neot’s has a really active Forest School programme. It’s taught by a qualified practitioner and a full-time head of outdoor learning, who’s also qualified in Bushcraft. The woods are also used for fun confidence-building, mentoring and problem-solving lessons and activities that St. Neot’s pupils absolutely love.

Swimming pool St Neots school prep Hampshire

A big bonus for parents, St Neot’s also has a 25m heated indoor swimming pool. Pupils have one timetabled lesson a week from nursery upwards included in the school fees. Years 3 & 4 also have an extra lesson supervised by professional instructors from Frogs & Friends. Would-be Adam Peaty or Rebecca Adlingtons also get extra tuition and the chance to represent the school at local inter-school events and the Independent Association of Prep Schools national competition.

FACILITIES – MUSIC & ARTS

Music and arts are currently taught in the school’s old boarding house, where there’s a well-equipped Design Technology room and new textile room. Run by an energetic husband-and-wife duo, drama takes place in a separate, dedicated performing arts centre with stage seating. Regular productions for Years 3 – 8 are popular, as are well-subscribed, extra-curricular LAMDA lessons. Even the youngest here have their chance to shine on stage at EYFS and Pre-Prep nativities, regular assemblies and Harvest and Spring concerts.

St Neot’s kids are pretty musical too. Taught from nursery all the way through to Year 8, around 60% of the prep take individual lessons in the music rooms and there’s a dedicated orchestra. In recent years, there’s also been a big take up for drumming and – more unusually – the harp. How angelic!

LITTLIES

Inside the bright, dedicated building centrally located beside the main school, St Neot’s lively nursery teaches combines EYFS with additional lessons in tennis, music, PE, French and dance. Woodland walks for the very smallest switch up to weekly Forest School. And there’s early swimming lessons in onsite pool for kids aged three upwards.

When I visit, they’re indoors singing lively songs, matching numbers and pictures and working on forming letters. When the time comes to move on, it’s a short transition across the playground to Reception, where there’s overflowing tubs of wellies and a spacious woodland area on the doorstep for pre-prep kids to roam around in.

ACADEMICS

St Neot’s follows the Pre-School Baccalaureate skills framework. There’s weekly mentoring sessions encompassing time management, revision technique and stress management. Many leavers go on to nearby Lord Wandsworth College, St Neot’s partner school, as well as Leighton Park, Bradfield College, Wellington College, Luckley House and Pangbourne College. In recent years, St. Neot’s pupils have secured wide-ranging scholarships in drama, music, academic, DT, sport, taking them to top schools including Bradfield, Lord Wandsworth College, Farnborough Hill, Millfield and Reddam House.

PASTORAL CARE

St Neot’s has a dedicated Health Hub with a nurse and a school counsellor. It has also invested in a mental health and wellbeing programme from ThoughtBox Education. Plans are also in place to bring in a therapy dog. There’s a rolling programme of staff training as Mental Health First Aiders, timetabled outdoor learning and wellbeing sessions and active peer mentoring.

Older children are very conscious about mental health and welcome opportunities to socialise and mentor younger kids. New to the school, this includes a Mindful Garden where anyone in need of a friend will find a friendly Year 8 volunteer.

THE HEAD

Jonathan Slot took over the Headship at St Neot’s in September 2021. Local to the area, previously he was Deputy Head at Eagle House School in Berks. Knowing the school and its good reputation, he jumped at the opportunity to take the reins.

Prior to teaching, Slot worked in advertising. He decided to switch careers and retrain, working as a TA and later, teaching Years 3 and 4. Calm, collected and positive, as a working parent himself, he understands and empathises with the tough work-life balance struggle parents can face.

Over the past year, Slot has sought to build on the friendly, values-driven school environment he discovered and values at St Neot’s by being a visible presence among the kids and making it a priority to engage with parents and listen empathetically. He’s also brought in specialist speakers for parent support talks, introduced parents swimming, golf days, dads’ football games and coffee mornings.

QUIRKS

Making the most of its huge woodland site – a former arboretum – outdoor learning and Forest School is a massive calling card for St Neot’s. Children don their boiler suits daily. The Year 8s I spoke with are really enthusiastic about creative outdoor learning and love the freedom to roam the woods during their lunch breaks. Making the most of the sizable pool, St Neot’s pupils get the chance to try water polo. And alongside the usual extracurricular sport, art, drama and DT clubs, there’s a popular Astronomy Club.

WRAPAROUND CARE

Wraparound care is available for all pupils. Early drop off is from 8am and free of charge. After School care runs from 4 – 6pm and costs from £6.90 per hour. There are free after-school clubs run by school staff and chargeable lessons from specialist external coaches in activities like rugby, riding and tennis.

Nursery is open 50 weeks of the year and offers the option of care to the youngest pupils almost year-round. St. Neots also hosts an external company for clubs during the half term and holidays.

ISI REPORT

The latest ISI Report was a Regulatory Compliance Report in 2019. St Neot’s was rated as Good or Excellent in all areas.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Children are not allowed mobile phones on site.

TRANSPORT

Most pupils are driven into school, with an organised drop off and pick-up zone that helps avoid hold-ups. St Neot’s currently only operates a bus service from Hook. The school is planning to expand this to add other routes north and south, including a shuttle between Lord Wandsworth and St Neot’s.

FEES

Around average for this part of Hampshire. A full week in nursery is around £4180 per term. Pre-prep is £4190 per term rising to £5592 for years 3 and 4 and £5994 for year 5 upwards. The school offers the Government 15 hours funding for children aged 3 – 4. Sibling discounts are also available for the eldest child when a third or fourth child joins the school.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents talk about the varied opportunities their kids enjoy at St Neot’s, the outstanding pastoral care, outdoor learning and the fun teaching style. Although not long in the role, there’s a lot of praise too for the Headmaster. Pupils describe the school as a second home with a real family-feel, citing eating lunch in mixed year groups, supportive teachers and active mentoring programmes. The enclosed woodland setting at St. Neot’s allows pupils loads of freedom to roam and explore that just wouldn’t be practical elsewhere.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Well-rounded, outdoorsy kids. St Neots is a friendly school in the countryside with a strong sense of community and a good academic track record.

Not for: Parents that are not able to drop kids off by car. St Neot’s is well-located for major towns and cities in North Hampshire and Berks but it’s a fairly rural setting and transport options are currently limited. In future, new school bus routes will make it easier for parents not able to drive in.

Dare to disagree? Be my guest! St Neot’s has its next open morning on Friday 4 October 2024, as well as individual tours for prospective families.

St Neot’s Preparatory School, St Neot’s Road, Eversley, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 0PN. Tel. 0118 973 2118.

St. Neot’s Preparatory School, Eversley, Hook

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