WHAT? WHERE?

Wellesley Prep (formerly Daneshill Prep) is a co-ed school for children aged 2-13 in the hamlet of Stratfield Turgis, close to Basingstoke and Hook, on the Hampshire-Berkshire border. It was formally rebranded in 2023 to reflect that it’s part of the 7,000-acre Wellington Estate – owned by the Duke of Wellington since 1817. A close-knit cohort of 289 children are taught in class sizes with an average of 15 in a huge 100-acre estate that provides them with plenty of space to learn, play and run around.

FACILITIES

Outdoor learning woodland classroom at Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

Beyond the country house are playing fields, sports courts and a woodland classroom set beside a huge pond.

Opened in 2022, Wellesley Prep’s light-filled Copenhagen building has a large contemporary dining hall on the ground floor with bifold doors that out onto the terrace – perfect for the annual summer party.

/ SPORT

Sport at Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

There are loads of great sports facilities at the school, including the indoor swimming pool, full size all-weather astroturf pitch, two astroturf courts and 12 acres of playing fields. Pupils keep active playing football and futsal, hockey, cricket, cross country, tennis, golf, gymnastics, swimming and athletics, as well as rugby for the boys and netball for the girls.

Hosting and participating in regular fixtures with other local prep schools, children right through from Year 3 to Year 8 are pretty competitive too, punching above their weight for a small school. A few have even managed to bag sports scholarships to top independents. Teams and individuals have also competed at county and national levels, with particular successes in football and rugby.

/ ART & DRAMA

Art ceramics lesson at Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

Creative types get lots of chances to shine at Wellesley Prep. Art lessons encompass everything from painting and printmaking to ceramics, 3D modelling and pottery and there’s even a dark room for processing traditional film-based photography. After hours, stitching, sewing and ceramics clubs are all well subscribed too.

Drama-wise, there are plenty of opportunities for budding thespians along with confidence-boosting performances. The school has a dedicated in-house LAMDA teacher, extracurricular clubs for the keenest and the chance for every year group to take part in a drama production each year. Plans are also well under way for a new drama studio, scheduled to open in 2025.

/ MUSIC

Pupil playing the double bass music lesson at Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

Wellesley Prep pupils are very musical: Ninety per cent of Prep pupils play at least one instrument and have weekly lessons from specialist visiting teachers. All pupils get weekly class music lessons with access to a high-spec music technology suite they can use to compose, record and improve aural and musical theory skills.

Along with the school choir, there’s an Orchestra, a String Ensemble, Flute Group, Ukulele Group and pupils’ own bands. Highlights of the performance schedule include the annual Carol Service, drama productions, regular recitals and performances within the local community.

LITTLIES

Pre-School children outdoors at Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

Part of the Pre-Prep with their own rooms and play areas, Wellesley Prep’s Nursery children have loads of interaction with others and lots of outdoor play, from the pirate ship climbing frame and wobbly bridge to the mud kitchen and gardening. Boiler suits and mud-covered welly boots are the norm for regular ‘Forest Friends’ exploration in the woodland classroom.

Indoors, I spy an impressive recreation of the local High Street they children have been using for imaginative play and to recreate a recent trip. There are gymnastics and PE sessions led by specialist teachers as well as Monkey Music and weekly swimming lessons in the onsite pool. And with a universal Nursery and Pre-Prep breaktime – and plenty of interaction with Reception teachers – when the time comes to move up, it’s an easy and familiar transition.

ACADEMICS

Pupil studying at Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

Specialist subject teaching is the norm at Wellesley Prep from Year 4 upwards. Pupils helped to become critical thinkers with dedicated sessions in reasoning and an emphasis on problem solving, collaboration, research and debate. Once children reach Year 7 and 8, there’s setting for subjects and extra sessions to help prepare scholars for senior school.

In 2024, scholar’s onwards destinations included nearby Lord Wandsworth College, Monkton Combe, Radley College, Wellington College and Bradfield with awards spanning art, sport, drama and music, as well as academic.

PASTORAL CARE

Pupils outside Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

The school has a close-knit, caring atmosphere with family-style interactions. As an example, older children in Year 8 are appointed as peer listeners to support younger ones and there’s a friendship bench in the pre-prep playground.

Wellesley Prep’s Assistant Head, Wellbeing is supported by the SENCO, School Matron and two Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA) with the use of dedicated ‘open door’ Wellbeing room and therapy rooms.

Pupils are offered drawing and Lego therapy when needed and there are workshops for parents in mental resilience explore ways to ensure children feel valued, listened to and “enough.”

Wellesley Prep pupils are also encouraged to think of others in the community and beyond. In one year alone, they raised an impressive £10,000+ for charity.

THE HEAD

Angus McDonald Headteacher at Wellesley Prep school Hampshire

Angus McDonald has been Headteacher at Wellesley Prep since 2023. He knows the school well, having been Deputy Head for five years before that. Prior to moving Hampshire, he worked as a Housemaster at Fulham Prep and taught at St. Mary’s Calne, a small boarding Prep in Herefordshire.

Thoughtful and reflective, McDonald is the kind of person who considers the bigger picture and encourages pupils to do the same. He also sees the school’s independence as an opportunity, with a big emphasis on outdoor play and “allowing kids to be kids” for as long as possible. Pupils are encouraged to think outside of the box and have ambition – but not in a pressurised way. When it comes to moving on, they’re well supported in their choices of next step.

QUIRKS

Pupils in a woodland classroom at Wellesley Prep School Hampshire

Few schools have a location as bucolic as this one – Wellseley Prep’s hundred-acre site is just one part of the vast and historic 7,000-acre Wellington Estate and Country Park. The school makes good use of it too, from country walks to lessons for budding equestrians at Wellington Riding.

The woodland is well used for outdoor learning – including an entire spent week outdoors in summer – and fun activities like paddleboarding on Horseshoe Lake. In the winter, lucky little ones get the chance to meet Father Christmas in the woodland log cabin.

Wellseley Prep has plenty of traditions – old and new – from the annual and popular Wellesley’s Got Talent contest to cosy Carols around the Fire in the historic Daneshill Hall building at Christmas. Special mention too for the outdoorsy, child-led Saxons versus Vikings game where the big kids team up with younger ones and the teachers don’t have a clue what the rules are.

WRAPAROUND CARE

Pupils playing chess at Wellesley Prep School Hampshire

Wraparound care is available on an ad hoc basis from 8am – 5pm (Nursery and Reception) or 6pm (Y1 – Y8). Clubs also run before and after school throughout the week. Pre-Prep children that don’t have a club and older siblings with a later finish time are welcomed in the library from 3.30pm so parents can pick them up together.

ISI REPORT

The latest ISI Report was a Routine Inspection in 2024.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Wellesley Prep has a strictly no mobile phones policy – pupils aren’t allowed to bring them to school.

TRANSPORT

The countryside location means most Wellesley Prep pupils are driven to school by their parents. Four school bus routes cover a 14-mile local radius, including Hook and Basingstoke.

FEES

Pretty reasonable for the Berkshire borders: Fees are £4,605 – £5,535 per term for Reception to Year 3. Year 4 – Year 8 is £6,245 per term.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Many families at Wellesley Prep live in the nearby countryside and embrace the school’s caring, grounded and inclusive ethos and the fact that it’s independently owned. For those who like to mingle there’s an active ‘Parents of Wellesley’ group and plenty of concerts and sports fixtures on home turf.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: A small and unpretentious Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep with happy children, good all-round teaching and results and plenty of outdoor learning. Fees here are also a lot less eye-watering than other independents in the local area.

Not for: The fact that Wellesley Prep is right in the countryside and very outdoorsy is an advantage for some but won’t be for everyone. It also doesn’t have boarding, though a good number of pupils do go on to boarding schools – and Wellesley Prep will happily help prepare them.

Dare to disagree? Be my guest! Contact the school to book an individual tour. The next open events are an Early Years Open Morning on Friday 7 February and a Whole School Open Morning on Friday 9 May 2025.

Wellesley Prep School, Stratfield Turgis, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 0AR. Tel. 01256 882 707

Wellesley Prep, Hook

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