The advantages of starting boarding in a preparatory school

There are 580 members of the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS) in the UK and Eire, with a combined total of around 150,000 pupils. In addition, there are some 30 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 7 to 13, 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 members of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, the Girls’ Schools Association and the IAPS. The papers are set by the board, but 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 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 its 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 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.