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Exactly how does a preparatory school ‘prepare’ children for senior school?Peter Kirk, Headmaster of Bilton Grange Prep School
Preparatory schools take many forms and, indeed, there are some 500 schools in membership of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS), a ‘kite mark’ of success in academic and welfare terms. However, boarding preparatory schools – or, more precisely, boarding and day schools – like Bilton Grange, cherish and retain that balance between classroom excellence and the significant aspect of education that takes place outside the classroom. It is this all-round approach to education, where boarders and day children happily co-exist in a prep school that, in my view, offers children the very best preparation for the challenging world of senior education. Someone once defined education as ‘feeling good about oneself’, and I believe that this is not far off the mark. The wider the range of opportunities available to children in a supportive, well-structured and tolerant prep school, the higher the chance that every child will discover an activity that he or she enjoys and can progress in. It is the relative improvement and success that makes the difference in younger children and one ought not to under-rate the small things that can make the difference. Being selected for the successful 3rd Rugby XV at Bilton Grange this season has brought about whoops of delight to equal and surpass selection for the 1st XV. The same is true of the child of modest academic ability when presented with his first academic accolade, which will be awarded in a Saturday-morning assembly, a celebration of different achievements and accolades. So, a really good prep school can identify the meaningful achievements of every child in the school. The key ingredient in such a success story is, of course, teaching staff and encouragement at every opportunity, even when putting the needs of the child first is less straightforward than it might be. Really getting to know each boy and girl, and their concerns and aspirations, is a basic requirement for every teacher here. This also applies to every domestic matron in the boarding setting, as well as the catering staff who play such a large part in the children’s lives. Then, that all-important link with parents who might well not be able to visit school very often must be built. At Bilton Grange, we have seen the hugely positive difference made by children having access to Skype and email in the boarding house, ensuring there can be almost immediate contact between parents and boarders whatever the time zone difference. Of course, boarding at prep school is a more intimate approach than at senior school. At Bilton Grange, every domestic matron is also a mother who understands children and can take a maternal view. We run a system of ‘night matrons’, who arrive for work at 7.30pm and remain awake and around the houses until 7.30am, which means that a boarder with tummy ache or whatever can find an adult who is already awake and available – a level of support and security that is highly valued by Bilton Grange’s boarding community. And then there is the ‘human’ aspect of running a boarding school, the degree of understanding, empathy and flexibility required when boarders’ parents are members of HM Armed Forces. As a former Royal Navy Officer, I think I understand the importance of responding to the exigencies of Service life. With the parents of several Bilton Grange children engaged on active service, we respond on a daily basis to the individual needs of those children, without fussing, while ensuring that our boarders are making the very most of all the opportunities available here. As a parent, former RN Officer and Headmaster, I believe that we should allow children to enjoy the extended pleasures of childhood to age 13 in a true preparatory school setting, to build that self-assurance and self-belief, while developing a belief that life is agreeable and fulfilling. That way, our children can proceed to senior school at 13 to face the teenage years with confidence and in the knowledge that, whatever challenge lies ahead, they are superbly well equipped to deal with it.  Peter Kirk is Headmaster of Bilton Grange Prep School in Warwickshire. He was a Royal Navy Officer from 1977–1982 before becoming a schoolmaster. He taught at Welbeck College, Marlborough College and Glenalmond College before becoming Headmaster of Bramcote School in Scarborough. He moved to Bilton Grange in 2003. |
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