King Henry VIII Preparatory School

King Henry VIII Preparatory School

King Henry VIII Preparatory School is the feeder school for King Henry VIII Senior School. We pride ourselves on providing outstanding learning opportunities for all children.  Well-qualified, dedicated and experienced teaching staff deliver a vibrant, diverse and challenging curriculum, which is supplemented with a wide range of co-curricular opportunities, from Music and Drama through to Sport and Outdoor Education.

Swallows Campus

Swallows is our pre-prep school campus located in a beautiful house that was formerly Styvechale Villa. It is here where we have our nursery (children from 3 years old) and also our reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils.

The Swallows Campus is where children begin their education at King Henry VIII Preparatory School. Swallows is a self-contained, 3½ acre campus situated just a few minutes’ walk away from Hales and the Senior School.

The facilities are based around an 18th Century house with attractive gardens and excellent outdoor facilities. Facilities include: a purpose-built Early Years building; sports hall; assembly hall; swimming pool; specialist facilities for Art and Music; Astro-turf; grass pitches and gardens.  The intention is to provide children with a beautiful place in which to begin their education and one where they will be happy. Our hope is that Swallows has a warm, family atmosphere where there are even pets to be cared for by the children.

Children within the Nursery are educated in small groups by a mixture of teachers and nursery nurses in a team led by the Head of Early Years. Within the Nursery, children are provided with many opportunities to discover the world about them, to learn to play and collaborate with others and to begin their learning journey.

From Reception to Year 2 children are taught in small classes, usually of 16 children. For the majority of the curriculum they are taught by their class teachers but they are also taught by subject specialists in Swimming, PE, Art and Music, according to their age. In Mathematics, children are placed in sets according to their ability from Year One.

Hales Campus

Hales is our Junior School on the same site as our Senior School on Warwick Road. Children from Year 3 to Year 6 enjoy learning here and we benefit from sharing our grounds and expertise with the Senior School.

Children spend four years at Hales prior to taking up places at the Senior School. At Hales children are taught in classes of usually no more than 24 pupils.

Hales is a purpose-built junior facility with a range of superb specialist facilities including: a Library; Science Laboratory; Music Suite with seven attached individual tuition rooms; ICT suite; and a Sports Hall. Specialist sports facilities are shared with the Senior School and include a 25 metre swimming pool, Games fields and Netball courts.

Hales retains the same friendliness and care for the individual found at Swallows but within a larger and more sophisticated environment, appropriate to academically able and independent children in Years 3, 4, 5 & 6.

In Year 3 and 4 children are taught English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and RE by their class teachers, or a member of the year group team in the case of Mathematics which is ‘set’. All other subjects are taught by specialists: French, Computing, Art & Design, Music, Swimming, P.E. and Games.

In Years 5 & 6 children are educated in a secondary style environment, having different teachers for the majority of subjects and moving between lessons to specialist facilities.  This provides an environment carefully designed for children with an enthusiasm for learning who are ready for a more sophisticated approach than that of a conventional primary schools. It also helps to build the independence and confidence which will help children to succeed in due course at an academically selective senior school.

Entrance to King Henry VIII Preparatory School for children aged seven and above is by examination. Entrance to KHPS up to the age of six is by individual assessment conducted by staff when children visit the School.