Brooke Priory Prep School Oakham , Welly Days

WHAT? WHERE?

Brooke Priory is Rutland’s sole prep school, attracting families from across the county, but also as far afield as Grantham and Melton Mowbray. Pupils go on to a range of nearby senior schools, though nearby Oakham and Stamford take a large wedge each academic year. Founded in 1989 at Brooke Priory, just outside Oakham, the school now occupies a site near the heart of town, with modern facilities, purpose-built in 1996.

There’s a real sense that Brooke Priory retains the original values the school was set up to espouse, with its nurturing, family environment and emphasis on hands-on learning. And, whilst this is a modern building in a town, it’s also got the feeling and outlook of being an outdoorsy, country school, and classrooms are a place where pupils feel comfortable to have a go, without any sense of apprehension in terms of making mistakes.

Looking beyond the admittedly lovely Rutland bubble is a focus area – so the school works hard to encourage pupils to grow into what the Head terms “down to earth individuals” with an understanding of the value of hard work.

FACILITIES

Brooke Propry Prep School Oakham, laptops library

The excellent, purpose-built facilities at Brooke Priory allow for the children to really delve deep into each individual subject and, unlike many other small preps, the pupils move around the school to go to their lessons with specialist subject teachers, giving them an early taste of what it’s like as they move on up to senior school, although each child has a class teacher providing an anchor for the day. Classrooms are light and spacious and there are additional breakout spaces in the common areas outside classrooms, which allow older pupils to work independently or in smaller groups where appropriate. The dedicated library is a fantastic space with cosy reading nooks and a seriously good selection of books, whilst the theatre space has a sprung wooden floor, state of the art acoustics and tiered seating for approximately 180.

SPORT

There’s a big sports hall inside the main school building, which doubles up as the lunch hall and, being on a site within Oakham itself, there’s not a huge amount of acreage here, but the school has recently purchased a section of land next to the school, which has expanded the outside space to allow the installation of a new astroturf.

In addition, the children also use Oakham School sports facilities, including the Oakham swimming pool. The vast majority of kids at Brooke Priory will have some kind of sporting experience most days, with a dedicated Head of Sport leading a schedule of two timetabled Games lessons each week for every year group, PE and swimming lessons every week as well as sports fixtures and after school clubs. The philosophy here is very much to enable all children to be included in sports at the appropriate level, so if your child isn’t destined to captain the Saints, they’ll still be able to find some form of sport here to enjoy and feel included in. It’s all about giving the children as many experiences as possible and encouraging a lifelong enjoyment of being active and participating in sport; encouraging a balance between enjoyment and competition whilst still retaining a competitive spirit.

CREATIVE ARTS

Art is high on the agenda and there’s broad curriculum that really embraces the arts, with keen attention paid to every child’s area of interest and allowing them to discover the areas in which they flourish as individuals. It’s a win-win situation when kids feel confident in the creative arts, as it can then boost their confidence in tackling the subjects they might find more tricky, and this is where Brooke Priory is soaring, it’s all about letting the kids feel uninhibited by fear or uncertainty and allowing them to embrace their mistakes – championing resilience and perseverance.

Music-wise, the children have weekly lessons as part of the curriculum and the school has a dedicated Head of Music and a specialist music classroom. There’s a Senior Choir, Junior Choir, Boys Choir, Chamber Choir, Ensemble and Recorder Group and around 50 children take peripatetic music lessons each week, with all sorts of instruments on offer including piano, flute, violin, guitar, clarinet, saxophone and singing. Neighbouring Oakham is one of just five schools in the UK to have an Indonesian gamelan (a very big drum – look it up) and Brooke Priory children get to go across for workshops, whilst music teachers from both Oakham and Uppingham schools also come to Brooke to give music workshops. The kids also get to perform in the Oakham chapel for certain events, which helps to create an onwards pathway for the children as they come up through the school.

SCIENCE

The children at Brooke are fortunate to have a well-equipped science lab with a dedicated science teacher (also one of the Form V class teachers)- rare for a smaller prep. When I visited, the Year 5s were learning about chemiluminescence and were genuinely transfixed. There’s a strong emphasis on learning through practical experiments, not just in the lab but also outdoors, through fire-based activities, learning about habitats, food chains and so on.

LITTLIES

The nursery and pre-school is open to children from age 2 and there are currently around 24 children who attend on various days, with flexible hours available (min 3 sessions a week). There’s a good balance of learning through play, independent work and some more formal, structured lessons (building up through the two year groups).

Inside, the large and well-organised rooms feel calm (there was soothing music playing in the background during my visit) and there’s loads of outside space for little ones too, with a gate onto the school field that’s used every day – the kids look super cute zooming around in their red tractor suits – to enable them to run off steam and get stuck in to outside play. Plus, they even grow their own veggies.

The children also get to go to assemblies with the older kids and to the sports hall, for example, to allow them to feel a connection to the wider school and there’s a sense that this is very much part of the school journey and progression and there is an expectation that children in Nursery/Pre-School will move up to Prep.

ACADEMIC

Results are considerably above average for Maths, English and Reasoning in assessments for pupils in Form I to Form VI, with recent 11+ Academic scholarships to Oakham and Stamford School.

The children (from Nursery upwards) all take French lessons, with a dedicated modern languages teacher in situ. As well as French, there’s also an after school Spanish club, which is super helpful for children going on to study Spanish at senior school, and there are cultural days too, to give the children a broad understanding of how different languages fit into the global landscape.

PASTORAL CARE

Brooke Priory red tractor suits happy children prep school

As you’d imagine in a small prep school, pastoral care is at the top of the agenda, and a full time dedicated Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) is a key factor at Brooke Priory, modeling and nurturing the children across a range of issues – family, friendships, social skills, behavioral struggles – and providing children with valuable strategies.

Peer nominated house points, as well as staff-awarded points, mean pupils have an added motivation for nurturing positive relationships with one another and working together collaboratively, rather than competitively, elevating one another and creating a positive environment.

HEADTEACHER

Duncan Flint is into his sixth year as Head at Brooke Priory, his first headship. Originally a secondary school Teacher in Senior Schools, he moved into department leadership, pastoral care and Head of Year roles. He’s been at Brooke Priory for over a decade in total, having previously worn Head of Sport and Head of Prep hats before taking up the role of Head, though he does still keep his toe in the water when it comes to teaching, giving regular lessons to keep a connection with the pupils – keeping a connection to the children is key for Duncan, with the intention of building a culture of trust and respect. He’s also on the National Sports Committee at IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools), so has a very keen eye on developing the sporting experience of the children at Brooke.

Brooke Priory cross county Duncan Flint Head

QUIRKS

Welly days take place throughout the year for all year groups, whereby the children upsticks and head to the original, 22 acre Brooke Priory site for a day of den-building, tree-climbing and stream splashing, but there is a huge learning element to these days, allowing the children to learn in hands-on ways the classroom doesn’t always allow for and really enriching the learning experience. It’s a bit like forest school, but the children get the whole day to immerse themselves in learning through nature.

Brooke Priory Welly Days gardening outdoors prep school pupils

ISI REPORT

The last full inspection was in 2019 and it makes a satisfying read for prospective parents. You can read the latest school report here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

No mobile phones allowed in school, which you’d expect from a prep school.

WRAP AROUND CARE

There are a wide range of extra-curricular clubs, with options available every day both before and after the school day, as well as at lunch times, from netball and running to eco club and chess. There’s both morning care and an after school prep club and children can arrive from 7.45am and stay until 5.45pm.

FEES

Year 3-6 costs £5048 a term; Pre-Prep to Year 2 is £4668 per term; Pre-School from £2585 per term and Nursery starts from £36.65 per session, though a minimum number of sessions is required.

WORD ON THE GROUND

There’s a strong sense of community at Brooke Priory, and this is something that attracts local families. The outstanding modern facilities are also a star attraction, as is the wide menu of extra-curricular opportunities.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Parents who prioritise family vibes, inclusivity and espousing a lifelong love of learning will love Brooke Priory. It’s a school with a strong community feel and proven academic success in terms of onward progress. The children here also seemed genuinely happy, and manners are excellent.

Not for: Whilst very nurturing, it’s not an ivory tower environment here and pupils are encouraged to embrace the wider community, so if you’re looking for exclusivity, this isn’t it. Ditto, if you want grand architecture, you’ll find Brooke Priory distinctly more focused on values and connection to the children over and above acreage and sweeping driveways.

Brooke Priory School, Station Approach, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6QW

Brooke Priory School, Oakham

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