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Preparatory School

A preparatory school is an independent fee paying school that teaches children in the seven to thirteen age range. They are the equivalent of junior schools in the state sector; however boys normally stay at a preparatory school until they are 13. Girls, on the other hand, move on to senior schools at age 11 as they do in state junior schools. The additional years are thought to prepare the boys more adequately for senior school.

Children taught in a preparatory school are usually prepared for entry to independent, fee-paying secondary schools, however some parents choose to educate their children privately only at Preparatory School level.

Preparatory Schools are independent of government control and so are free from the constraints of The National Curriculum. UK Independent preparatory schools may accept day or boarding students, or a combination of both. The Independent Association of Preparatory Schools is the professional association for Heads and Deputy Heads of the leading 600 independent preparatory schools in the UK and worldwide.

Entry to preparatory schools is normally achieved by either an interview with the Head teacher or/and a report from the previous school. Some schools set entrance examinations in English and Mathematics, although pupils who attended a related pre-preparatory school would normally be exempt from these tests. It is more difficult for students to join preparatory school for the final one or two years as they must already be at a suitable level to be coachable to pass imminent Common Entrance or similar examinations.

The average termly fees for preparatory school are:
£2000 - £3750 for Day School
£4250 - £6250 for Boarding School

Extras can add considerably to the bill (perhaps another 10%), depending on activities in which your child chooses to take part (such as instrumental tuition, School trips) Uniforms and books can be a substantial cost.

Independent preparatory school education provides the best foundation in the early and middle years to maximise children's future educational opportunities preparing them for senior school, university entrance and beyond. Small class sizes, great facilities, fantastic pastoral care and enthusiastic teaching staff are just some of the many reasons parents choose a Preparatory school education for their child.

If you are looking for a school then try our private school search. This tool allows you to search for pre-prep, preparatory schools, senior and sixth form schools by a range of criteria including options such as geographic region and school type such as day or boarding school as well as whether the school is coeducational or not.

For school fees planning and advice: talk to one of our school fees planning specialists