Independent preparatory schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum or submit test results to the Department for Education so there is no individual school performance data or star rating.
Visit the school's website to learn more about their unique curriculum, policies on testing and common leaver destinations (a good indicator of pupil progress). See our About page for information on Choosing A Prep School.
School Description
We are delighted that your family is considering joining the wonderful community at Akeley’s Wicken Park campus, home to our happy and vibrant Junior School and Nursery. We have an idyllic rural setting where we have developed a leading Forest School provision, enviable sporting facilities and space to focus on play, exploration and discovery.
We are thrilled that Akeley Wood’s Junior School offers a Forest School experience, delivered by our accredited Forest School practitioner. Every child in Junior School participates in this innovative educational approach to teaching outdoors through learning and play that staff and children alike have embraced. The Forest School ethos centres around the child’s learning needs rather than fixed specific outcomes. Coupled with the vast space we are lucky enough to have in the Akeley Wood grounds, the beauty and serenity of the natural woodland setting allows children to explore everything that a bit of fresh air and the great outdoors has to offer, and the shelter of our lodge ensures that lessons can continue, rain or shine.
Our focus on key literacy and numeracy skills in Reception centres around synthetic phonics and Abacus maths programmes, and sets children in good stead for academic progression, often demonstrating advanced reading levels for their age.
From Year 1, children have access to an impressive array of subjects, and the longer school day (finishing at 3.45pm for Year 2 onwards) allows us to accommodate such a range into the timetable. Taught singly or in combination under umbrella themes, subjects include modern foreign languages, history, geography, food technology, design and technology, PE and gym, religious education, and a proud commitment to the creative and performing arts – specifically art, drama and music – that has earned the school its Artsmark status.
We set Maths teaching based on ability from Year 3 onwards and at Junior School level we have elected to assess children internally rather than imposing SATS in Year 6, allowing us to set individual goals and unlock a truer measure of ongoing progress. While academic achievement is vital, the school is similarly dedicated to fostering creative development, personal and social skills, and the traditional values of respect and courtesy that will help your child to succeed.
Who/what inspired you to become a teacher?
My grandmother and parents always said I was a natural teacher from a very young age! I was good at guiding and taking charge of my younger siblings with a favourite game of mine being playing schools. After considering all my options at school, I finally decided to pursue teaching after completing my A levels and I went directly to a full 4 year teacher training course.
What achievement are you most proud of as Head?
Having been a Head for 15 years now, there are so many! Of course, I am always proud of inspection outcomes as they are validation of the great work done in the schools I lead day to day – proof that we are doing the excellent job we want to be doing. However, the biggest achievements for me are still rooted in the actual difference I make to individual children within the role I hold. Whether that be achieving GCSE and A-level results beyond what an individual thought was possible, discovering the love for a new activity introduced as part of our curriculum offer, mastering reading down to an intervention we have introduced, pride in winning a competitive sports match, jumping in a muddy puddle when worried about the dirt, winning an association art competition or simply being happy at school and enjoying every experience and opportunity available. Every achievement makes me proud.
What does a successful school look like to you?
To me, successful schools are happy schools. These are schools where students are deeply invested in their learning because they love it so much and where teachers and support staff take great joy from their interactions with students and from the role they have in progressing their learning and academic achievement, their life skills and their relationships with others. In these environments, students thrive in all aspects of their learning and development because they feel safe, secure and know the adults that work with them want them to succeed at the highest level possible for them.
What is the most important quality you want every child to have when they leave your school? And why?
It’s so hard to choose just one. At Akeley Wood, we want our students to aspire to be the best they can be, to have integrity, to be responsible, resilient and courageous. If I had to choose one, I think it would have to be courage. To have the courage to be yourself, the courage to push yourself to do the things that are hard, the courage to pick yourself up and try again, the courage to stand up for the things you believe in and the courage to aim higher.
Please give 5 words to describe the ethos of your school.
Individuality
Aspiration
Nurture
Challenge
Community
This school is independently managed and its admission criteria may be selective. There is no set catchment area as pupils are admitted from a wide variety of postcodes and, in the case of boarding schools, from outside the UK. Contact the school directly or visit their website for more information on Admissions Policy and Procedures.
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