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Our View
A country prep with a modern outlook, this non-selective Lincolnshire school knows how to light a spark in its pupils. They have uninhibited fun, throwing themselves into lessons, sport, music, art, drama, eating (the food is legendary) all the while soaking up learning and life skills and achieving their best (the number of leavers who head off to top public schools with a scholarship in hand is remarkable). It’s no wonder parents travel up to an hour each day to send their children here.
Where?
Located in Witham-on-the-Hill, a village a few miles from the market town of Stamford, the school sits in stunning parkland with a magnificent Queen Anne mansion at its heart. Several snazzy new buildings have been added in recent years, including a science and resources centre with a modern languages suite and a superb sports centre that is, without doubt, the best we’ve seen at a prep. The grounds offer ample romping room for outdoor fun and reflection – as well as the tree house and swings complex, an ornamental pond area has been turned into a safe and accessible wellbeing space and Reception has a new adventure playground.
The rural location means most children arrive by car, while a school minubus service scoops pupils up from Oakham, Uppingham and Oundle. There are links to mainline trains at Peterborough via Stamford – the area is becoming increasingly popular with ex-Londoners, with the commute from Peterborough to King’s Cross taking just 50 minutes.
Head
The easy-going and unstuffy Will Austen joined in September 2020 from Ludgrove School in Berkshire, where he was deputy head. His two sons are pupils here, giving him both a parental and professional perspective.
Mr Austen has set out to ensure that all pupils feel they are good at something, whether it’s academics, sport, art, music or drama. He also strives to help the most and least academically able achieve the best they can, with learning support now a central and natural part of the school day and stretch taken as seriously as support. He thinks Common Entrance is good – exams should be normalised, he believes – and is proud of the aim high attitude pupils and staff take. Pupils’ achievements from reception upwards are celebrated weekly in what Mr Austen calls ‘shows’, where those who’ve excelled in a particular piece of work are invited to show it off, filing into his office one by one to have their own private audience with him and collect a chocolate reward.
Admissions
Most pupils join at reception, and with high demand and no formal assessment – places are allotted on a first-come, first-served basis – early registration is highly recommended. There are also admissions in Years 4 and 7 with informal assessments – current reports and a school visit – to gauge levels for streaming. Ad-hoc admissions are possible if there is space. Since the pandemic, the school has seen increased demand, which has meant the introduction of waiting lists. However, there’s ‘always room to squeeze in another’, says Mr Austen, so it’s definitely worth enquiring.
Academics and senior school destinations
When he first arrived, Mr Austen’s drive to strengthen the school’s academic offering saw him appoint a new deputy head of academic and introduce streaming for pupils taking scholarships at Common Entrance in Years 7 and 8 – and it’s been a roaring success with scholarships rolling in year on year. Last year there were 23, seven of which were academic.
Pupils have form teachers from reception to Year 4, after which they move to subject teachers. French is taught from reception, Latin from Year 5 and the top streams in Years 7 and 8 are taught Ancient Greek. Pen and paper are king here, with only the Year 8s using devices regularly to prepare them for senior school. Not that that means there’s a shortage of tech – classrooms have banks of iPads and laptops, there are VR headsets and 3D printers, and pupils learn coding and robotics. The SEND department is brilliant, with four learning support teachers who take pupils out of lessons for one-to-one work. The pre-prep has a sensory room where children can take part in what they call ‘sensory circuits’ with a teacher, for example jumping on mats, to allow them to burn off energy. A planned sensory room for the prep building, meanwhile, will be a quiet space for children to go when they need it.
Pupils go on to a wide range of senior schools; many of the current Year 8s have already bagged a scholarship to the likes of Rugby, Uppingham, Stamford, Oundle and Oakham. One pupil is aiming for a King’s Scholarship at Eton.
Co-curricular
Witham Hall is renowned for its sporting prowess and fields teams for all of the main IAPS competitions, as well as triathlon and cross-country running. But its competitiveness doesn’t mean it caters only for the gifted, with teams and matches for all abilities. The state-of-the-art sports complex built in 2018 houses an indoor sports hall, sprung-floor dance studio, gym, changing facilities and a first-floor viewing terrace overlooking a full-size, floodlit Astro hockey pitch and tennis courts. The next project to break ground will be a swimming pool. In the grounds there is a grass running track and a number of cricket squares, which are sometimes used for county training. There’s also a small golf course, a long-jump pit, a discus cage and space for javelin.
Art, drama and music are timetabled, as well as offered as clubs. Head of music Miriam Forbes is both extremely talented and inspirational, and everyone takes part in music, be it in a choir, in the drum ensemble (places in this are hotly contested), the rock group or learning an instrument with a peripatetic teacher. All pupils enjoy art in a loft-style studio, and a good number go on to gain art scholarships to senior schools – ‘We clean up on art scholarships every year,’ Mr Austen tells us. A Lent-term production is the focal point of the school’s drama calendar – this year was The Sound of Music – with festivals and competitions throughout the year, and all pupils in Years 4 to 6 each doing their own annual play. LAMDA exams are an option for those with a passion for the stage.
There is an array of extracurricular clubs, including polo, dry-ski slope skiing, clay-pigeon shooting (run by Mr Austen), water-skiing, cooking, sewing and bushcraft in the school’s wilderness area. Pupils also get involved in the school’s various councils and can earn headships and prefect status, which come with plenty of kudos.
Boarding
Weekly and flexi boarding is available from Year 4 and there are currently around 100 pupils currently doing some form of boarding. Its popularity is no doubt thanks to Mr Austen’s aim to make it fun and relaxed. An old squash court has been converted into a great games room with pool tables, table football and lots of other diversions, while the dorms, housed in the main mansion, are both elegant and cosy. By Year 8, most pupils will have boarded at one time or another. There is no full boarding, so everyone goes home after Saturday school, which happens every other Saturday from Year 5, and fixtures in the afternoon.
School community
Pastoral care is exemplary, with form teachers the first point of contact, and there is also a vertical mentoring group. Boarders are under the care of matrons, as well as houseparents Chris and Lucy Meadows. ‘Steph the Chef’ is a school legend – she has won awards for her cooking and is a real innovator with her tasty and healthy dishes. One pupil told us their three favourite things at Witham Hall are breakfast, lunch and supper.
As mentioned, Mr Austen has bolstered the learning-support team with the aim of removing any stigma. The department is at the heart of the prep-school building and is open to any pupil, whether they need extra help with spelling and times tables or emotional support.
Parents are active with a society known as the Friends of Witham organising lots of events throughout the year, including the much-anticipated biannual summer ball.
And finally....
It feels like every day is a celebration at this beautiful and happy school where no achievement passes without reward, whether it’s a boarders’ breakfast at the head’s house or an invite to tell him about the latest thing you’ve excelled in. It’s glorious proof of the power of encouragement, which means every pupil has their own heart beating with pride moment.