Woodcote House School?

[jellycat1]

Are there any current / former parents who could kindly give me their views on this school please? Considering registering for my two boys who'd potentially be joining in a few years time. Tia.

We looked at Woodcote House a few years ago. We very much liked what we saw - particularly the pastoral care, flexible approach to boarding and the daily bus from London.
In the end we decided against on grounds of size. We felt that the small size and nurturing aspects which would be wonderful for an 8 year old might be a bit limiting for a strapping 12/13 year old. Depending on ability sports opportunities can be great - your average 12 year old gets to play on the first team for everything - or disappointing - your very talented 12 year old is playing on what would be the 3rd or 4th team in a larger school.
Less of an issue if you live locally and the kids can play at clubs on a Sunday.

I have sent you a PM, OP.

Thank you @wurzelburga
Did you get a sense for how flexible the flexible boarding is? They seem to be more flexible than some others. Papplewick for example and definitely Sunningdale. I'm going to visit soon but there's nothing like getting a parent view.

It was a few years ago (youngest DS starting Uni this year!) so not sure how relevant our experience is.

But I know Woodcote now offers day, flexi and weekly boarding and there will be few, if any, full boarding before Y7.

The full boarding prep where “full” means all children in every Saturday night really does not exist any more. Ludgrove may be an exception, but I doubt it. Very few UK families want much boarding before Y6 - though many really like flexi boarding to cater for parental absences. The only full boarders at this age are overseas students or those with special family circumstances eg single parent/parental illness etc. Even here all boarding preps have an exeat weekend at least every three weeks followed by half term/main holidays so children never spend more than 19/20 consecutive nights at school. Additionally, most UK prep “full boarders” go home on Saturday afternoon after games and return to school on Sunday evening. This can be a real issue for the overseas/expat contingent and Saturday night can be a bit lonely. Some schools deal with this by having an “all-in” weekend twice a term with an outing to a theme park or similar to ensure all want to stay. So the pattern at 11 is weekend in, Saturday at home after games, exeat weekend.

Pretty sure Sunningdale/Papplewick and others that brand themselves as “full” boarding from Y7 operate a similar model.

Same applies to secondary boarding btw. “Full” boarding means Mon to Fri or Sun to Fri with an option to stay on Saturday if needed.

It really is a buyers market at boarding preps so parents can do what they want.

Jellycat1, not sure if you are still considering Woodcote. I highly recommend it. Our son is a pupil and absolutely adores the school. I have never seen any boys' prep like Woodcote. My son hated his first couple of years at his previous school and always complained it was boring, etc. The days are quite long - 8.20am-6pm on Wednesdays, but pick up at 7.45pm if they do clubs - but I have never met a boy who would complain about it. On the contrary, they are always a smiling bunch. It says a lot about the school. My son is happy, challenged and he has matured so much since joining! Pastoral care is outstanding. They push the boys academically but also nurture those who need a bit more time. They believe all boys are gifted/talented, they just need to find their strengths - it may be Maths, it may be Arts, it may be sports.

It is very telling that all boys in my son's year live locally yet chose to board - some full time, some a couple of days a week. My son says evening activities are fun! Woodcote is a family run school and as such it provides a very warm, family oriented environment for the boys and for us, as families. It is not unusual to see families in the dining hall joining teachers and pupils for lunch after chapel, every Saturday. I just wish they would go all the way through secondary. It is a truly special school.

@TheonlywayisSurrey that's great insight - thanks so much. It also confirms the impression I got from the couple of people I know who know the school. Thanks again for posting.

are there any current / former parents who can please give me their views on Woodcote House School, Windlesham? Many thanks in advance.

Hi @jellycat7 I'm a bit confused you're resurrecting my old thread with a virtually identical username?!!

I have a DS at Woodcote and I cannot decide who is happier - DS or us as his parents. The level of pastoral care is stellar and as opposed to certain schools that seem to have a top-down approach with regard to their attention to their pupils, Woodcote has managed to create an environment where each child and parent feels like their child is getting special care. The London bus service is also fantastic and it is so lovely to have our son come home when he is not boarding and feel like we can just enjoy family time. Bravo and many thanks to the Paterson family!!!!!