Cheam School

[Fleabagster]

Hello
Asking for a local friend who is moving to near Newbury and is considering independent for first time (9 and 11 year old) - any Cheam parents who can recommend it?

Just bumping this.

Any current / past Cheam parents who can give us any insight? We're looking at moving to the area and like the look of Cheam for our DCs - is there anything we're not likely / less likely to spot when we get a show around that we should ask about / worry about? What would you change if you could?

(Also looking at Lambrook and Eagle House, but likely to be closest to Cheam - though only 5/10 mins in it!)

Thanks for any thoughts!

I have a friend who teaches at Cheam. I get the feeling it is very old fashioned and full of the children of parents who want their children to go to Marlborough College. They have had a few different heads recently if that is an indication of anything?

@Placido do you know which school the current head is going to?

@Sweetsweetsoul I think there has been a fairly rapid succession of heads in recent years I think. And budgets are not great but then most prep schools have been affected by big unexpected spends during COVID times, new equipment for home learning and refunding fees. It’s got a long track record so should bounce back?

Really? I thought the current one had been there a while - 4/5 years? I know he was very well respected and liked at Sandroyd where he was before so wondered which school he was going to next.

I don’t know anything about Cheam though, sorry to the OP! I know Sandroyd which is why I knew about the Head.

Oh just googled and seen that he’s in Portugal now.

Thanks so much all! Yes I did see that the new-ish head had moved on (Portugal does sound appealing right now though!!) .... just curious about Cheam being 'old-fashioned'.... @Placido do you mean 'good old-fashioned' (eg. strong on manners) or 'bad old-fashioned' (learning by rote etc)... ?

I have a great friend whose children are at Cheam and it seems like a really lovely school. Parent community very friendly apparently and the children seem really happy there. New Head has settled in well and is popular.
Quite a long school day but the kids do do lots of sport, drama, art, music etc so I guess they have to fit it all in!

My dd went to a neighbouring school and Cheam always were the main competitors in sports. Parents and children seemed friendly and happy. There is really little between all the Newbury preps - there are surprisingly many, with Horris Hill, St Andrews, Cheam, Brockhurst, Elstree, Thorngrove. Cheam is co ed so obviously a good choice for parents with both ds and dd, so are Brockhurst, Thorngrove and St Andrews. Leavers destinations are also very similar, with all the different boarding schools within a 1 hour drive. So it really comes down to a personal feeling, some schools just 'feel right', even though on paper they all offer pretty much the same.

Isn’t this where Pippa Middletown’s children are going?

I know someone who’s daughter attends as a day pupil. She has had a bit of a hard time because of feeling an outsider compared to the boarders. I hear they are also quite strict (less nurturing).

I’ve heard from parents that terms are short and some are only just over four weeks and if you don’t get the subject quickly you get left behind - how do you get through a syllabus in a four week term ? People say it’s a lot of style over substance

Any recent views on Cheam? Has a new head been appointed?