Small, family like independent schools East Anglia

[OhWifey]

We are starting to consider moving into the independent sector. We are also planning to move soon. Can anyone recommend a school that fulfils the following:

• Small
• Friendly
• Non selective
• Lots of parental involvement encouraged
• Some minor SEN support

The children are in primary but a through school would be ideal. Happy to look in Cambs, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, perhaps Beds

The oak tree schools in Essex are good for this - small, family feel due to size and the number that stay all the way through, non selective (up to a point they test if joining juniors up to check children would be able to fit in with the class but there is a variety of ability and good SEN support) results are good as well for small independent up to 16 without academic selection. Normanhurst and Braeside are the 2 through schools - Braeside starts taking boys next year currently all girls.

Kirkstone House for sure.
www.kirkstonehouseschool.co.uk/

Lots of my friends and their children have been here. We live in an area surrounded by top public school. Uppingham, Oakham, Oundle, Stamford. But some children just aren't suited to that high achieving academic school which has such HUGE emphasis on rugby and other sports. In which case they go to Kirkstone House. I wish my youngest had gone there tbh as he's dyslexic and arty and not very sporty. It would have suited him much more than the school he's at (one of the 4 listed).

Landmark School in Fulbourn near Cambridge ticks all your boxes. Lovely, supportive school.

Wonderful, thank you. The Oak Tree ones are too close to London for us really but Kirkstone House looks well worth investigating. Perfect on paper. Landmark is on our radar. Thank you.

Also look at The Peterborough School, OP. It matches your list of requirements exactly.

I'd be wary of a very, very small school because firstly, in the current climate, I would be worried it might not survive, but also socially it can be quite limiting to be in a really tiny year group. A school that is small enough for everyone to know everyone else, but large enough to offer a diverse range of pupils, subject specialist teaching staff and good facilities might be your best bet.

Thanks for the wise words @Biscuitsneeded . Yes I had thought those schools come with the risk of kids not finding their 'tribe'.

@BigusBumus just so I can start building an idea of what a move to Kirkstone House would entail, what are the nicest places to live near there? We'd be looking for small villages. Many thanks

I have a word of warning Re schools that are just too small and have to echo what @Biscuitsneeded says. we’ve just had a terrible experience at a school like that. Especially secondary! My son’s friendship group disintegrated and there was nowhere for him to ‘go’ and we ended up moving him. It was unbelievably cliquey with many of the parents sending their kids to such a small school because they had ASD or just couldn’t cut it in bigger schools or mega controlling stressy parents so a very skewed demographic!!

‘Small’ can be a bad thing, eg poor resources, friendship options, risk of school merger/closure.

I have no experience of the school or the area but wanted to draw attention to the warning the school has received. May not bother people too much but with only 120 pupils it could be a problem if parents move children out.

www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/head-of-independent-school-responds-to-findings-of-serious-regulatory-failings-9122523/

I know both landmark and the Peterborough school and would rate them both. I think I would lean towards Peterborough as pp have said small schools can have their own issues but I do t think you could beat landmark for its family feel, it was set up by a group of loyal staff and families from another school which had been taken over. Quite different feels - you'd have to have a look around!

@OhWifey

Framlingham College - 3 to 18 years
Woodbridge School Prep then onto Woodbridge School
St Joseph's College (Ipswich) - 3 to 18 years
St Faith's Prep (Cambridge)

Dame Bradury's Prep in Saffron Waldon, part of the Stephen Perse Foundation. Depending on whether you still want non selective at 11, you could opt for The County High in Saffron Waldon, which is a good state school. But you'll have to be proactive about the SEN provision. From Dame B's you could also try for a school in the foundation or The Leys or St Mary's in Cambridge.

Or Holbrook Primary (Suffolk) is a state school and then Royal Hospital School (Holbrook) at 11

Sanction wood school ticks many of those boxes too, has a lovely ethos, nurturing etc in primary and the new secondary is a bit bigger and more ‘grown up’. They are great with SEN too. Landmark secondary is great but way too small for most kids but the primary is amazing. If you have girls, St. Mary’s is fantastic. I have experienced all these schools with mine if you want to know more. Good luck!

Sanction Wood in Cambridge.

Both Framingham and Woodbridge are selective.

St Margaret's in Gosfield. Only to eleven but lots of friends have children there and it gets very good reviews. Plenty of nice villages around.

Yes, Sancton Wood is in Cambridge