Oxfordshire preps - advice on Abingdon, Manor, St Hugh’s

[HattyBee]

Planning a move to the Faringdon area (local villages not the town) in the next 6 months. Lots of prep school choices for our son (6) and daughter (8). We’re looking at Abingdon now it’s coed. Also Manor as friends have recommended. Cothill now coed too but not sure about that. St Hugh’s is closest option but we’ve heard good and bad - lots of changes in headmasters, good staff leaving, fees very high - but children happy.
Any advice and feedback from anyone at these schools would be very helpful!

My lack of posting history says that I keep my powder dry so as not to get sucked into time-consuming conversations.

On this occasion, as my livelihood, and my wonderful family, relies upon a buoyant independent school sector (which is a privilege to be part of). I understand that everyone's opinion is valid, I just feel that, very often, the negative voices are the loudest and I don't want to see things in the sector get any worse. Give your thoughts, of course, but pointed/personal barbs can't really be mirrored in a 'positive' comments so seem to have greater inoact.

If I were being cynical, I'd have applauded these comments as one school's loss could be my school's gain but there's a bigger picture that I want to help protect.

Fair point about gauging the environment not meaning disgruntlement. On reflection, I might have meant someone else's comments give this vibe

I have 2 the same ages in St Hugh’s. It went through a dodgy patch with the wrong appointment a few heads ago. We looked around to move at that time but as a well rounded co-ed prep with incredible facilities it’s very good… new head is more businesslike and professional type… both of mine are thriving there.

This is a hugely personal decision as so much depends on what’s important for you as a family and your children’s unique talents and interests.
I know parents at all the schools you mentioned who’ve loved them, and also others who’ve been underwhelmed and ended up leaving.
I would advise you to book a visit - ideally two for your shortlist, one as part of an open day and another one a private visit. Once you have one or two favourites, take your children along as well and see how they feel afterwards - they might not be mature enough to put into words what they thought, but you’d probably see if they come away with a bounce in their step.
with new heads, ask them what changes they are making and why and decide if that’s in line with your own expectations and priorities.
also - though it will feel like this is ages away, if you knew which senior school they might go on to, it could inform the prep decision as some preps are great feeders for some senior schools (eg Pinewood typically send more to Marlborough than St Hugh’s does)

I’ve heard good things about the Manor too, but also one family pulled their daughters out as they were so stressed (in Reception, Y1 and Y2!!) and the school even gave them elastic bands to pull on to manage stress - instead of digging into what was causing the stress at school. They did great in their next schools.

I also thought the new heads hire at Cokethorpe looked great on paper but a friend who works in the private school sector says apparently she’d let her previous school deteriorate - so perhaps a bit of due diligence is needed. I’ve not done it as we have no connections with Cokethorpe - but it’s a good reminder to dig behind the headlines when someone new is hired - at any school.

Re St Hugh’s, each head in the last few years has been bringing in changes and they suit different people to a different extent. My view is that it’s a good school for those with talent in sport and music, and also for supporting general academic development but not so much for the academically gifted. Some amazing teachers are either retiring or nearing retirement and so I’d ask how hiring decisions are made and how continuity is ensured. With focus on balancing the books, culture can suffer - but at the end of the day, it all depends on what you’d be looking for from a school. The setting and the facilities are second to none especially for Pre Prep; and most of the teachers try hard

I agree - the more people share their views, and the more specific they are (not just a blanket “good” or “bad”), the better the feel you can get on any topic.

Just one more thing on St Hugh’s from me - there must have been enough support for the school for parents to have voted in a way that helped it get Best Prep School by Tatler in 2024.

We have kids at St. Hugh’s and like all things it has to be the right fit. We have had children at Abingdon prep and the Manor. The Manor is very much a Londonesque prep. It is very focussed on academic results and has poor facilities. Pinewood I really wouldn’t consider having seen the incredibly poor sportsmanship on the pitch in various sports over the years. St. Hugh’s has the best facilities by far and the broadest curriculum especially in drama/arts. They include everyone and get the best out of each child. They’ve done the best job at building self confidence of the 3 preps our children have attended. Abingdon gives you a guaranteed place at the senior school if your child isn’t wildly out of bounds with their expectations. It’s hugely valuable but it’s truly a dog eats dog environment although may soften with the introduction of girls. St. Hugh’s has the most generational/inherited wealth which leads to possibly the strangest social setting of the 3. It very much comes down to your particular cohort but also I think it affects the parents more than the children.

Some personal experience to add to the comments. St Hugh’s is a great school. Its facilities are impressive and the teachers definitely have the children’s best interests at heart. It’s mixed academically but that suits families like ours (one highflier and one less so!!!). Sport, music, drama, art are way better than other schools in the area. Caters for all levels really so depends what the OP is looking for for her children.
Sadly like quite a number of parents, we have a problem with the Headmaster’s arrogance, money being spent and decisions he is making which don’t put the children first. We’re pretty unhappy with what he is doing and the direction he’s taking the school in but holding off on a decision to move because our kids are happy. I suggest that the OP visits and looks at all the other schools mentioned too but also bears the chat in mind. There are still lots of good things about the school which make it a good choice.

I can’t say that I’ve seen him be arrogant exactly. @PrancingPonyClubberwhat money do you think he’s spent that wasn’t in the children’s best interest? I do think parents have slightly unrealistic expectations of St. Hugh’s and expect it to be all things at all times. I hope they can focus more on the middle school curriculum which isn’t very robust.

Sadly ‘arrogant’ is a frequently used description amongst parents in my year groups.In answer to your question I can think of several examples - some have been mentioned already in posts.The one that most concerns me was the refurb of the visitors room which I have been reliably informed by someone involved was not far off £20k. It looks nice enough but tell me how that benefits the children’s learning?
Completely agree that parents have a lot of expectations but I don’t think these are unreasonable when you’re paying top end fees. As my husband says, conspicuous spending at the same time as conspicuous cost saving is not a good look.

Only just seen this thread. How were your visits @HattyBee ? We are a A420 family too so had to go through the same process.

IMHO the key thing is to decide where you want your DC to go for senior school and work back from there. (I know that feels ridiculous when your children are six or seven and who knows what they will be like at 13!)

If you think you want them to go to a local coed day school like Cokethorpe or Abingdon, then that takes you in the direction of the prep departments of those schools. Admission to the senior schools isn’t automatic, but it is a lot easier and you will know a lot of the children and parents already. St Hugh’s has also just announced it is opening its own senior school so its prep will be very keen to keep children there rather than preparing them to go elsewhere at 11 or 13 as has been the case until now.

If you don’t know yet/aren’t willing to soft-commit to an Abingdon or a Cokethorpe or St Hugh’s for the next 11 years, then a third option is Chandlings. Chandlings is a day only coed and sends children to all the Oxford and Abingdon day schools. Because they don’t have an attached senior school (it recently became part of the Radley Schools Group, but nobody ever goes from Chandlings to Radley) it is a good choice if you know you want 11+ day but aren’t sure which yet.

If you think there’s a chance you might want any of them to go to one of the big public schools to board in Y9 (Radley, Eton, Marlborough etc) then you need to look elsewhere - to the likes of Cothill which offers day as well as boarding, or further afield to Summerfields (boys only) or the Dragon in Oxford, or to Pinewood which is a big Marlborough feeder. All those four do very strong 13+ prep and send children to all the top boarding schools. Abingdon and Cokethorpe preps, St Hugh’s and Chandlings are not set up to send pupils to those schools, and lots of the year groups leave (or move up) after Y6 rather than Y8. Also, while St Hugh’s still does a bit of flexi boarding, it’s more like a babysitting service, not really the experience of boarding that is useful when applying (or considering whether to apply) for a senior full boarding school.

PS Am a bit mystified as to the comment by someone earlier that “Cothill/Chandlings has just been taken over by Radley so days are numbered”. Cothill and Chandlings are completely different schools - one is mostly boarding and goes to 13, one is 100% day and goes to 11 - and send children to totally different destinations. It’s true that the charity that owns Radley has just taken over the charity that owns Cothill and Chandlings but it’s hard to see why it would have bothered doing that if the plan was to shut them down. Radley always has a big intake from Cothill so it would be really counterproductive!

St. Hugh’s has just announced they are opening a senior school which was certainly a surprise. It could be worth considering.

I agree with the post about Chandlings and Cothill. Their days are not numbered any more than anywhere else is! Especially Cothill I would say.

Cothill has 9 going to Radley, 8 to Eton, 4 to Sherborne, 2 boys to each of Harrow, Oundle, St Edwards, Rugby and Marlborough. 1 to Stowe, Shrewsbury and Monkton.

Cothill won’t be going anywhere. I absolutely do not work for them, but I have taken this from their Instagram account I saw the other day.

Chandlings is totally different and only goes to age 11 and the majority go to senior days schools in Oxford/ Abingdon.

The majority of St Hugh’s children leave after Y8 and go to Teddies, Marlborough, Stowe, Cheltenham (coed boarding) plus SHSK, Headington, St Mary’s Calne (girls), Abingdon, Radley and Winchester (boys) as well as Cokethorpe for day coed. I think a majority go to boarding schools at 13+

@bluegrace mmmm I think there might be gaps between advertisement, aspiration and actuality at St Hugh’s. It’s telling that (unlike the Dragon and Cothill) they do not publish real current numbers and destinations, just a long list of schools over an unspecified number of years/decades.

Parents I know there say nobody goes to Eton, Harrow or Winchester, and only the odd one to Radley. Instead big numbers to Cokethorpe, some to Abingdon, OLA and Helkat, for boarders (a minority) Stowe & Bloxham, some to Cheltenham and Marlborough.

The Manor and Chandlings are great around here, have a good reputation locally.

@GoTerrapins I’m going on destinations where the majority went over the last few years. Most years, St Hugh’s sends one to five children to the schools I listed before plus many more, in smaller numbers (Bloxham, Tudor Hall, Oundle, Cheltenham Ladies College, Dean Close, Westonbirt, Wellington; Eton - not in recent years to my knowledge). The spread is vast, based on location preference (families are spread within 1.5h drive radius, so that’s quite a range of senior schools), and on academic and other preferences. As it’s not a selective school, there is a very wide range of different talents in any year group, and they vary a lot one year to the next as well. Many families end up choosing senior schools close to where they live, even if their children board, so that they can attend fixtures and other events more easily. So all of this explains why St Hugh’s isn’t a feeder for just one or two main senior schools. It can be a good thing, if you want the flexibility and are not yet sure what kind of school your DC will be best suited to at 11+ or 13+; it can also be a negative if you’re already set on somewhere like Eton, as the prep just won’t be that focused on getting your DS into Eton. And, in all likelihood, your DC will be the only one going to their school of choice that year

No way to check as no data published - but destinations will become even more patchy once the senior school opens.

I guess this is where Mumsnet comes in handy to check information with parents with inside knowledge especially where there is no information publicly available

I’d love to know more about St Hugh’s plan for a senior school. Does anyone know anything? What do those who know the school think?

It would be easier if the school would be open about their current destination data, like other schools are, but they don’t want to do that.

As for gathering intelligence from Mumsnet, this board is living proof that a) opinions vary and in some cases are completely contradictory, especially when it comes to St Hugh’s for some reason, and b) there are many people with vested interests who may not be well suited for giving independent or honest advice.

@anotherfinemess1You can look here:
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1750236289/sthughssportcouk/tbiex8sohcewvecwe7bm/LaunchFAQsFinal.pdf

I don’t think it’s uncommon for a nonselective prep to not publish their exact leavers numbers. Those who want Eton won’t choose St. Hugh’s. It’s a nonselective prep that caters well for all groups including SEN with great facilities. There’s very little pressure and given that most seem happy with where their children end up for secondary. Its USP is never going to be ‘got 6 into Eton’ because that’s not the group of parents they cater for.

Cothill isn't selective either but works on the 'broad entry, narrow exit' premise. In my DS' year they sent (from memory) 10 to Eton, seven each to Radley and Winchester, four each to Sherborne and Harrow and then ones and twos to Marlborough, Teddie's, Westminster, Oundle and Rugby. That's from a roll of c.50 in Y8. I'm evangelical about Cothill but haven't rushed in to suggest it here because it sounds like you are looking for a day school. Cothill recently introduced a non-boarding and co-ed option but at heart it's a full boarding school and it remains to be seen how the arrival of girls will change its nature. Its facilities are fine but not swanky- it's not about fabulous facilities but wonderful teaching leavened by healthy doses of fun.
I should think the Radley merger will increase the numbers heading there- and that the 'informed chat' suggesting Cothill's days are numbered as a result is wishful thinking from parents or staff over-identifying with their own school. Traditional Cothill families are less local on the whole and most will not have thought about St Hugh's at all but feel a degree of rivalry toward schools they see as equivalent- principally Ludgrove and Summerfields (aka Bludgrove and Scummerfields).

This is just not true @GoTerrapins . Below is a rough list of destinations of the 2024 St Hugh’s Year 8 leavers (from memory). The majority went to boarding school. Over half were awarded some form of scholarship, including academic to Radley, Music to Winchester and a number of Sport scholarships. Maybe check your facts. I am a former St Hugh’s parent.

Radley x 6 students
Stowe x 8
Cheltenham College x 5 or 6
Marlborough x 3
Uppingham x 2
Winchester x 1
Teddies x 4
Downe House x 1
St Mary’s Calne x 2
Cokethorpe x 4
Bloxham x 3
Malvern x 2
Abingdon x 1
Headington x 3