Stover School? Prep

[Tashf1973]

Hello
We are relocating to Devon and looking at schools. Can anyone tell me what their experience of Stover School has been like?
My daughter is nervous of moving and we are looking for a nurturing environment with positive pastoral care.
Thank you
TF

Hi! I'd love to know this too! How old is your daughter? We've recently moved and are living in Teignmouth. Our son currently goes to the nursery at stover and we're about 90per cent sure we're going to move him up into reception come September. I'd love to hear from people who have had direct experienceof the primary though. So far our experience of stover has been fantastic! My son completely adores the nursery and the staff have been incredible. So involved and nurturing. I also love that it's a research based school and there isn't a pressured feeling. Hopefully I'm reading that correctly. So hard to get a gage though without hearing from other parents! Previous discussion on here are a bit dated now.

Best of luck making a decision though!

Hello
she’s looking to move for year 7. She’s been really happy in our local primary but lockdown made me realise that she thrives with a bit more attention. she was one of 6 instead of 30. Stover seems to prioritise pastoral considerations which is important to us

The junction onto the road is a nightmare at rush hour. That's all I can tell you. Nice to hear good things about the nursery. Considering it for my daughter when she turns 3 next year. How are the fees?

Hi both. Yes we felt the same. We were torn as there's an ofsted rated good local primary, 5 min walk from our house. The convenience of that was tempting! Haha! But ultimately we decided the same thing. We think our son would really benefit from a but more attention due to a smaller class. Yes I would say that's a really fair assessment, bit emphasis on the pastoral care.

Fee wise... I would say it's comparable to what's on offer in the area. Not the cheapest, not the most expensive. Our son was in a prep before we made the move to Devon and stover is slightly more expensive but has much better grounds and facilities. I think it just depends on what you find good value and where you see that? Sorry! I know that's not helpful really, it's just quite a subjective thing.

We've now signed our son up to reception and we feel pleased with the decision. We'll be monitoring it closely though. I can safely say though the kids seem really happy there. I go in the middle of the day so I see them playing without parents etc around and theres lots of joy about the place. Might be worth saying my neighbour opposite sends her boys there to the senior school and they all love it. She can't rave about it enough. Her boys have thrived.

I haven't had too many issues with that junction but there are roadworks Newton Abbott way as they're building a new housing estate. It's a pain but not really anything to stress over. It won't last forever either. Just bear it in mind. Sometimes you can sail through, other times you might be waiting a few mins.

Best of luck with your decisions.

Oh apologies for the annoying typos. Baby on the rampage here 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

Just thought of something else, when talking about fees do factor in their over the top uniform costs! Personally find these costs crazy in relation to the quality. The jumpers are awful and you have to be careful washing them. Not the most practical for a school jumper! I know this seems a silly thing but it's worth bearing in mind when you're doing your sums.

Hello all. Thank you so much for the advice. How is it viewed locally if you send your child to independent school.

Aha! That is good to know.
We haven't even considered Grammar options, maybe we should be? but around our current area they are just horrible academic hot houses and we don't want that.

We left Stover senior last year because of bullying. There was a lot of bullying in the first year of the senior school and my child was on the receiving end. There were 2 girl bullies that were particularly vile! If you have a child that is intelligent, quiet and kind, after our experience I can’t recommend Stover senior but if your child is a pretty tough and can tell the bullies where to go, they should be alright! The teachers did nothing about the bullying but a little telling off and the victim was made to say sorry too, it was appalling the way the bullies got away with bullying! We had to complain several times and told the school about the bullying over and over but nothing was done!