Prep schools around Newbury (Brockhurst/Marlston, Horris Hill, Elstree..)

[westberksmum]

Hi. We are moving to Newbury and I am looking for a pre-prep/prep school for my son who is in year 2. We are going to visit Brockhurst and Marlston House School, Horris Hill and Elstree. Does anyone have any experience of these schools good or bad?!
Thank you!

Hello,
We are also considering these three schools for our son who will be starting reception in 2022. I would be interested to know if you have attended any of the recent open days/had a tour and decided to do for your son.

We have children at Brockhurst and could not recommend the school enough. They have bent over backwards to accommodate both our children who have moved over from state. Nothing was too much trouble and I had a LOT of questions. The extra curricular activities are second to none, both my children are thriving here and have only attended since Feb. Any other questions pop me a message

@westberksmum I was wondering where you chose in the end as we are considering Brockhurst and also planning to look at Elstree?

DS is a happy, sociable boy who loves being outdoors and getting involved in sports and other things although isn’t the most academic and won’t be winning any awards for sporting ability any time soon 😬. I know that Brockhurst has very good provision for children who need extra support so am leaning towards that but would be great to hear other people’s views and opinions.

Hi all,
Watching this thread as I am looking at these 4 schools for my DS for Sep-23 4+ admissions.
Curious to know what you've chosen and what's your experience with these school? My first preference is boys only school but it looks like all these schools are co-ed.
Thanks

Hello
We picked Elstree School in the end. Our son is going into Reception in September so we have one years experience in Home Farm nursery (Pre Prep).
We absolutely adore Elstree School and cannot recommend it enough. Mrs Bond (Head of Pre Prep) is very friendly and approachable. She's very hands on with all the classes and knows all the children well. Although Pre Prep is in a different area of the school grounds (a short walk between the two) the two don't feel like separate entities.
I'm not sure how old your children are, but we hear good things about the Prep side of the school too from other parents.
I recommend visiting and seeing the school for yourselves. We're very happy with our choice

Thank you lovely! What made you pick Elstree over the other schools? My DS is 3, and we are looking for Sep 2023 entry into reception.
How was the assessment like? Did you consider any of the London/near London schools or have any experience? Thank you!

Hello,
We live in Berkshire so only looked at schools close to our home so haven't looked any schools closer to London or in London. Cheam is close by to these schools but we didn't look at it as we would have to cross a railway line for drop off.
We decided against Horris Hill as there are lot of changes happening there at the moment which sound great but didn't want our son to be there whilst they were happening. We really liked how much outside learning took place at HH, something they also do at Elstree. HH theatre is incredible too.
We liked how Brokhurst and Marleston structured the extra curricular clubs and their virtual learning system was impressive too. However, we didn't feel like it was as academic as Elstree (no Saturday lessons etc).
Our son attended nursery at Elstree so we didn't have to go through the assessment process for reception. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to help