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TERRINGTON HALL THE GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE What makes The Good Schools Guide The Good Schools Guide’s View of Terrington Hall unique? Schools cannot pay to be included and have no influence over what is written. “A friendly, unpretentious school where pupils That’s why parents value their expertise. come from a range of backgrounds. Has a real The Good Schools Guide has reviewed of the school and not inventories of UK schools for the last thirty years. their assets or achievements. They family feel where children can truly be children and The Guide does not take advertising are, however, subjective and there is from schools nor are there any fees or no guarantee of factual accuracy. The where they become happy, successful and ready retainers paid. Therefore, it is able to Good Schools Guide is independent, be impartial. The authors visit all the forthright, well-informed and unbiased, for the challenges of their chosen senior school.” schools they review and talk to pupils, which gives it unique authority and has educationalists, parents and staff. Their earned the trust of parents and reviews are intended to be portraits educational organisations worldwide. Headmaster Simon Kibler Since September 2020, Simon Kibler BA (Leicester) A keen sportsman and former director of (40s). Twinkly eyed, warm and with a zest for sport at Abbotsholme, it was his experience life. Clearly feels very at home in North Yorkshire as a ski instructor while at university (Eddie after many years down south – loves the fact that ‘The Eagle’ Edwards taught him how to ski), people are ‘very straight in Yorkshire, as there’s no that made him realise his vocation was in point hiding things.’ Formerly deputy head at Dover teaching. His Eureka moment came while College, he has been working in independent teaching a blind 70-year-old man how to education for his whole career in both prep and ski on a dry slope in East Sussex - ‘I had a senior schools and says ‘boarding is in my blood.’ moment of knowing that I wanted to teach’. He and his wife Kate have previously been house Teaching is also in the blood – his father parents at Abbotsholme School in Derbyshire and become a teacher after a career in science. Milton Abbey School in Dorset, where he was also assistant head. They have four children, with the Mad about cricket, he was a volunteer junior two youngest girls at Terrington. girls’ Kent County cricket coach and has big plans for introducing girls’ cricket and On duty at 7.15am, knows every pupil’s name and becoming a North Yorkshire hub for the meets and greets them and their parents at the girls’ sport. That said, he thinks ‘too much door every morning, alongside his two deputies focus’ has previously been made on (academic and pastoral) and bursar. His delight in competitive sport, and it’s now time to seeing the family’s black Labrador joining in with ‘focus on other areas.’ Also keen to playground frolics was infectious, although the improve provision for performing arts, Dachshund had gone on strike as it was raining. “Parents commented believing that all pupils would benefit from Having two resident canines to play with is more opportunities of speaking in public (he evidently popular with pupils of all ages. wants all pupils to have taken part in that he is ‘very nice’, LAMDA exams before leaving in year 8). During our visit he served lunch to pupils and sat With new plans also afoot for their own down to eat it with them; they clearly felt relaxed ‘very personable’ chickens and vegetable plot, it seems that chatting with him. Parents commented that he is his vision of ‘developing the bubble of a ‘very nice’, ‘very personable’ and a ‘good and a ‘good perfect childhood experience’ is well on communicator’. But this is still a school where course. children leap up from their desks as soon as he communicater” enters the classroom. The journey begins… Most join in the nursery or reception aged 3+ or 4+ and move into pre-prep, with another main intake in year 3. Pupils can be accepted into all year groups up to year 8 depending on spaces being available. The first step for parents is to visit the school and meet the headmaster, after which a taster day is encouraged for children to find out if they are suited to the school. There are no formal entrance tests, but staff will assess children informally during taster days. The journey continues… Most go on to senior schools within the “In 2020 nine pupils local area, including St Peter’s, Sedbergh, Ampleforth Giggleswick, Bootham, were awarded TERRRINGPocklington andT ScarboroughON College, with The Mount and Queen Margaret’s being scholarships to popular girls-only choices. In 2020 nine pupils were awarded scholarshipsHALL to Durham, Sedbergh, Durham, Sedbergh, The Mount and Ampleforth. A small number head further afield as full boarders, with Uppingham, The Mount and THE GOODRepton and Shrewsbury SCHOOL being preferredS G UIDE destinations outside of north east. Ampleforth” Background “...we felt as if we were entering an Austen novel, and indeed would have & Atmosphere felt very much at home arriving in a It’s hard not to be impressed with the approach to horse drawn carriage’’ the school, with the journey to the village from the A64 taking you past the tree-lined avenues and spectacular follies of the Castle Howard estate. Travelling by obelisks and mighty oaks with leaves aflame in their autumn splendour, we felt as if we were entering an Austen novel, and indeed would have felt very much at home arriving in a horse drawn carriage. But while the beautiful stone building – originally built in the 1800s as a rectory and with pillars at the entrance – is grand and imposing, once inside it feels homely, with fires roaring in both the entrance hall and the head’s office on the day we visited. The whole of the prep building could do with a lick of paint, but the decorators are booked in, we were assured. The head was certainly convincing when he talked about being keen for the children to have a nice environment and look after things. The nursery and pre-prep classrooms are bright and colourful with a separate playground with fun play equipment. Meanwhile, prep classrooms are mostly in a separate modern brick building and the playground area has recently been improved by benches, an all-weather ping pong table and plant pots to brighten it up. The library is well-stocked and popular and a chill out area for older pupils is due to be redecorated with pictures and sofas. Academic Matters In the classrooms, we observed fun, three weeks of joining school, all pupils interactive lessons and the teachers are baseline tested and receive a clearly know their pupil’s strengths and ‘settling in’ report. Any concerns are weaknesses. ‘It’s been fantastic for my flagged up and a learning support plan girls and I couldn’t fault it,’ one parent is then put in place to help struggling told us. The atmosphere on the day of pupils to improve. Parents find this ‘very our visit was buzzy, with pupils practicing reassuring’ without putting any stigma instruments at one end of the corridor, on pupils who need more academic and a class enthusiastically reading support than their peers. through their parts for a production of Charlie and the Chocolate factory at the There have been some grumbles from other. Pupils are confident, friendly and parents of older pupils that they haven’t polite. been stretched enough in the past, something which the new head is keen We certainly heard no complaints about to address and ‘galvanise the year 7 and the teachers, with parents commenting 8 curriculum’. His plans include that they are ‘fantastic practitioners’ who additional lessons on leadership, peer are ‘incredibly committed’ and ‘throw mentoring and community service, as themselves into school life’. Particular well as an ‘adventure award programme’. “Certainly heard no praise was given to the academic deputy Another new plan is to create a technology head, who is also head of maths, who centre where older children can learn complaints about the has ‘taught my daughter to love maths’ hands-on mechanical skills by renovating and is a ‘miracle worker’ according to a classic Land Rover Defender. Year 8 teachers…fantasticTERRRING TON some parents. boys we spoke to couldn’t get enough of this idea – parents concurred, saying For SEN, there is a full-time head of they felt this year group had outgrown practitioners… HALL learning support who does intervention prep school and were becoming a bit work within the classroom as well as ‘switched off’. incredibly committed… small group work for those who need it from pre-prep to year 8. Within the first throw themselves into THE GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE school life” “Mental health and wellbeing are taken very Parents seriously” Generally, though, parents are extremely supportive of the school, although a common grumble was that previously communications could be ‘haphazard’ and that there were ‘too many letters and emails’. This has recently been streamlined to an online calendar updated every fortnight, with requirements set out for what is needed by each year group on a daily basis. There are also parent reps for each year group who have a termly meeting with the head. He says Pastoral this is important as he ‘would rather know about the problem and & Wellbeing deal with it’ than having parents moaning to each other. Mental health and wellbeing are taken seriously, with a pastoral welfare committee meeting every week to chat through any concerns.

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