Good Schools Guide 2019

Report 2019 The Good Schools Guide Emma Lee-Potter Walhampton School Lymington, Hampshire SO41 5ZG • Pupils: 366 (248 in the prep; 118 in the pre-prep); 209 boys, 157 girls; 26 full boarders, 35 flexi-boarders • Ages: 2-13 • C of E • Fees: from £9,300 in reception and years 1 and 2 to £18,510 for day pupils in years 4 to 8. Additional £7,500 pa for boarders • Independent. Tel: 01590 613300 Email: [email protected] Website: www.walhampton.com Excellence Headmaster: Since 2012, Titus Mills (40s). Educated at The Pilgrims’ School and Eton. Studied art history at the University of East Anglia, followed by a PGCE at Westminster College, Oxford. Taught in Tibet and Uganda and spent four years at St Mark’s C of E Primary in Lambeth (his year 6 pupils sang at his wedding and children from St Mark’s visit Walhampton every year). Later became head of Joy St George’s British International Junior School in Rome, followed by six years as head of The Paragon in Bath. Spirit Warm, charming and ultra-enthusiastic, he relishes a challenge Head is very visible around the school and knows everyone and has turned Walhampton from ‘a sleeping giant’ into by name. ‘My children say he is very inspiring and it’s fun a top prep school, ‘a place of joy, laughter and positivity’. talking to him,’ one parent told us. ‘He’s very present and very As well as focusing on the school’s academic rigour he has aware of what’s going on. He’s also very good at choosing staff. bolstered the staff team. ‘There is energy and dynamism in Everyone seems to be on the same wavelength.’ Another said: every department,’ he says. He firmly believes that the school ‘He’s fantastic – a great leader, very clever and thoughtful.’ should be outward looking – and not be in ‘a little privileged He teaches history to year 6 pupils (‘it’s all quite animated bubble’. ‘There is so much in the independent system that is and high octane’) and his study is one of the most stylish fine and impressive – but very predictable too,’ he says. ‘I go to we’ve seen, with glorious artwork, hundreds of books and conferences and think “why is everyone in a grey suit?” I want views across the vast lawn. ‘The aesthetics of a place are very this school to be sparky and dynamic and break the mould’. important,’ he says. His wife Jemima is immersed in school life. Firm emphasis on pupils getting lots of fresh air and being She runs the biannual arts festival, has launched a poetry trail ‘good human beings’. At the end of our visit the head pointed in the grounds (excerpts from 50 poems are placed throughout to an ancient, mud-spattered Land Rover in the car park and the grounds for children to read and ponder on) and revamped said: ‘If Walhampton was a car it would be that one.’ the dorms. They live in a house on-site and have three sons – pupils at Eton, Canford and Walhampton respectively. Entrance: The school is non-selective. Children attend a trial day for informal assessment. One pupil told us she enjoyed her trial day so much she started at Walhampton the very next day. Adventure Exit: Year 8 leavers go to a host of schools, with Canford, Bryanston and Sherborne leading the pack. Other popular choices include Winchester, Eton, Radley, Marlborough and Results King Edward VI, Southampton. Founded in 1948, Walhampton has an idyllic setting, with a Grade II listed house at its heart, four lakes, ancient Our view woodlands, 100 acres of grounds and a very distinguished history. Queen Victoria once stayed there and the house was requisitioned by the American Air Force during the Second World War so airmen on leave could use it as a holiday home. An Italian terrace and sunken garden designed by celebrated architect and garden designer Harold Peto was recently turned into a garden of remembrance, with a bronze sculpture created by one of the art teachers. In the last few years there has been a big push on the academic front – ‘to ensure the standards of teaching and learning are A1,’ says the head. Parents praise the ‘academic rigour’ and the teaching we saw was exciting and vibrant – a year 7 classics class acting out a Great British Bake-Off for the gods, year 8 artists making eccentric pottery shoes (including one with a zany, squirrel-shaped heel) and year 5 scientists clad in professional white coats using the principles of chromatography to work out who had written a fictional murder note. Physics, chemistry and biology taught separately from year 6 and pupils are clear that ‘if you can’t see it, it’s physics’, ‘if it smells it’s chemistry’ and ‘if it runs away it’s biology’. Maximum of 20 per class and setting for English and maths. A total of 39 children receive learning support from a four-strong team, mostly one-to-one and charged as an extra. Tutor system for years 6, 7 and 8 (children have a say in who they want to be their tutor). History is big at Walhampton and the school has strong links with the veterans of the Battle of Arnhem. The head takes year 7 and 8 children to Arnhem every year and a group of veterans visit Walhampton every November for an outdoor remembrance service. ‘We want them to honour the older generation and understand that history and tradition are important,’ says the head. Light and airy library, with reading sessions for all, story- time and author talks. The school librarian, a former runner- up for a national school librarian of the year award, fizzes with ideas and is also a school tutor. ‘I try to make the library really welcoming and exciting for everyone,’ she says. The pupils out of Swallows and Amazons, with Portmore Pond for sailing, clearly feel the same, with one boy telling us the library is ‘the Sandwalk Pond for fishing and a jaunty shepherd’s hut on happy place’. the lawn. Pupils spend as much time outdoors as possible, for Pupils have sport four days a week, including matches on learning as well as play. We spotted a year 6 class learning about Wednesdays. Boys’ main sports are football, rugby, hockey and teamwork and communication in the outdoor classroom (a vast cricket while girls play hockey, netball and cricket. Girls’ football open canopy with a log fire and benches) in the woods. There’s is growing in popularity too. Reception up to year 6 have a plenty of space to run around in, the New Forest on the doorstep swimming lesson every week and the outdoor swimming pool and breathtaking views of the Solent and the Isle of Wight from is used from April to October (everyone can join the swimming the grounds (some pupils get the ferry to school while several club in the summer term). boarders arrive on horseback at the start of the week). There are Around 120 pupils have riding lessons at the school’s equestrian scores of outdoor activities to choose, such as kayaking, sailing, centre, which has its own arena and cross-country course. Five gardening and beekeeping. Escape from Colditz is a Walhampton children keep their own ponies at school while others borrow institution, a winter game where children volunteer to escape school ponies. Non-riders are welcome to come and groom from an area of the grounds in the dark, make their way to the the ponies, muck out the stables and sweep leaves. ‘It’s really head’s study and ring the bell while staff wearing miners’ lamps inclusive,’ says the head of riding. Drama is big at Walhampton, as headgear try and stop them. Asked if there was anything he’d with lots of LAMDA exams and annual junior and senior plays change about the school a boy told us he’d like to play Escape (including promenade performances, where the audience follows from Colditz more often. actors round the school). Impressive art, pottery and textiles (there’s even an 1859 printing press) and more than half of pupils Pupils are encouraged to take an interest in wildlife, learning learn a music instrument. As the head of music took the senior the names of butterflies and birds (everything from cormorants choir through its paces in the chapel one of our young guides to oystercatchers). Other highlights include the chance to re- whispered: ‘She’s an amazing teacher.’ The school supports two enact famous moments in history outdoors, including the Battle charities every year and has recently helped to fund the building of Trafalgar on the lake, and learning Shakespeare on bikes. of a new school in Cambodia. Children are allowed to climb trees during break (as high as The head says he wanted to make the grounds ‘magical’ – and the the former head of maths, who is 6ft 6ins) and there’s a tree- staff have certainly done that. The school feels like something climbing club run by the head for those who want to go higher. Visitors are advised to bring wellies and mud is part and parcel from nearby Brockenhurst to London on a Friday afternoon, of school life. Children aren’t afraid to get dirty and take risks. accompanied by a member of staff. The boarding houses – girls on the first floor, boys on the top floor – are beautifully kitted Lessons start at 8.30am and finish at 5pm, followed by clubs out.

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