Bilton Grange is a unique and impressive prep and pre-prep school, blending the traditional with the innovative. We intend it to be at the leading edge in all areas of prep school life in the years ahead.
Bilton Grange is a boarding and day school for boys and girls from age 4 to 13 years. It aspires to be the foremost co-educational prep school in the country, committed to academic excellence and pastoral care of the highest quality.
We are very fortunate in both the range and quality of facilities that are available to our children. The setting of the School undoubtedly provides that special opportunity which enables children to grow up in a safe environment surrounded by beautiful gardens, woods and grounds, offering all the pleasures of childhood.
Ethos of the school
There is a special atmosphere in the School that sets it apart from many good prep schools. It encompasses a comfortable informality in the relationships between staff and children, which leads to a high degree of trust and mutual respect. Sympathetic rigour is applied to everyday life in and out of the classroom and high standards go hand in hand with the tolerance and respect shown by children and staff for each other. Children continue to learn how to celebrate each other’s successes while aspiring to excellence in all things: in the classroom, on the games field and when expressing themselves creatively. This, in essence, is the Bilton Grange way of doing things.
- We provide a happy and secure environment in which Bilton Grange children enjoy a rich childhood in a community based on Christian principles
- We develop self-esteem, confidence and independence in each child.
- We treat children as of equal worth with a strong emphasis on courtesy, good manners and personal responsibility
- We value the talents and skills of all staff and children and encourage everyone to realise their full potential
- We create opportunity for choice in which children take responsibility for a proportion of their time and the activities in which they take part
- We encourage parents to participate in the School community and for children to participate in the wider community
- We present our children with an outstanding breadth of opportunity academically, in the creative arts and in sport
- We provide an atmosphere where our children can develop with confidence free from fear, safe in the knowledge that their right to be heard will be respected, and a sensitive approach to advice and guidance when needed will always be adopted
Academic life
Bilton Grange will challenge children intellectually from the youngest to the oldest, encouraging them to acquire thinking skills, to reason logically and to develop their ability to distinguish between what is true and what is false. The ability to solve problems, to analyse critically and to think creatively will be vital tools in the education of the young people in our care in the 21st century.
Bilton Grange will broadly stay non-selective academically and accept children of a wide range of ability for whom it provides high-quality teaching in small classes, rarely exceeding 16. It is school policy to “stream” children when it becomes apparent that some need to accelerate, whilst enabling others to progress at a more modest pace. The timing of this depends on the range of ability of the children in each cohort and will most likely happen at around 9 years old. Mathematics is “set” independently of other subjects. In order to achieve this we closely monitor and track the academic progress of all children.
Bilton Grange will continue to offer a particularly broad curriculum, in keeping with its aim of providing children with a wide range of subjects and experiences. An academic timetable of the appropriate length provides prominence to the “core” subjects whilst also allocating time to those subjects that offer real breadth and creativity to the curriculum. The School will continue to embrace the most effective methods of Information and Communications Technology in the classroom, to enhance teaching and learning.
Pastoral care
Bilton Grange is a boarding and day School, offering boarding places from Year 4. Children may be full boarders, weekly boarders, day pupils or flexi-boarders, who stay overnight for one, or more, nights each week. It is considered that boarding enables children to be nearer the centre of all aspects of school life at Bilton Grange than day children and so boarders can benefit more fully from the rich variety of the education that is offered.
Day children may, however, take advantage of as many of the boarding opportunities as they wish and as is practicable. Boarding plays a very important part in the school’s overall aim of developing well-rounded, confident and articulate children and it is important that boarders and day children co-exist happily at Bilton Grange. Our aim is to provide an atmosphere that is as near as possible to that at home with several father and mother figures at School to whom the children can turn at any time.
The pastoral system ensures every child is known well, nurtured with care and individually supported throughout their time in school.
Extra-curricular activities and the wider curriculum
Bilton Grange provides a breadth of opportunity for children to experience art, music and drama, a wide range of games and a programme of extra-curricular activities for all age ranges.
Children take part in a wide range of activities from the age of 4 that are part of the School routine to encourage self-confidence and performance skills. By the age of 13 they will all have taken part in musical performances and School plays which help to develop self-confidence. Extra-curricular opportunities are frequent and varied throughout the School and allow children to sample new activities and develop new skills.
Games are an important aspect of School life for the children from Reception to the Sixth Form (Year 8). Team membership is considered to be a highly desirable aim for every child from the age of 8 upwards to foster qualities of mutual respect and reliance on each other, whilst learning how to win and lose with dignity.
Admissions
We limit numbers of children to the sustainable maximum for the physical constraints of the Bilton Grange site.
Bilton Grange is not academically selective and admits children of a wide range of ability. Children entering Years 4 and above are required to undertake “placement” tests, as opposed to entrance tests, enabling them to be taught in the correct class on arrival.
Links between Bilton and the Pre-prep
We continue to strengthen links between the senior half of the Prep School (Years 4 to 8) and the Pre-prep department (Years 0 to 3), emphasising that Bilton Grange is one School split into two, referred to as the prep department and the pre-prep.
Marketing and PR
Our aim is to build on Bilton Grange’s strengths to promote the School, keep it in the public eye and to ensure that we are associated with excellence in every area of School life.
Old Biltonians and Old Homefieldians, parents and friends
We continue to work in close association with the Old Biltonian and Old Homefieldian communities, especially through the Old Biltonian Society. We continue to strengthen links with the Friends of Bilton and of the pre-prep.
Staff and administration
Bilton Grange will continue to recruit, retain and develop the highest quality staff in all areas of School life in order to deliver the best possible education to our children
Financial management and governance
Bilton Grange operates best practice in financial matters to ensure prudent control and budgeting such that our finances continue to fund all activities and further improvements.
As far as is practicable, Bilton Grange ensures the adoption of best practice in Governance issues and adheres to the regulations and guidance of all supervising authorities.
The Bilton Grange estate and facilities
Bilton Grange will maintain, and strive to improve further, the superb physical environment and resources available to staff and children. We shall continue the development of the School and its facilities such that we lead the field nationally.
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