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Our View
Proudly independent, this non-selective prep in Surrey protects the sanctity of childhood while seeking to discover the brilliance of every child. New head Phillip Makhouli is passionately committed to making pupils’ education ‘as magical, safe and joyful as possible’, and with its nursery and fabulous new pre-prep building, Aberdour delivers an incredible start to an education.
Where?
Conveniently located just a few minutes from the M25, the school occupies a spacious 12-acre site, with fields, play areas and a trim trail. The creative new pre-prep building – which is truly one of the best we’ve seen with everything designed to optimise learning – sits harmoniously next to the original mansion house and has its own lovely playground complete with wooden pirate ship and tree house. Other buildings include a sports hall next to the swimming pool, the Nicol Centre with a STEM/robotics room and a single-storey building that houses D&T and the dining room, which is joined to the mansion house via a new foyer and classroom-block extension.
Head
Previously head at Skippers Hill prep in East Sussex, Phillip Makhouli joined Aberdour in April 2025 and quite literally hit the ground running: he takes football club every Friday afternoon (he played at a high level in Scotland). He also teaches maths to Year 5 (he was head of maths and director of teaching and learning at Holmewood House in Tunbridge Wells before heading for Skippers Hill), and once a week he spends his lunch break playing table tennis with pupils. He exudes warmth and kindness and has a wonderful rapport with pupils and staff. Education is clearly his vocation. After an injury ended his football career, Mr Makhouli became an engineer but soon realised he wanted to ‘do something that made an impact’. That something was teaching, and he is passionate about the ‘transformative power of education’.
Admissions
Aberdour is non-selective. For entrance into the pre-prep, assessment days are about checking if the school can meet each child’s individual needs – there are no tests, just observation. Prospective pupils for Years 2 to 6 sit relaxed assessments in reading, writing and maths, while Years 4 to 6 also sit a verbal reasoning test.
Academics and senior school destinations
The pre-prep building, which opened in 2023, was designed by head of pre-prep Anna Terry – and it is a wonder. It is modular and eco-friendly, with a cork, wood and living design creating the perfect child-focused setting for learning. Every room has pastel-coloured walls decorated with hot-air balloon or glider murals and ceilings hung with fluffy cotton-wool clouds. There are three magical ‘turrets’ – the Atelier, the Bakery and the House of Little Explorers – where children go in groups of eight; on the day of our visit, one group were making salt-dough Christmas decorations in the Bakery. The curriculum is equally exciting. Outside in ‘Mr McGregor’s Garden’, the children grow edible flowers, herbs, fruit and veg. Maths, mark making and den building, as well as cooking s’mores over a campfire, happen in the woods.
Pupils in pre-prep use Enchanted Forest Phonics to learn to read and Doodle Club to write, before graduating to Drawing Club in reception. Finger Gym sees them making paper chains and the House of Little Explorers is the best engineering space for little ones we’ve seen, with trays of resources all at child’s height and a Lego wall. Over in the Atelier, children do everything from woodwork to painting – there’s a lovely workshop feel.
These inspiring, cross-curricular teaching methods continue in the prep. On our visit, Year 2s had just learnt about the Great Fire of London; some were in the mud kitchen making healthy meals for the firemen, while others were writing a newspaper report about the event in English lessons. Pupils learn French from nursery and Mandarin from Year 4 in a similarly creative way. One of the language studios has been turned into a role-play room to create an immersive setting: ‘Camembear’ the teddy speaks only French, and the older years use the space as a market, bakery, hotel reception or other real-life settings. From Year 4, pupils move around for lessons, and STEM is particularly impressive with a focus on robotics. Children are issued with iPads, and the school has VR goggles, a 3D printer and a laser cutter. There’s also a Mac suite where coding is taught from Year 2 and a science lab where practicals lead the learning.
Outcomes are excellent and many leave for senior school with scholarships – 148 in the last three years. Reigate Grammar School is a popular destination, as are Caterham, Epsom College and St John’s Leatherhead, among others.
Co-curricular
‘Inclusive sport done to a high level’ is the approach here, says the head. Girls play hockey, netball, cricket and football; boys swap out netball for rugby. Cricket is co-ed, and sometimes other sports are too. Facilities are top-notch: there are five football pitches, a 3G pitch, tennis and netball courts, three all-weather cricket pitches, a 15m swimming pool and a climbing wall on the outside of the large sports hall.
Performing arts are high-level too. A professional actress takes pupils for drama, and every other year group puts on a play: pupils recently staged an immersive performance of
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Year 6s were busy rehearsing for
Beauty and the Beast. ‘The head of music is phenomenal,’ says Mr Makhouli, ‘[delivering] a blend of traditional and modern teaching.’
There are choirs, an orchestra and a newly introduced woodwind ensemble. Teatime concerts are performed throughout the year, and from Year 2 all pupils take part in the Christmas by Candlelight carol service. There are separate rooms for art and D&T, with pupils taught textiles, woodwork, metal work, ceramics, knitting, felting and more. There are lots of arty clubs too, as well as LAMDA, ballet, street dance and cookery for pre-prep, and everything from debating and Lego to creative writing and e-sports for older pupils.
School community
Aberdour has created its own pastoral programme called PAL that assesses each pupil individually, recognising their aspirations, personal learning styles, goals and progress and educational development. Each pupil has a PAL tutor who stays with them from Years 2 to 6, meeting them in small groups every week. ‘It gives pupils a sense of belonging, feeling valued and loved,’ says Mr Makhouli. For an hour a week, children from Year 2 have a 30 minute PAL session, followed by 30 minutes of mindfulness with yoga, colouring and meditation. In Year 6, PAL tutors practise interview questions with pupils in preparation for senior school assessments, as well as spending time sharing ideas so they get used to hearing and accepting other points of view. The pre-prep has a story bench and a calm corner with a hammock. ‘The children will experience mental-health peaks and troughs through the day, and stories decompress them,’ says Ms Terry.
Parents are very involved, organising a Christmas market, fireworks night and lots of other events throughout the year. The PA also runs a morning and afternoon coffee shop out of a wooden shed set with tables and chairs.
And finally....
With its immersive learning approach in a setting that sparks curiosity at every turn, Aberdour knows what makes children thrive. We met happy, well-balanced and keen learners, with a group of Year 6s proudly telling us, ‘It’s a really good school.’