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Our View
This exceptional day school in Surrey just gets bigger and better. Inspiring head Andy Boyle has overseen a doubling of pupil numbers in seven years and since joining the Radley Schools Group in September 2025, there’s even more forward momentum – or as the school’s motto puts it, they just keep ‘Raising the Barfield’. With its warm, family atmosphere and exceptional outdoor-pursuits department, Barfield is hard to beat when it comes to offering children a safe space to be adventurous – and learn more than they realise in the process. A wonderfully holistic school that also doesn’t break the bank.
Where?
One mile east of the market town of Farnham, Barfield is set in 12 lovely acres, with plenty of space for its award-winning outdoor-pursuits department, Three Peaks Barfield. A homely, red-brick school building has been modernised with a science lab and food-tech classroom with six sleek workstations, and a state-of-the-art dining hall opened a couple of years ago, complete with professional kitchen and a wonderful veranda overlooking the grounds. Also recently refurbished are the sports hall and the school auditorium which includes music, art and D&T spaces. Many pupils travel to and from school on one of the three minibus routes taking in Alton, Farnborough and Aldershot.
Head
Andy Boyle joined Barfield in 2019 and in seven years has turned the school around: pupil numbers have gone from 150 to 300 (‘This suits our size of site and is a great size for children at this age,’ he tells us); lots of facilities have been modernised; and joining the Radley Group has meant more resources, expertise and collaboration, both from Radley and the other six preps in the group. ‘It’s been really, really positive,’ he says. ‘We are really confident about what we do now, and we do it well.’ Balance, belief and boots are the three pillars that encapsulate what they do. Balance is all about the curriculum hitting that sweet spot, so there’s as much pride in the pupil who excels on the sports field or the stage as the one who’s acing grades. Belief is fostered in oneself, as well as in the school community. ‘Relationships are key here. The children are at an age where they should be trying things, and we give them the confidence to do that,’ says Mr Boyle. Boots is the huge focus on the outdoors, with pupils getting stuck into outside activities whatever the weather.
Admissions
There’s a wide breadth of ability, nationalities and cultures here, and any child is welcome to attend a taster day, which involves low-key assessments. The nursery’s popularity means more names are going down at birth and once a child is accepted, a place in reception (which is currently operating a wait list) is guaranteed. ‘The nursery is not a standalone nursery, it is the start of the journey and parents buy into this,’ says Mr Boyle. Some 70 per cent of nursery children stay on (there’s capacity for 90), and reasonable fees means it’s more accessible than some other prep schools.
Academics and senior school destinations
Class sizes are small with a maximum of 18, with two-form entry all the way up the school. Reception classes are linked to the nursery, which makes the transition into big school easy. Daily phonics lessons are organised by what stage a child is at rather than age. There’s plenty of fun through learning – WOW days see a whole year group immersing themselves in a topic; Year 1 recently had one on Great Britain where they went on an imaginary train journey to Scotland, Wales and England learning all about the home nations as they travelled. At the end of the trip, parents joined them for afternoon tea, enjoying scones the children had made themselves. For the older pupils, there are WOW job days, and there are also whole school WOW subject days.
From Year 3, pupils move around the school for some specialist subjects, including science, food tech and French. Mandarin classes are offered on Saturdays and there are also Spanish and German after-school clubs. The library hosts story time for the lower school and ‘social reading’ for older pupils. Year 2 upwards have weekly library sessions and there’s a book club for Year 4s and above.
Exam week sees pupils in Years 5 and 6 gathering in the big hall to sit tests under proper exam conditions. This prepares them for the 11+ and pupils say they love it – but maybe that’s because afternoons are filled with fun activities, and Year 6 pupils leave on a high with a trip to a French château. Most move on to secondary day schools in the local area, with over 20 different schools making up the onward destinations list, including St Catherine’s Bramley, RGS Guildford and Churcher’s College. This year leavers have had 30 first choice offers. ‘I want them to love their time here and to get the next step right,’ says Mr Boyle.
Co-curricular
Barfield tries to teach as many sports as possible to get pupils ready for secondary school, and there are Saturday clubs – football in autumn and multi-sports in summer. An on-site indoor swimming pool gets plenty of use – an extra session for Years 3 and 4 has recently been added after the school noticed some pupils weren’t very confident in the water. The swim team also train once a week before school. There’s lots of gymnastics in the recently refurbished sports hall and pupils also have tennis courts – including two grass courts – to play on and an athletics track around the cricket pitch. Fixtures are plentiful and the school always makes a good showing.
Opportunities to perform are plentiful – there are termly performing arts concerts where pupils showcase their individual musical talents (around half of pupils in the upper years learn an instrument) and there’s an orchestra for them to perform in, plus an invitation-only chamber choir, as well as lower and upper school choirs which are open to all. There’s also a dance troupe and a new cheerleading club that performs at the bi-weekly celebration assembly, with Mr Boyle handing out awards dressed in a gold jacket.
The school’s longstanding Three Peaks department (it’s been running for 30 years, and is open to the public too) offers everything from quad biking, paintball shooting, combat later tag and archery to Aeroball, orienteering and the exciting Leap of Faith, where pupils climb a pole to a small wooden platform and jump onto a trapeze bar. There’s also the fabulous two-level tree house for outdoor learning which is heated so pupils can use it all year round, plus a large tented area, an area for triathlon training, a huge climbing wall between two smaller ones, an area for den building and a Jacob’s ladder strung up a tree. All the activities help build confidence, communication and problem-solving skills, while being hugely fun.
Trips are exciting too: the Year 6s head off to France, Year 5 to the Brecon Beacons and younger pupils camp out on the head’s lawn, where he also runs movie nights. Clubs include everything from junk modelling to mindfulness. The optional activity programme which runs on Saturdays and offers multisports, Mandarin and synchronised swimming is very popular.
School community
The pastoral care is exemplary – it’s a particular passion of Mr Boyle’s, and the warm atmosphere of the school is palpable. The pupil parliament has a chairperson and secretary (both appointed via an interview with the head of the upper school), with two representatives from each upper school year group. Every form also has a captain and vice-captain. A team of four SEND teachers ensures all pupils’ specific needs are met. Mr Boyle also attends to staff wellbeing – ‘I’m passionate about looking after my staff,’ he tells us. Everyone can take an annual Happy Day to do with as they wish, whether it's to attend a wedding, celebrate an anniversary or just take a day to themselves.
Parents are very involved in the PTA, Barfield Friends, which organises fundraising events including a summer ball and colour runs. ‘Parents have faith in Barfield,’ says Mr Boyle.
And finally....
‘Expectation is challenged but not at the expense of childhood and happiness. We are not regurgitating the same kind of child every year,’ says head Andy Boyle. And it’s this focus on wellbeing and children as individuals, not a homogenous group, that really sets Barfield apart. Parents tell us they feel their children are ‘in a really safe pair of hands’; pupils just love having school days packed full of fun.