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This award-winning Essex school has a stellar reputation for academic excellence, which probably unfairly eclipses its performing arts and sports offering. In truth, it’s fantastic in all areas, pastoral included. ‘Everyone has a tribe here,’ says head of the whole school Damian King. And yes, it’s seamlessly part of the senior school too, with younger children nestled in a self-contained oasis where they can grow their wings knowing exactly where they’re flying on to. And it combines the convenience of a town school with the spaciousness of a country prep. In an area jostling with good schools, we think this might just be one of the best.
Where?
On the threshold of rural and suburban Essex, close to Epping Forest, Chigwell School is located in an affluent spot inside the M25. There are superb transport links – into London in one direction and out into the countryside in the other. The majority of children travel in from a five-mile radius – in cars for the most part, but the head is hoping to move the dial with six school bus routes already serving more than 100 pupils and a free electric shuttle to and from nearby Buckhurst Hill tube station which has a good uptake. The 100-acre grounds encompass a mix of venerable old buildings (the school was founded in 1629) as well as newer additions. Pre-prep has its own smart and colourful purpose-built building with flower-filled gardens to play in.
The main school accommodates Year 3 all the way up to sixth form, which means the prep pupils can take full advantage of the senior school’s exceptional music, drama, art and sports facilities. In addition, the prep school has its own dedicated library and playground.
It’s notable, though, how much the school feels like composite parts of a whole, rather than separate prep and senior schools. It’s co-ed from age four to 18, with a healthy 50:50 mix of boys and girls. At 1,100 pupils across all the year groups, it also hits the sweet spot of being, as Mr King says, ‘Big enough to matter, small enough to care’. Mr King is keen to maintain the ‘homely feel’ that comes from a nurturing environment so growing numbers is not part of plans for the future.
Head
The supremely confident head of pre-prep Evelyn Gibbs took over the reins of the prep headship too in September 2023, following the previous head's retirement. She is eminently capable – universally adored by pupils and parents alike, she exudes competency and warmth. An early years enthusiast, Mrs Gibbs wowed us with her knowledge of and passion for outdoor education, reading, ICT and language skills being instilled right at the start of a child’s school journey.
Mr King, who rises with the lark for a 6am run around the grounds every morning, took over the whole-school headship in September 2022 and has education running through his veins: he comes from a family of teachers, with five of his six siblings in the profession, spent five years at Eton, four at Brighton College and joined Chigwell from Dulwich College where he was head of science and then deputy head academic. It’s not surprising to find he’s passionate about teacher training; boosting numbers was one of his priorities and there are now eight being trained at a time who all live on site. He also put his weight behind a new, state-of-the-art sport and wellness centre which opened in 2023.
Wellbeing and pastoral provision are one of his three main focuses, the other two being excellence, not just academic but holistic, and service which has been enshrined in the school’s Anglican values throughout its history and sees each year group involved in voluntary service and charity work.
Admissions
Places at Chigwell are academically selective and extremely sought after, with more than 130 prospective pupils chasing 40 places in the two reception classes. In Year 3, another class is added, but those places are equally competitive. Think maths and English assessments, interviews and reports from previous schools.
Academics and senior school destinations
Unsurprisingly, there is a strong focus on academics with high expectations, but this doesn’t come at the expense of a holistic education, with considerable focus on developing learning skills and resilience. From reception onwards, much emphasis is placed on reading with age-appropriate schemes used to help encourage a stretch mindset. And oracy is a golden thread that runs from reception upwards too: in pre-prep pupils present their ideas to each other; prospective essay prize-winners have a viva as part of the assessment; debating is taught across all year groups; and LAMDA starts from Year 3. There is also a solid focus on IT skills, with specialist ICT suites for the little ones, while the Foundation Project Qualification (FPQ) is available to older pupils to challenge them to gain experience in planning, researching, writing and presenting their own work in a subject of their choosing. Their ability to do this is testament to the foundations laid in the early years.
A full-time SENCO and three specialist teachers are on hand to support pupils and encourage them to develop individual learning styles. As well as individual, group and in-class support, there are study skills lessons from prep upwards.
Weekly forest school for pre-prep and fortnightly classes for the lower school sees children engaged in outdoor learning with fully trained teachers. The younger pupils happily brave the elements in their Scandinavian wet-weather clothing – not even snowstorms stop them – and with the expansive grounds, there’s nothing to stop adventures unfolding.
Co-curricular
Lots of space coupled with outstanding facilities means Chigwell’s sports offering is considerable. The new sport and wellness centre includes a climbing wall and a six-lane indoor pool (to add to the heated Olympic-sized outdoor pool), among other facilities. Sport is not co-ed – boys play football, hockey and cricket, and girls play hockey, netball, football and, new to their games list, cricket (some of the school’s top cricketers who play at county and national levels are now girls). Everyone participates in athletics and tennis in the summer. There are innumerable playing fields, floodlit Astros, 3G and football pitches, plus netball and tennis courts. By the end of Year 6, there are competitive matches, with Chigwell always a serious contender.
Music is a big part of school life, with most pupils learning an instrument and taking part in performances, from ensembles for ukulele, orchestra, saxophone and guitar to selective and non-selective choirs. This year’s whole-school spring concert saw the Year 5 and 6 choir performing at Cadogan Hall in London with local primary schools joining them in the singing.
A 150-seat, purpose-built theatre is the stage for many drama productions; from Year 3, drama is timetabled. Every year group gets involved in producing a show, with roles backstage as well as under the spotlight. The standard is high and tickets sell fast. Staff get involved too with a biennial staff panto, a charity fundraiser that is always eagerly anticipated.
There are lots of lunchtime and after-school activities on offer – often music and drama rehearsals, but also charity work and outdoor fun such as Scouts.
School community
The new wellbeing centre strengthens what was already sturdy pastoral care, providing counselling, medical care, and emotional and spiritual support with a head of wellbeing overseeing the provision. It isn’t limited to pupils either – staff, parents and alumni are all welcome. ‘Every child has a champion,’ says Mr King, a sentiment that reflects the pastoral offering, with a vertical house system encouraging friendships across the years and reinforcing the family feel of the whole school community, from pre-prep to sixth form. We’re impressed by some of the initiatives to ease the transition to senior school, such as organising a meal in school for pupils and parents of new classes to give them an opportunity to meet and bond.
Parents are fully invested in the school community. They are diverse and hardworking and mostly live fairly nearby which means they have a strong voice – and they’re not shy about using it. Such active participation – parent turnout is near-on 100 per cent for every event – is a real positive. Parents seem nearly as proud of the school as their offspring – and that is saying something judging by the palpable sense of pride we felt bursting from the pupils on our visit.
And finally....
With its recent co-curricular drive, Chigwell is now a bona fide all-rounder, excellent in all areas and growing in big-hitter status. But no-one ever gets lost in a crowd here – while numbers are large across the whole school, it’s got a small school mentality when it comes to pastoral care with pre-prep and prep pupils receiving a super-nurturing, holistic education that seamlessly continues when they move up to the senior school.