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Our View
Exeter Pre-Prep offers inspiring teaching that gets children thinking for themselves early, laying the foundations for academic success. The warm environment means children feel supported, happy and eager to throw themselves into all the activities on offer. And with the tremendous sense of teamwork, with every teacher involved with every pupil, little ones are ready to fly when they reach junior school.
Where?
Located south-east of Exeter on the outskirts of Exminster, the school is housed in an old chapel on the edge of a quiet residential area. It’s a small campus, around one acre, with one class apiece for nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Numbers are capped at 18. It officially became part of Exeter School in March 2021 (it was previously The New School Exeter) and has since benefited from significant investment. Classrooms are dotted around the main building in light, modern extensions, leaving what was once the chapel free for all-school assemblies, PE and lunch. A new bus service shuttles between the pre-prep and junior/senior school, which helps enormously with drop-offs and pick-ups.
Head
Daniel Ayling has been in post since 2021 and is passionate about pre-prep education, which he believes should focus on reading, manners and kindness. Young and energetic, he’s much liked by pupils and staff, as is his trained therapy dog, Ruffles, who accompanies him everywhere. We love the way he addresses pupils from the pulpit of the former chapel for a lunchtime discussion, something he has introduced to create a family feeling, with staff and pupils sitting down to eat a hot meal bussed over from Exeter School.
Admissions
The school is non-selective, with prospective pupils coming in for a taster day; places are offered if staff feel a child will thrive there. Nursery children can start in the term after their third birthday.
Academics and destinations
Every year group has its own classroom and teacher, and Reception has an extra two rooms with free-flow play that goes into the garden. The staff unashamedly focus on academics, with every child reading one to one every day – labour-intensive, for sure, but it gets results. Even in nursery, there is an emphasis on phonics and maths, which makes moving up to Reception an easy transition. The pupils also get weekly visits from the junior school’s heads of sport and music; the outdoor-learning classroom doubles up as a music room. There’s also forest school one afternoon a week. Nearly all children go up to Exeter School, so friendships stay firm.
Co-curricular
Weekly sport sees pupils doing gymnastics, dance, hockey and netball, as well as ‘sport of the week’, for which equipment is left out at lunch for pupils to play with. They also go to the senior school for swimming lessons.
One-to-one music lessons for singing and piano are available from Reception, and a member of staff who is also an artist leads art lessons. After-school clubs include football, puzzles and board games.
School community
From special wellbeing classes to the ever-present Ruffles, this is a school that gets pastoral care absolutely right. Every member of staff knows every pupil, and the incredibly low staff turnover creates a very stable environment.
And finally....
A wonderfully intimate school with a lovely setting and dedicated staff who know every pupil. A definite go-to for a holistic education with a firm emphasis on learning the basics.