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Our View
An uplifting spirit of happiness engulfs you at Farleigh, a co-ed, boarding and day prep in a quintessential Hampshire village. Warmth and a sense of fun are as abundant as intellectual curiosity, and pupils shine with enthusiasm and affability. Father Simon Everson, who was chaplain here before being made head in 2004, embeds Catholic values into daily life (40 per cent of pupils follow the faith, but all faiths and none are equally welcome) and tells us that school ‘should be a golden, rich experience, which is going to provide children with wonderful foundations of security, of ambition, of curiosity. It’ll serve them well for the rest of their lives.’ We couldn’t agree more and Farleigh delivers exactly that.
Where?
With its stately Georgian manor house set in 60 acres of gorgeous park and woodland, Farleigh is as picture perfect as prep schools come. It’s in the pretty village of Red Rice in the Test Valley, a stunning slice of England full of chalk streams, ancient forests and rolling hills. Winchester and Stockbridge are nearby, and most pupils live within around 20 minutes of the school, though there are some Londoners who travel the 70 minutes or so from Waterloo. A fleet of minibuses serves Newbury, Salisbury, Winchester, Romsey, Pewsey and more, while an escorted train service to and from London operates for exeats and half terms.
Head
Now in his 22nd year leading the school, Father Simon is one of the longest-serving heads we’ve met. He was only caretaking the post when, he tells us, the governors decided to take a ‘real punt’ on him and make his role as dual head and chaplain permanent. He still finds the headmaster word a bit ‘heavy’. ‘It’s more like a facilitator,’ he says, ‘somebody who’s got a vision and wants to ignite possibilities.’ Indeed, he lives by the maxim ‘Think nothing of the reaping; be content only with the sowing’, which he learned from a friend during his 13 years working on housing estates in south London – it was ‘tough as tough could be’.
Father Simon’s headship and chaplaincy are symbiotic: he’s always there for the pupils, never too busy for a one-to-one chat, celebrates mass twice a week in the chapel, officiates at former pupils’ weddings and baptises their children. His wife (he converted as an adult and has two daughters) works in the learning support department, where he says Mrs Everson has ‘a skilful ability to relate to children, give them confidence and break through some of the things I think society forgets.
‘She keeps me going,’ he adds. ‘We do it all together and she’s always there.’
It’s hard to imagine the school without Father Simon, but as Catholic clergy work to 75, it’s not something anyone has to worry about just yet. ‘I wouldn’t want to go at sixtysomething in order just to play golf. I’m here for these children. I adore these children. They give me vitality. They give me enthusiasm.’
Admissions
The school is non-selective, with taster days in the year before entry that include an hour in the classroom and a learning support review. Everyone can have two half-hour learning support sessions a week, and if more are needed, there is a conversation about extra fees. The small number of overseas applicants (there are currently 12 international pupils out of 450) are assessed via Teams.
Academics and senior school destinations
Father Simon sets a lot of store by ‘serious critical thinking’, which he believes is especially important in a world where AI is set to become ever-more prevalent. The real defence against becoming dependent on it, he says, is to teach children to ask better questions. ‘By default, they’ll fall into the AI mentality, where something does it for them and you can’t trust the outcome. I want them to be profoundly reflective young people who know which questions to ask.’
The pre-prep has its own dedicated modern building where Sue Wilton oversees the little ones. The atmosphere is warm and unhurried, and Mrs Wilton is a very visible head, teaching across the years and welcoming parents at any time. Children mostly stay in their classrooms with their class teachers, and learning support is exceptional. The outdoor space is wonderful, not least the huge woodland area where pupils go for forest school with a qualified groundsman who runs weekly lessons in whittling, building campfires and bushcraft. ‘It’s really lovely to see some of the children who may be struggling in the classroom just come alive out here,’ says Mrs Wilton.
In the middle school, there are three sets in core subjects so that children never feel they ever have to work above or below their ability. In the senior years, pupils tackle genuinely demanding issues – why is Putin doing what he’s doing, what’s actually going on in the Middle East. Father Simon treats the 13-year-olds as adults and they rise to it. He’s a fan of Common Entrance – ‘It’s a good preparation for senior schools, particularly for the core subjects’ – and destinations are wide-ranging. Bryanston, St Mary’s Ascot, Sherborne, Downe House, Marlborough and Canford are popular. Lots of leavers head off with a scholarship – 26 were awarded this year.
Co-curricular
There’s a lot of passion for the arts at Farleigh. It has a dedicated music school and a dizzying array of ensembles, including a jazz band, concert chamber band, junior and senior choirs, a flute band, guitar group, recorder ensemble and cello group. Pupils are also encouraged to start their own groups – one of our guides had formed a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band, while performances range from mini concerts to the huge annual Summer Soirée festival on the lawn. Drama is equally strong, with whole-year-group productions and the Drama Ambassadors programme for keen young thespians. D&T and art are outstanding too; on our visit, the Year 8s were building their own chairs complete with cushions they’d designed and sewn. Rugby, hockey, netball, football, cricket, lacrosse, tennis, athletics and swimming are all part of the rich sports offering. Pre-prep pupils have specialist teachers from the prep for PE, games, swimming and dance.
After-school clubs include food tech, science, Lego, golf and sewing, and the boarders’ evening activities are also open to day pupils. The Year 8s have a great send-off with a trip to Dartmoor, a comedy leavers’ concert and even a black-tie dinner. Regular house events see pupils competing in pancake races, Minecraft building, spelling bees and cross-country. The biggest event is the biennial whole-house spectacle, which one of our guides says is ‘the best day of my life’.
Boarding
About 120 pupils board, from full to flexi, with two houses, junior and senior, both with lovely views, cheerful common rooms and homely dorms. From the summer term of Year 7, pupils can move between day, weekly and full boarding.
School community
Pastoral care flows through the school organically with a gentle spirituality that comes from having a Catholic priest at the helm. But nothing feels heavy; rather, there’s a heartwarming humanity to Father Simon’s ‘cheerful Catholicism’. He has a wise and beautiful way of talking to the pupils about feelings: ‘If you’re feeling sad, that’s not good, but it’s part of what I call the seasons of the heart. Sometimes it’s autumn, sometimes it’s winter in the heart, and these are human experiences we have to go through.’
Little ones are buddied up with older pupils who are called shepherds. We witnessed the genuine affection between pre-prep and prep children, with older pupils gathered at the fence at breaktime waving and chatting to the younger ones. Pre-prep head Sue Wilton tells us, ‘I don’t quite know who loves it more, the pre-prep loving having a bigger buddy or the prep school having an excuse to come down.’ Weekly pastoral meetings ensure every pupils’ current needs are tended to, and pupils feel able to approach staff whenever they need a chat, whether it’s their form tutor, boarding parent or Father Simon. ‘You’ve always got people around you to help you,’ a pupil tells us. ‘There’s always someone here.’
And finally....
A school that feels like a happy extended family, Farleigh doesn’t just equip pupils with an excellent education that celebrates the joy of childhood, it also profoundly shapes their characters for a fulfilling and meaningful adulthood. As Father Simon says, ‘We’re trying to establish within our young people the human skills that will allow them to navigate what is going to be a very complex world.’