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Our view
This school in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales is one to watch. Numbers are growing and families far and wide are taking note of its unique offering – a nurturing setting that celebrates the individual and has some of the UK’s best outdoor pursuits on its doorstep. It’s no wonder it’s seeing both a drift from local schools and an interest from parents further afield. Giggleswick’s #throwyourselfin campaign really sums up the ‘let’s go for it’ spirit which is seen everywhere from the classroom to the sports field.
Where?
Located on the edge of Giggleswick village, the school encompasses an expansive 215 acres of Yorkshire Dales. It was founded in 1512 and has a rich history (head Sam Hart is particularly keen to showcase this), with many impressive, listed buildings made from traditional Yorkshire stone. It’s modernised inside, with some new extensions, and there are more recent buildings, such as the Richard Whiteley Theatre (named in 2010 in honour of the late Countdown presenter, who was a pupil and benefactor here), which also serves as a community arts hub for films, theatre and music performances.
High on a hill, the chapel was bestowed by Victorian philanthropist and politician Walter Morrison, and pupils take a scenic walk to the Grade II-listed building to attend thrice-weekly services. A charming cricket pavilion is used by boarders in the summer for barbecue and rounders nights, and there’s an observatory in the grounds for budding astronomers.
There are eight school buses covering a radius of 50 miles and serving towns including Harrogate, Ilkley, Skipton, Lancaster, Kirkby Lonsdale and Clitheroe – and the friendly bus drivers are considered an important part of the Giggleswick community. There’s also a chauffeur service for boarders arriving by train or plane.
Head
Head Sam Hart took up the post in January 2022. He was previously at Winchester College and was attracted by Giggleswick’s non-selective, nurturing philosophy, as well as its breadth and location: ‘It’s an academic school, but there is a focus on all areas, and that gives the pupils the opportunity to find their own interests.’
His style is very open-door (one pupil tells us the school feels friendlier since he’s arrived), and he likes to know what’s going on so he can take a strategic and operational approach to making improvements. His previous career as an army officer no doubt informs his methods: seeking opinions and making decisions for the best interests of the pupils. ‘Leadership must be flexible. It depends on the audience,’ he says.
His biggest change since taking up the headship has been to restructure the school day, bringing in more supportive prep time and extra time for co-curricular activities. There are now staggered lunchtimes, an hour of supervised study (with supervision tiered to pupils’ needs) and then an hour of co-curricular with 80 different activities on offer from water polo in kayaks in the pool to knitting in the library. For Year 11 and 13, there are study workshops tailored to their exams. Pupils had a say in the changes and pupil-led activities are next on the agenda.
Admissions
The school is non-selective; there is an entrance assessment at Years 7 and 9 but that’s only for setting purposes. What it is looking for are pupils who embrace Giggleswick values and get stuck in with school life.
Years 7, 9 and 12 are the main entry points, but a few join in Years 10 and 11, mainly from Spain and Germany for one academic year. Out of the boarders, 80 per cent are British; there are international pupils from 11 countries, including Germany, Spain, Croatia, Hong Kong and Japan.
Academics and destinations
In line with the school’s learner profile – curious, skilled, aware, passionate, creative, proactive, resilient, assured – the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. And the new structure of the academic day absolutely does that, giving pupils targeted support where it’s needed. In the sixth form, pupils can take a mixture of A-levels and BTECs, and there is a commitment to bespoke exams so pupils can follow their own path. At the moment two are doing a BTEC in performing arts and one student is studying A-level Latin, even though it’s not yet offered at GCSE. The introduction of Year 7 and 8 scholars Latin, though, means it soon will be. At GCSE, the curriculum is based around three tenets: academics; the CASE (Creative, Active, Service, Enrichment) programme; and skills to develop leadership, teamwork and communication. The latter includes mentoring at the prep school and helping to coach sport as part of a sports leadership award.
Academically gifted pupils have a weekly Aspire Programme session, where they discuss and debate everything from rococo art to forensic science, plus the Creative, Active, Service and Enrichment programme offers subject visits, speakers, competitions, clubs and workshops, as well as university-related opportunities in subjects that pupils are taking. For sixth-formers, the Giggleswick Diploma captures and rewards each pupils’ participation in the whole curriculum.
Most leavers head off to Russell Group universities – two have offers from Cambridge this year for medicine and classics – while a smattering choose apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships. What most impresses us is the way the school shepherds its leavers, helping them to find the right place for them, not what they think others might expect of them.
Co-curricular
The school has a good reputation for sport, with many pupils reaching county level for rugby, hockey, tennis, athletics and football. There’s an Elite Sports Programme for sports scholars in Years 7 and 8, with invites offered to gifted pupils from Year 9; it includes talks and sessions on nutrition, psychology in sport and mental wellbeing. Each year, the whole school takes on The Gaggle, aka the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge – a breeze for such a sporty lot.
Facilities are excellent, with Astro pitches, a large sports hall for indoor cricket, grass tennis courts, rifle ranges, clay-pigeon shooting, natural rock faces, climbing walls, a dance studio, a swimming pool, a spin room with 25 bikes… the list goes on. Pupils also use Skipton tennis courts and the indoor driving range at Bentham Golf.
A new head of outdoor pursuits, Pete Keron, has recently come on board. A world champion kayaker, and a keen rock climber, fell runner and mountain biker, he has the Giggleswick ‘throw-yourself-in’ spirit pulsing through his veins, so no doubt will boost the already amazing OP offering.
The music, drama and art departments are impressive. Half the school takes music lessons, choir numbers keep growing and the Giggleswick’s Young Musician of the Year competition is eagerly anticipated – this year Olly Hamilton, the musical director for the BBC, was adjudicator. As is The Gigg, a line-up of live acts from all year groups that sees younger pupils performing with sixth formers, and the staff and house band as ‘session’ musicians.
Drama productions are ambitious and well-funded – last year’s production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was, says one parent, as good as a West End performance. It is strong on art, too, offering photography, textiles, fine art and ceramics. The 80 clubs and societies include everything from Model United Nations and debating to astronomy club held at the school observatory, with the option of taking a GCSE in the subject.
Boarding
About 65 per cent of pupils opt in to either full or flexi boarding, rising to 75 per cent in the sixth form (the lucky teens have their own bar). Pupils can be full-time, five days or three days, and day pupils all have desk space, and some a bed, if they choose to stay beyond school hours.
Boarding parents are very supportive, and everyone has a mentor, a buddy and a tutor. The seven houses (each are a mix of boarders and day pupils) are very appealing, with cosy kitchens ready with ‘stidge’ (the school slang for doughnuts and snacks at breaktime), lots of nooks and crannies, comfy sofas and fairy lights, table football and pool tables, as well as plenty of bathroom facilities. Each of the houses has its own crest and there’s fierce loyalty. On the annual Scarrig cross-country run, pupils apply face paint in their house’s colours.
After Saturday school, there’s always a full programme of weekend activities, such as ice-skating, riding along the mountain-bike trail or sitting round the firepit roasting marshmallows. On exeat weekends, the school can stay open for children who are unable to go home.
School community
Strong on pastoral support, Giggleswick was recently awarded the Silver Award by the Leeds Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools, which ensures robust strategies are in place to enable a whole-school approach to wellbeing. The house system helps this to run comprehensively, offering a good support network with tutors, independent listeners, matrons and heads of house always available for pupils to talk to. The older pupils are also encouraged to support the younger ones. Year 13s act as mentors for Year 9s, holding half-termly check-ins, and a new wellbeing centre led by both medical staff and the chaplaincy is cementing itself as a supportive and welcoming space.
The older pupils take on prefect duties too. There are different praepostors (prefects) for each part of the school – music, drama, academic, equality, diversity & inclusion, sport and international students – which means the younger pupils know who to go to if they need help in a certain area and the older prefects take on responsibility for their department and organise events and fundraisers, including an annual charity ball for the younger years.
And finally....
A holistic school with the pupil firmly placed at the centre of everything it does, Giggleswick gets its results through an adherence to strong values. The ‘throw yourself in’ attitude helps children find their passions and grow in confidence, with exemplary pastoral care making that journey safe and supported. The new head Mr Hart, with his relaxed, friendly style and strong belief in respect and high standards, will no doubt only galvanise the school’s reputation for nurturing happy, well-balanced all-rounders ready to take on the world.