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Our View
This progressive school near Tunbridge Wells is a real trailblazer in its visionary, holistic approach, spearheaded by dynamic head Ruth O’Sullivan who is passionate about education being fluid and child-centred and never stops asking, ‘How can we achieve this?’ Everyone’s answers are listened to – pupils, staff, parents – and the inclusivity, respect and warmth of the school community really shines through. Most pupils stay through to 13, thriving in an environment where they feel valued and trusted, and leaving for senior schools with the kind of well-rounded self-assurance you can’t put a price on.
Where?
On the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells down a quaint country lane, Holmewood House looks every inch the idyllic English prep school, with its stately main building and 32 acres of beautiful grounds. Pupils come from Tunbridge Wells and a sweep of local villages, with almost all travelling no more than 25 minutes to reach the school (there’s a school minibus serving the local area). And for boarders, there’s a chaperone service from Charing Cross.
Aware how lucky they are to have such a stunning site, the school makes full use of this gorgeous area, with outdoor learning part of the curriculum for all years up to and including Year 8. The pre-prep buildings open up onto a smart space including an adventure playground, to which the little ones flock at playtime, alongside mud kitchens and herb-growing spaces. Holmewood's forest school is equipped with a brand new teepee - all children benefit from forest school with timetabled lessons all the way up through the school.
A brand-new innovation lab delivers robotics and coding, and there’s a planned food tech suite in the pipeline.
Head
Ruth O’Sullivan has been at Holmewood House since April 2022, having moved from South Lee School, Bury St Edmunds. Kind, empathetic and intelligent, Mrs O’Sullivan was an early adopter of mindfulness when she introduced it over 10 years ago at St John’s College School in Cambridge, where she was deputy head. Passionate about nurturing children’s emotional wellbeing, Mrs O’Sullivan believes in teaching ‘with the child at the heart’, and inspires her staff to do the same. She places great store on listening to her staff as well as the children, with every school member’s voice considered both important and relevant. ‘Why can’t you?’ is her mantra from which all sorts of new initiatives have grown, including a new horse-riding team requested by pupils and run by a parent. It’s no wonder Mrs O’Sullivan is loved by the children who wave and smile at her through her office windows at playtime.
Admissions
Children can join the pre nursery in the term they turn three and most stay all the way through to Year 8. Most reception children move up from the nursery, but some pupils also join at reception. Pupils may join at any point, with Year 3 and Year 7 being particularly popular. Children come for a taster day (potential boarders also have a sleepover) and admission is non-selective. Those joining in Years 3 and above will sit a computer-based Cognitive Abilities Test in the afternoon and are asked to provide their latest school report.
Class sizes are small, with three-class entry in all year groups. Boy:girl ratio is around 50:50 throughout the school.
Academics and senior school destinations
Despite its impressive academic reputation, Holmewood House’s non-selective admissions policy results in a broad church of abilities. Pupils are extremely well taught and many leave with academic scholarships, but more importantly they leave knowing themselves and what kind of learner they are. They’re very much encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning.
Streaming in maths starts in Year 3, with specialist teachers in French, art, music, D&T and engineering, drama and games. From Year 5, pupils are taught all subjects by specialist teachers and have biology, physics and chemistry in science labs. Languages are strong, with French taught from nursery upwards. In Year 6 pupils can choose Spanish or Latin or opt for extra maths and English if they prefer. In Year 5, they do a WoLLoW (World of Languages and Languages of the World) project covering the roots of all languages, including Hindi, Sanskrit, sign language, Morse code and ancient Greek. Communication not grades is the focus and it’s seen a boost in pupils’ coding and tech skills.
Enrichment is timetabled into the school day from Year 3 and revolves around a carousel of sessions. For Years 3 and 4, there’s a focus on STEAM with links to humanities. The Year 5s and 6s have sessions themed around world readiness, with topics including careers, sign language, even the origins of yoga. Debating, mini Model United Nations and eco modules (from fashion to tourism) are added in Year 7, while the Year 8s get intense leadership preparation sessions that culminates in a qualification. They also do a leavers’ programme in the summer, working with pupils with learning disabilities, doing respite care and visiting hospices.
A scholarship readiness programme is open and accessible – ‘There is still a bar to be reached to enter the programme,’ Mrs O’Sullivan tells us, but not every pupil will take a scholarship and pastoral care is exemplary. Heads of departments work together to plan an accelerated programme of learning within each discipline and pupils have priority entry into related clubs. ‘It’s a punchy endeavour,’ says Mrs O’Sullivan. One parent whose daughter is on the music scholarship readiness programme tells us her child has really been placed at the centre of the journey and feels wonderfully supported.
Leavers go on to a raft of senior schools including Tonbridge, Brighton, Sevenoaks, Marlborough, Eton, Millfield, Harrow, Hurst, Mayfield and Worth. As well as academic scholarships, many also win scholarships in drama, sport and music.
Co-curricular
The school has a strong sporting reputation and excellent facilities – and is known on the local match circuit as a force to be reckoned with. The emphasis is on both competition and a love of playing and this lucky lot have access to a plethora of activities to throw themselves into, including endless playing fields, tennis courts and an Astro pitch, while indoors there are squash courts, a rifle range, a sports hall and an impressive swimming pool. The swim club is hugely popular, with children training every week and putting their PBs up on the wall to motivate themselves, and the school always does well in the IAPS swimming galas.
Games are still split into boys and girls, with boys playing football, rugby and hockey in the winter, cricket and athletics in the summer. For girls, as well as netball and hockey, football has been added to the winter-sports schedule and this year the school hosted the first all-girls’ football tournament that saw 800 girls playing over two days. They also do cricket and athletics in the summer. PE is co-ed, with everyone doing gymnastics (they recently won IAPS Nationals), badminton and basketball together.
Innovative art classes see pupils creating vinyl album covers, throwing clay pots and experimenting with glazing, while in D&T they make puppet theatres complete with cogs and handles. A new IT and innovation teacher has introduced e-sport which now has a dedicated room kitted out with all the tech and lighting – pupils recently became national prep school e-sport champions. The school also runs a Greenpower racing club where children in Years 6-8 build a car to race at Goodwood.
Drama is inclusive, with a drama studio and full-size theatre to put shows on. 'Frozen' is the latest to be staged and, judging by the rehearsals we saw, it’s safe to say the standard here is extremely high. There are many talented musicians too, with choirs and orchestras meeting weekly. Older pupils have use of a tech room where they write songs and learn digital musical annotation.
Some 126 clubs run over the course of the academic year. A creative learning hub doubles as the school library and pupils can run sessions on things they’re interested in – one pupil in Year 4 recently ran a Japanese day. It’s all part of the school’s philosophy of developing future leaders and desire that the clubs should be not hierarchical, but empowering.
Senior pupils go on a trip each year - this year it's a Dubai cricket and netball tour; next year it's to the Netherlands for a rugby, football and hockey tour.
Boarding
Boarding numbers are on the up, and the school runs a chaperoned train service to and from London. The roll currently stands at 20 to 30 full boarders, both British and international, a balance the school is keen to maintain. To this end, the school is currently looking at welcoming European boarders for a term or two-week stays. Flexi boarding is highly popular among local children and their parents. Although the school day finishes at 4.40, day pupils can stay until 6pm and have supper - a great option for working parents.
School community
Holmewood House takes pastoral care seriously. The pastoral care team includes 50 trained mental-health first-aiders, as well as an assistant head of learning and teaching and an assistant head pastoral. Pupils receive awards for good works and are encouraged to be reflective about less exemplary behaviour, so it’s very much carrot over stick. Pupils know their voices will be listened to, and staff have more time to work and support each other. A new wellbeing and medical centre includes sensory spaces with egg chairs and swings (pupils were consulted in the design!). Pupils can come for drop-in sessions at break times through a discreet, private entrance which was part of the innovative design.
Years 5-8 can turn to a dedicated tutor as well as their form teacher for support, and all children have a safety circle: a number of teachers to whom they are comfortable approaching, and this list is refreshed every term. Year 8s take on leadership roles, collecting younger children for meetings and reading out loud to them. They each have a Year 3 buddy whom they meet with once a week, which helps to encourage vertical friendships and role models.
The house system is a huge part of daily life at Holmewood House – everyone, from pupils, teachers and support staff is in a house and regular friendly but fiercely fought competitions take place on and off the sports fields. At the weekly house meetings, the Year 8 heads of houses lead the agenda, not the teachers.
Parents are an integrated part of the school family; ‘We genuinely include them,’ says Mrs O’Sullivan, ‘it is not tokenistic.’ Skills sharing and more opportunities to visit classes and be more involved in their children’s school lives has been warmly embraced. They’re ‘brilliant’ says Mrs O’Sullivan, and really support the school with fundraising events, including the much-anticipated summer ball.
And finally....
A non-selective admissions policy coupled with top-notch pastoral care, plus a real emphasis on enrichment as well as academia creates a winning formula for happiness and success at this nurturing Kent prep.