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Our view
This all-through school on the edge of Richmond Park seamlessly combines tradition and innovation, offering pupils a ‘safe passage’ from prep to senior. The Independent Schools Inspectorate recently graded it excellent in all areas, its highest rating, and it’s easy to see why. With its clear-sighted head and polished atmosphere, Ibstock Place is a serious London contender.
Where?
There’s an aesthetically pleasing blend of elegant old and ultra-modern buildings in the school’s eight-acre site bordering Roehampton University and Richmond Park. Extensions made of floor-to-ceiling glass overlook the park, sunny terraces give pupils a spot to sit in when the weather is nice and solar panels make the newer buildings eco-friendly. The outside space is beautifully landscaped, with rose gardens and wheelbarrows of busy lizzies in the playground. Pupils are mainly local, travelling from Richmond, Barnes, Putney and Hammersmith. The school runs several shuttles to and from Barnes station, as well as school buses north and south of the river.
Head
The whole school is led impressively by Chris Wolsey. He has been here since 2007 (having initially joined as head of faculty, before taking on roles including head of sixth form and most recently deputy head), so was perfectly placed to take over the headship when the pandemic hit. Engaged and accessible, he brings a collegiate style of leadership to the school community. His passion and energy are contagious, with pupils thriving in the dynamic environment that encourages everyone to become agents of their own learning. Opportunities to do so are plentiful, with public speaking, debating and ethics sitting at the core of the curriculum as a way to grow critical thinking. Pupils are really listened to here, sitting on the Pupil Voice council and working with staff to introduce new initiatives that enhance their education and hone leadership skills.
Admissions
All pupils who join the prep at 7+ are guaranteed a place at the senior school. This makes Ibstock Place very appealing for parents and pupils alike as it removes the pressure of 11+ tests and assessments. The main intake is at 11+, with 80 places available. Over the following three years, occasional places do sometimes crop up, taking year groups to around 125. At sixth form there are a small number of new places available.
Academics and destinations
Communication forms the foundation stone of the curriculum as pupils are taught to become independent critical thinkers and learners. ‘Listening and speaking underpin effective learning,’ says Mr Wolsey. There is no spoon-feeding and academic expectation is high. In Year 7 pupils learn four languages: French and Latin are compulsory, and then they select a further two from Spanish, German and Mandarin (Ibstock was one of the earliest schools in the UK to offer the latter as a taught subject, and non-native leavers reguarly go on to study it at university). An impressive innovation centre is kitted out with VR and AR devices, as well as a recording studio for podcasts and audio editing, with a green-screen stage for video production and film-making.
The sixth-form centre is brilliantly resourced, with excellent opportunities for work experience through the school’s wide network, as well as superlative support for university and career guidance. Most pupils go on to Russell Group universities, with a few gaining places at Oxbridge or heading further afield to US or other European universities.
Co-curricular
There’s a huge indoor sports hall at the school with multi-use courts, two Astro pitches, an indoor pool and a brand-new climbing wall. Pupils are well schooled in health and fitness, and play hockey, netball, football and cricket, as well as doing gymnastics, swimming and athletics. They also have access to the Roehampton Cricket Club, the All-England Lawn Tennis Club and the facilities at Barn Elms Sports Centre.
Music is well provided for with string ensembles, choirs, rock bands and the highly anticipated house music competition, and every year group gets the chance to perform for parents and guests. There are also plenty of opportunities to be involved in dramatic productions, and dance is timetabled up to Year. 9.
More and more pupils are choosing to do GCSE computing; IT and coding are taught in the fantastic tech facility, with coding and robotic clubs offered as extracurriculars. The other 100 or so clubs include street dance, karate and English-Speaking Board.
Journalism is something of a passion at Ibstock Place, with pupils producing an impressive magazine called The Wall that covers school activities and stories of interest to their age group. Recently it raised funds for the YungMash Collective, a global community for peer mentoring and neurodiversity, which was founded in part in the memory of a former pupil who died in her early 20s of a rare cancer.
School community
There’s a close school-family relationship at Ibstock Place, with parents receiving daily communications and given access to online support that dovetails with the PSHE curriculum, enabling them to support their children at home. The pastoral team stays ahead of social media trends and the world that teens are trying to navigate and is always on hand to nip issues in the bud.
A four-house system allows for inter-year bonding and the friendliness between age groups is notable. Pupil Voice makes pupils feel invested, and the 20-strong pupil council addresses a plethora of issues, from gender equality and neurodiversity to LGBTQ+ rights. A dedicated wellbeing hub has two counsellors on site every day, with sessions that can be booked discreetly. Opinion boxes throughout the school allow pupils to post suggestions and views anonymously.
Food is a joy here, with the inspiring chef Josh creating restaurant-quality dishes sourced from local produce for the almost 1,000 pupils and 200 staff. He also teaches Years 7 and 8 how to plant, harvest, prepare, butcher and cook. Inter-house bake-offs and barbecues are hugely popular.
And finally....
This is a school that, in its own words, has its ‘feet on the ground, eyes on the future’. The energetic head leads his pupils by example, engaging them in a life-long love of learning, as well as fostering a culture of respect. Add to that a leafy location and impressive results, and Ibstock Place becomes a school with a real draw.