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Our view of Ibstock Place School
There’s so much to recommend this all-through school on the edge of Richmond Park where pupils are given the confidence to voice their views, find their passions and develop lifelong critical thinking skills. It’s a compelling holistic package with all-rounder appeal and robust pastoral care that ensures every individual has the best chance to thrive.
Where is Ibstock School?
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 prep school sits in a corner of the campus and there’s very much a one school feel. The outside space is beautifully landscaped, with rose gardens and wheelbarrows of busy lizzies in the playground. Ibstock 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.
School Headmaster
Ibstock Place is led by the dynamic Chris Wolsey whose commitment to the school is second to none – he’s often there working on weekends and personally interviews every new member of staff. He took over the headship in 2021, but has been at the school since 2007 rising from head of faculty to head of sixth form to deputy head. He has a collegiate style of leadership and 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. He believes oracy is both a life skill and a key component in growing self-confidence, fostering ‘forensic listening’ and collaboration. The latter is very apparent in the way pupils are listened to, with all ages, prep pupils too, sitting on the Pupil Voice council and working with staff to introduce new initiatives that enhance their education and hone leadership skills.
Ibstock Place School admissions process
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. Prospective new joiners are asked to sit online CAT tests and if successful come to the school where they sit English and maths tests and take part in workshop activities to assess how they work both individually and as part of a team. Occasional places do sometimes crop up in other years, taking year groups to around 125. At sixth form, pupils need 59 points from their best nine GCSE results and at least a grade 6 in English language and maths.
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 while academic expectation is high and every pupil is challenged to reach their potential, the support to do so is exceptional. A new academic mentoring department offers flexible and specialist input in one-to-one and small group settings giving pupils the opportunity to develop their literacy skills, reinforce their executive function abilities and develop study skills and revision techniques. Children with physical or neurological needs are welcomed and offered fantastic support that focuses on developing their autonomy and confidence through embedding meta cognitive skills.
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 regularly 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 at Ibstock Place School
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. And with the river so near, the school has recently embarked on building an Ibstock rowing team.
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, and the school is at the forefront of incorporating esports into the curriculum. Head of the innovation faculty Amy Cartwright explains how it’s a fast-growing employer of young people and as well as teaching tech skills, pupils also learn how to work in teams and compete against each other. We love how, alongside coding and robotic clubs, there’s a digital resilience club that helps pupils look after their digital wellbeing alongside producing podcasts, presentations and running a digital detox week. 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.
Ibstock Place School community
Pastoral care is proactive and organically integrated into every area of school life, with good staff-pupil relationships. There’s also a close school-family relationship, 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 strong 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 professional counsellors on site every day and pupils are encouraged to feel comfortable about accessing help. 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....
It’s no surprise this is one of south London’s most desirable schools. From its wonderful family atmosphere to its progressive teaching, 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.