‘We loved the school straight away when we looked around. The grounds are wonderful and it is a beautiful school, but more importantly it has such a lovely ethos. The children are encouraged to be children and to play outside and have adventures.
The academic side is extremely good, the school is nurturing and there is a strong emphasis on kindness and politeness – and above all the children are visibly happy.
The admissions process was painless. We looked around a few times, met the headmaster and had a tour of the school. It was all friendly and welcoming.
Lucy Lee is a lovely teacher and her commitment to support the pupils, smiley presence and wonderful feedback on their work has been extremely impressive.
The school keeps in touch well with the parents.
There is good and easy communication between class teachers and parents and also with the school itself. I feel closely involved in my children’s education and there is always an opportunity to chat to the form teacher at the beginning or end of every day, as well as contact through email.
The school is nurturing and has very good pastoral care. In the only instance we have needed to involve the school in a pastoral issue, the school dealt with the situation quickly and appropriately as soon as they were aware of it.
I feel the school knows my children well. It is a small and very friendly school and their class teachers know them extremely well, but they are also known to most of the other staff in the school as well.
I feel like my children are getting a good grounding for the next stage. The school community is generally fairly local, with a few international students. It is very welcoming and there is an active and friendly PTA.
There are regular parent social events such as a curry and quiz evening, as well as school events at which the parents are welcome. We have been extremely happy with Old Buckenham Hall and it has lived up to all our expectations so far.’
‘We chose Old Buckenham Hall due to its beautiful rural setting, committed senior leadership team, warm welcome, excellent outcomes and an action-packed timetable.
The admissions process is welcoming and informal.
There is no “perfect OBH child” stereotype to live up to, each child is treated as an individual, with an individual learning plan. The headmaster is approachable and popular among the children, but there is a good level of mutual respect in place too.
The English master, Dr Marshall, is everything you would hope a prep school English teacher to be. Known as “Doc” to all, he would have his pupils read books and write stories all day if he was permitted. He constantly inspires his children to go one better and often weeps over really good pieces of their writing. An absolute gem!
There are weekly letters from the head and speedy responses to my emails from form teachers mean I never feel out of the loop. Individual grievances are dealt with by phone calls or face-to-face meetings, rather than email.
The school has an “open door” policy and I would never hesitate to get in touch if I had an issue and I would do so with full confidence that I would be listened to and supported.
There is also an excellent, warm and very approachable school nurse and head of boarding who has helped me and my daughter with a number of things. Again, she’s very easy to reach via email and often around for a chat at drop-off. The form teachers would be the go-to person if I had any concerns.
Emails are always responded to and usually they take it from there. My daughter wouldn't think twice about talking to her teacher about a pastoral issue.
From Year 5, they do all their prep at school so by the time they leave they have long been in control of their books, files and timetables. In Year 8, there is an excellent post-exam programme to broaden the children's horizons before moving on.
Senior school heads visit the school regularly to talk to the children about the next stage. Also, senior school musicians visit and give performances.
The PTA is known as “The Friends”. They organise super events throughout the year: a dog show, quiz nights and a school ball.
In my experience, arriving at the school in Year 5 with my daughter, I found the parents extremely welcoming and helpful. Matches, music concerts, events and parent talks bring us all together regularly. It is a very friendly school.
My advice to new parents would be not to fear contacting the school with questions. I was worried I was being a pain, but actually the school was so receptive and helpful.
There is a big emphasis on being outdoors.’