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What says..

Performing arts is a strength of the school and was listed as a firm favourite among children we spoke to – and not just because rehearsals sometimes clash with maths, they assured us! In the drama studio, preparations were underway for the annual year 8 play – every year group gets their turn through the year. There’s equal enthusiasm for music, particularly the garage bands – one for every year group, apparently, whereby each one writes and performs their own music. Sport has been re-energised in recent years – and the children love it. ‘You can’t walk around school without getting hit by a tennis ball’, the head told us – and he was right! Cue his opportunity to tell us about the tennis academy, with the school recently named best tennis school in Surrey. Coaching available before...

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What the school says...

Amesbury was founded in 1870 and is the oldest preparatory school in the Haslemere / Hindhead area on the Surrey/West Sussex/Hampshire boarders. The school educates boys and girls between the ages of 2 and 13. Pupils move on to the best senior day and boarding schools in the UK.

In the previous decade, we have invested over £5m in the school's estate. Our excellent facilities extend the range of opportunities on offer to children, help to raise expectations and they are an outstanding resource for our valued Common Room.

Our chapel choir robes in red by royal consent and we are the only school to have a Grade 2* Listed Lutyens building designed specifically as a school.

Our history reflects our appetite for innovation and future thinking. Amesbury was one of the first schools in the country to ban corporal punishment and open a Pre-Prep Department, along with an on-site Learning Support Department. Ensuring our pupils are future ready with technology is an important part of modern day education and one that is highly regarded at Amesbury.

We provide each pupil from Year 5 onwards with their own laptop for school use. This technique of working is balanced with more traditional methods of learning, to provide a bespoke educational journey. Our integrated learning environments allow our pupils to work in a flexible and collaborative way within the classroom, facilitating both teamwork and leadership.

Amesbury was also an early adopter of the Pre Senior Baccalaureate (PSB). The PSB provides our pupils with a flexible curriculum and focuses more precisely on developing the skills and aptitudes that will best prepare children for the challenges of adolescence and beyond.

This deep rooted understanding of who we are and where we have come from is the firm foundation on which the school continues to thrive today.

Whole School Open Mornings run in February, May and October, with Pre-Nursery, Nursery, and Reception specific Open Mornings running in November and June.

Please contact Liz Wright on l.wright@amesburyschool.co.uk or 01428 604322
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What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since 2023, Gavin Franklin, previously head of Wellesley House and before that, housemaster at Wellington College, where he was master in charge of cricket (he is a former professional cricketer with Warwickshire, ECB Level 4 coach and in elite player development at the Oval for SCCC) and where he also taught English (he still teaches year 7 English every day at Amesbury). Educated at Malvern College and Durham University, where he met wife Claire, also a teacher. They have two sons, the youngest at Amesbury.

Exuding enthusiasm as we sip tea in his smart and comfortable office, he tells us he ‘fell in love with the feel of the school’ and is keen to maintain its sense of warmth and community. So far, so good, say parents, who see him...

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Special Education Needs

At Amesbury our learning support department assists a range of pupils, and in particular we have Helen Arkell trained support teachers who specialise mainly in the areas of dyslexia and dyscalculia. In-class support can vary from small groups to one-to-one support depending on the level of need. Timetabled support is overseen by the head of SEND, head of English and head of maths. The head of SEND can also put parents in touch with registered educational psychologists, child psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, if an assessment of a pupil's learning or emotional need is necessary. At Amesbury we also cater for any additional access arrangements that a pupil may need in their exams, based on an up-to-date educational psychology assessment.

Condition Provision for in school
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Might cover/be referred to as;
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), PDA , Social skills, Sensory processing disorder
HI - Hearing Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Hearing Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Learning needs, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, Sensory processing
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic , OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, Tics, Tourettes
PD - Physical Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
PD - Physical Disability
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Might cover/be referred to as;
Anxiety , Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, Trauma
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
Might cover/be referred to as;
DLD - Developmental Language Disorder, Selective mutism, SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, Cerebral Palsy (CP)
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Auditory Processing, DCD, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting, Other specific learning difficulty, SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Y
VI - Visual Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Special facilities for Visually Impaired, VI - Visual Impairment

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