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Caterham Preparatory School

What says..

Classroom walls heave with pupil work, often hanging from the ceiling too; teaching spaces are busy, inviting, joyful. Hogwarts-style reading nooks, quotes from the Mad Hatter and novels organised by the colour of their bindings create Insta-worthy spaces. Digital innovation huge – suffice to say, we’ve never seen a prep with a more open-minded approach to tech. Everyone has an iPad (‘used sparingly in reception’). They’d even been using ChatGPT to programme robots to produce AI artwork (gulp). Any suspicions we had about it being...

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What the school says...

Set in extensive grounds, Caterham Prep School is an integral part of Caterham School and most pupils progress to the Senior School at age 11, when boarding is also available if neeeded.
The School's website will give you more information, but a visit is recommended when the school is in session to see the wide range of educational experiences that are offered. ...Read more

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What The Good Schools Guide says

Headmaster

Since 2019, Ben Purkiss. Previously deputy at Bede's Prep; before that taught science at Cottesmore, King’s Hall and the New Beacon. Having originally embarked on a military career, Mr Purkiss bumped into his old housemaster from his schooldays, ‘and that was it’. Discovered, in prep schools, the pleasure of ‘teaching science to children who were still young enough to be interested’. A natural, unassuming head who comes at everything from a ‘What’s the relevance?’ angle: curriculum is justifiable to even the most cynical of ten-year-olds. ‘Applied learning makes sense to me.’ His physics degree was meant to be applied to firing heavy artillery, after all.

Prep was quite traditional and had become ‘a waiting house' for the senior school, ‘It was an unbelievable opportunity to create something exciting,’ he tells us...

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Special Education Needs

Caterham Preparatory School is a high achieving, academic school from which most pupils go on to Caterham School, our senior school. The SEN provision we provide depends on a pupil's difficulty. Having been formally diagnosed; it ranges from 1:1 support, through to group withdrawal, through to support within the classroom. SEN support is undertaken by the SENCO and our qualified teachers under the guidance of the SENCO. Nov 09.

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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