Handcross Park School A GSG School

What The Good Schools Guide says

Headmaster

Since September 2023, Jonnie Besley, previously head of Abberley Hall (now closed) and before that, deputy head at Orwell Park in Suffolk. He has also been head of boarding and history at Westbourne House in Sussex and has taught history and coached sport at Dulwich Prep. Educated at Gresham’s School in Norfolk.

Married to Tessa, without whom he may never have gone into teaching at all, he explains - the pair met at Durham (where he studied history, English lit and philosophy) and while he went off into events management, it was her decision to go into teaching that enticed him to retrain at Cambridge. They have a son and daughter, both at school. When time allows, you’ll find them walking, cycling, fishing, sailing and camping out. Mr Besley is also quite a whizz at building treehouses – having made one for his own kids, his neighbours wanted one and before he knew it he had a small side business going.

Entrance

By one or two-day taster experience including English, maths and reasoning assessments and interview, plus reports and references from previous school. Remote assessments and Skype interviews possible for overseas applicants. Pupils come from local nurseries and preps, but with expansion of boarding the catchment area is widening to Brighton, Crawley, Haywards Heath and London. Boarders mainly from London, Forces families, a few from Europe.

Exit

Brighton College is most popular, with Hurst College not far behind. Others to Ardingly College, Worth, Charterhouse, Eastbourne College, Lancing College, Wellington, Epsom, the Perse, Harrow and Culford. Half the 2022 leavers achieved scholarships.

Our view

A parent told us the school's ‘culture is to do with the magic of childhood’; or perhaps the magic of how we think childhood should be, with acres of green on which to run around, ancient trees to climb (plus new wellbeing garden), and teachers who say, how about doing this lesson outside in the sun? Children seem young here compared to city schools, and the school aims to extend childhood for as long as possible (while of course preparing pupils for senior schools). It’s impossible to resist the happiness of this place - we received more random smiles in corridors from children here than at any other school, a tribute not just to their politeness but to the genuine warmth and friendliness which seem to fill this school.

It’s not selective, but parents say it’s an academically challenging school: ‘We joined the school for more academic stretch,’ said one; ‘The bright are well challenged,’ said another. Parents say teachers are as the best thing about Handcross, and feel that its small size means they know teaching staff well: ‘The teachers are very inspiring - particularly in English and science,’ said a parent, relaying her surprise when her son, enthused by science for the first time, talked about time and black holes the whole way home.

‘Teachers are kind,’ agree pupils, one commenting that English has become less scary because the teacher uses her own stories and experience; a year 3 pupil said of the history teacher, ‘He tells wonderful stories… and they’re all true!’

Handcross is a Google reference school, and a lot of academic learning here is through this medium. Pupils start using Chromebooks in pre-prep, and have their own from year 5 of prep school (although not to the exclusion of using a pen). Parents and pupils are enthusiastic: revision notes and homework are all detailed there and pupils can email the teacher if they’re not sure about a topic. In Spanish, Chromebooks mean that each table can be doing something different - in one class we saw a group answering questions on a video, another translating, others practising conversation.

Google Chrome ‘works across so many different things,’ say pupils, who particularly love the multiple choice Caboodle. Google expeditions mean pupils can travel the world in geography and history – ‘so amazing,’ said a pupil, enthusiastically recalling a virtual trip to the theatre to see Lincoln die. GoGuardian means teachers can see whatever pupils are doing on screens – ‘so they know if you sometimes look at the football scores,’ said a pupil feelingly.

Learning support has been transformed here in the last year, with parents and pupils bubbling over with enthusiasm for the wonderful staff in the ‘dairy’; ‘My son's self-confidence has soared,’ said a parent. Innovative thinking in this unit - there are no desks, but beanbags, a ball to lounge over and wobble boards. A teacher may well say, ‘Let’s do our half an hour of English walking among the trees' - they understand here that dyslexic children need to move while they learn. Dyslexic pupils were using tweezers to move dinosaurs from bowl to bowl to increase their dexterity - a fun way to improve handwriting. A pupil struggling with maths was using a toy horse rider and jumps to learn his four times table (four faults every time you knock down a fence).

Around 20 pupils receive regular support (one-to-one charged as an extra), but this is a department with school-wide relevancy, a parent telling us that any pupil who feels ‘flaky’ about exams can do them in the dairy instead of the school hall, and in this friendly environment feel more confident and do better.

Handcross is part of the Brighton College family, but is no back entrance to the college; pupils must hit same standards as other applicants. The link provides a quality standard, and staff throughout the family share best practice.

Pastoral care is a particular strength. The school is keenly aware of the mental health issues which can assail young children, and is keen to increase pupils’ resilience to life’s knocks. If pupils have a problem they will talk to their tutor or the deputy head (pastoral), loved by pupils and parents alike, and pupils can also talk to an independent listener. Random acts of kindness are rewarded with kindness bands, on the day of our visit for handing in money, helping a younger pupil find their parents and for lending someone shin pads.

Parents say that complaints of unkindness or bullying are dealt with quickly – ‘same day, took seriously, dealt with it discreetly. School investigates misdeeds, doesn’t jump to conclusions.’ This school is up front when things go wrong. An incident was dealt with ‘head on in a mature manner, and avoided the school gate gossip,’ said a parent. 'They allowed children to make a mistake and be helped rather than punished. Their way of dealing with the situation made me feel we’re at the right school.’

The usual sports, and gorgeous grounds to play them in, with an indoor pool too. Chances for all in A-E matches every week, and a celebration of the less able in the Be Trewe festival where the D and E teams play other schools. Girls and boys play football, cricket and rounders (which gives every player a chance to play – unlike cricket, which favours the strong few).

Most pupils here learn instruments, and music lessons are an energetic business: shoes were in a scruffy pile at the entrance, pupils were sitting on the floor, drums and other instruments between legs, singing and playing with gusto. It’s a traditional set-up musically, which one parent thought could benefit from some street dance and hip hop. More than 70 pupils do LAMDA exams, with drama lessons and annual productions for all year groups.

The swish new art and design centre houses art of all sorts, including pottery, textiles and photography. Music played as pupils practised watercolour techniques; next door in woodwork, pupils were turning recycled wood into flags and making plastic coffee containers into Christmas bells.

The lavish range of clubs includes pig care; despite calling them Thing One and Thing Two, the field-to-plate scheme didn’t work out, and the pigs look set for a long and happy life at Handcross.

Pre-prep head is described by a parent as ‘a big kid at heart - throws himself into everything'. It’s set in what would once have been the walled vegetable garden, now a magical place of willow arches, cherry trees and every sort of adventure equipment. The children make full use of the surrounding woods in their forest school lessons, and on the day of our visit, reception, all in PJs, were about to take a magic trip on a bed to a jungle.

Communication is good (‘to the point of saturation,’ said a parent), by email and text - not just if matches are cancelled, but even if a road is closed that might be a problem on the school run. Parents are confident of quick response when they contact the school.

Boarders

Around a quarter of years 5-8 do some sort of boarding, with full, weekly and flexi available. An international presence, with boarders from Spain, China, India and more. The varied activity schedule at the weekend always includes a trip; Thorpe Park, laser quest and the shopping centre are all popular. Day pupils can join boarders for breakfast at 7.15am for small extra fee, and can stay for supper until 6.30pm. ‘Takes the pressure off if you’re both working,’ said a parent (pre-prep also provides wraparound care for 50 weeks of the year).

Boarding facilities are of a very high standard, and ‘sensible bedtimes’, said a parent approvingly. Food is equally good, and pupils enjoy food from around the world on Tuesdays – a taste from home for overseas boarders.

The best thing about boarding is the freedom they get compared to home, pupils agree. Phones were banned a few years ago, and for a few days boarders didn’t know what to do with themselves. Now they’re up and out, involved in sport or drama or watching a movie. ‘We can interact with friends more.’

Money matters

No scholarships but about one fifth receive some kind of bursary. One means-tested bursary, virtually 100 per cent, and one free place in nursery. Offers sibling discount - five per cent off first, 10 per cent off second. Over and above that you test your negotiating skills with the head.

The last word

‘Believe the advertising,’ said one parent earnestly. ‘Its very welcoming, very kind.’ ‘Scatter kindness’ is a sign which appears all over the place at Handcross, and it seems that everyone here has taken this to heart. No average family, say parents, but it wouldn’t suit ‘someone overly aggressive or full of their own importance and abilities,’ said a parent crisply.

Special Education Needs

Handcross Park provides individualised support for pupils with mild and specific learning difficulties. Pupils are monitored from an early age and interventions are implemented that allow every child to flourish as an individual learner in order to transition to the appropriate senior school. One-to-one support and group activities are provided in a safe and comfortable environment. Each pupil is encouraged to develop a growth mindset which allows them to establish learning skills, which are transferable across all subjects. The head of learning support actively communicates with relevant pupils, teachers and parents to focus primarily on pupils’ wellbeing and development. This empowers all parties to work cohesively for the successful outcomes of the pupil.