Dean Close Preparatory School is a flourishing co-educational school which occupies the same campus as Dean Close School and is therefore able to share the outstanding facilities.
The School is renowned for its family feel and warm welcoming atmosphere, with both staff and children happily enjoying being part of the School.
There are three elegant Georgian boarding houses, one for girls, one for boys and one mixed junior house for younger children aged 7-10. Surrounded by beautiful countryside and close to the centre of Cheltenham Spa town, there is plenty for boarders to do. An active weekend programme keeps them busy with visits to the zoo, activity centres, picnics, bowling and much more.
Excellent facilities support pupils on their educational journey. These include a 25m swimming pool, Amphitheatre, shooting range, performance hall, 550-seat theatre and chapel. There are also extensive playing fields and sports facilities, such as hard tennis courts, floodlit astroturf hockey pitches and the Sports Hall, which houses indoor tennis and cricket nets, as well as a large gymnasium and dance studio. In 2013 a brand new £4.5 million building was built at the Preparatory School housing a 330 seat theatre, 12 individual practice rooms, classrooms and IT suite.
School life is very busy with great importance placed on pastoral care, academic achievement and extra-curricular experience. From the youngest pupil who joins aged 7 to those aged 13 there is an emphasis on the right combination of supervision, encouragement and initiative. Children excel within the broad curriculum and are able to move towards reaching their potential, whether in the classroom, the music school, on the games field or on stage.
The main sports for boys are rugby, hockey and cricket, and for girls, hockey, netball, cricket, rounders and tennis. Swimming, athletics and cross-country running are also taught and use is made of the School’s covered playing area. Golf and horse riding are available nearby.
A wide range of additional activities are also available: camping, canoeing, hillwalking, orienteering, judo, climbing, cooking, watercolour painting and all forms of dance, to name but a few.
With a Prep School population of 300, the sense of family-like community is developed in such a way that it is possible for every child to know each other and to be individually known, valued and cared about. The Prep School offers Foundation, Academic, Art, Drama and Sports scholarships at 11+ and educates the Choristers of Schola Cantorum who sing Evensong at Tewkesbury Abbey.
