The Positives of Prep School
For the vast majority of parents, paying for independent school for your child’s entire education (Reception to Year 13) is simply not an option. With the inclusion of VAT, average private school day fees are now around £19,000 a year or £50,000 for boarding, but this is an average, many top schools charge far more – for example, Brighton College charges more than £19,000 a term for UK sixth form boarders. In effect, this would mean spending somewhere between £350,000 to £700,000 on independent schooling through nursery, prep and senior school – and that is just for one child.
For a significant minority of parents, however, independent school may be affordable for a limited time. For example, applications to prestigious private sixth forms have remained strong despite fee increases, as parents may be more willing or able to make financial sacrifices for two years rather than the whole of secondary education.
As families mix-and-match state and independent education, the question therefore becomes what to prioritise – and when.
Many families may automatically assume that it is sensible to focus their attentions on sending students to independent school for public exams, ie GCSEs and A-levels. Many parents may also believe that home environment and family support can have a bigger influence on students when they are younger, but as they become teenagers their peer group matters more.
It would be an oversimplification to assume that private education in the earlier years (to Year 6 or Year 8) is a luxury, however, whilst it remains a necessity at senior level. For example, if you live in the catchment area of an academically rigorous senior grammar school but a poor-performing primary school, then the opposite may well be true.
Published: March 2026
Reasons why sending your child to a Private Prep School is worth it:
1. Independent prep schools share many of the same benefits of independent secondary schools.
A prep school traditionally educates children aged 7-13, ‘preparing’ them before they move on to senior school (sometimes known as public school). Prep schools have smaller class sizes, more specialist teaching, excellent facilities, high expectations for academic achievement and behaviour, varied extracurricular activities and outstanding pastoral care. Independent prep schools are often idyllic; for example, Sunningdale School, near Ascot, has 25 acres of woodland and playing fields, and boys can go fishing, mountain biking, climbing and camping. An even more rural option is Pinewood School in Wiltshire, where there are 84 rolling acres and pupils can both ride and go clay-pigeon shooting.
Annie Gent, Head of Sherborne Prep in Dorset, points out that senior school Heads, “really value the children who come on to them from us – their willingness to get involved in school life, their excellent education grounding across all subjects, and their quiet confidence, sense of community and maturity. Children make remarkable progress here and develop a love of learning that will set them in good stead for the rest of their education, wherever that may be.”
Sherborne pupils are offered more than 130 different enrichment opportunities each term. Children play sport every day of the week (by contrast, most state school primary schools offer only one lesson of PE a week), and every day students have a co-curricular lesson, whether that be Art, DT (Design and Technology), Music, Drama, sustainability or project work. The children can also experience musical theatre, Dragon TV (their own TV show), learn how to do podcasts, junk modelling, textiles and a range of other academic challenge activities – all of which are simply not possible at most local state primaries.
2. An independent prep school can really suit all-rounders, or those who are a bit more in the ‘middle’ of the academic spectrum.
State primary schools can work well for independent learners who find the three Rs (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic) relatively straightforward. On the other end of the scale, those with serious learning difficulties – and, crucially, an Education, Health and Care plan (an EHCP is a legal document requiring local authority financial support for a child with SEND) – can get one-to-one help for free, and so can also be well-supported.
In a typical cash-strapped primary, it is easy for ‘middling’ or quieter children to be overlooked. An over-stretched primary school teacher, trying to instruct a mixed-ability class of 30 with a range of educational and behavioural needs, may simply not be able to support or stretch the students who are not obvious over- or under-achievers.
3. An independent prep school can also help your child to secure a place at a selective secondary school.
Most parents are aware that prep schools are excellent at readying students for the entrance tests to academically selective independent schools, but they can also give students the best possible chance of going to a non-fee-paying selective school, too.
For example, Gayhurst Prep in Buckinghamshire sees about 40 percent of its leavers head to one of the popular local grammars, whilst Holmwood House in Essex loses half its pupils after Year 6 to Colchester Royal Grammar and Colchester Country High. Both schools actively help to prepare their students for the 11+ (the entrance exams used by selective independent senior schools) but in a way that is often less pressured than Standard Assessment Tests (SATS), the government benchmarking tests at the end of Year 6 in primary schools which are much more about teaching to the test.
4. Finally, private prep schools also give you the opportunity to keep your child in primary education for longer.
As prep schools go to Year 8, or aged 13, these extra two years can allow students to treasure their carefree childhood for longer: once they are in secondary school and immersed into the heady world of adolescence and surrounded by older pupils, some of that innocence can be lost.
Christine Cook, Head of Kitebrook School in the Cotswolds, also points out that Years 7 and 8 in a prep school offer plenty of leadership opportunities. She says, “Students here have lots of chances to be role models to the younger pupils – for example being a prefect – and can also excel in lots of areas, such as being a Scholar in an academic subject. As well as helping to extend their childhood and hold off the pressures of teenage life for a little longer, it can really build up their confidence – for some students, moving to secondary school at Year 7 can make them feel like a very small fish in a very big pond, and force them to grow up very quickly.”
It’s also worth noting that teachers at independent schools are specialists both in terms of subject but also age group. At secondary school, teachers are often incredibly busy prioritising A-level or GCSE classes, or spending time writing references or assisting with university personal statements, and so Year 7 and 8 classes can sometimes be a bit of an after-thought. At prep school, these year groups are the top of the school, and so in many respects become the priority again.
What if you are still not sure about sending your child to a Private Prep School?
Despite these various advantages, prep school may not be available or appropriate for everyone. Some parents may worry that a prep school is too much of a competitive academic hot-house at such a young age, or that the commute may be too long and boarding too expensive, or they may not like the fact that their closest prep school is single-sex.
Ultimately, it is important to consider family circumstances; local options; your child’s interests, strengths and personality; as well as your financial situation. It is also worth remembering that quality of teaching and the make-up of your child’s class is just as important as brand, status and where your friends are sending their children.
If you do send your child to the local primary state school instead, then there are still plenty of ways you can support and stretch them as parents – particularly if you want to send them to a private school for secondary school and are nervous about making that demanding academic leap. No school will do everything that is needed for every child. Tutoring is an effective – and far less expensive – way of helping to consolidate their knowledge and skills, building up their confidence, giving them more focused support and advice, and motivating them beyond the (relatively limited) framework of the National Curriculum. Tutoring can be an accessible and affordable investment that can ensure that, whatever school your child goes to, they can thrive.
How Simply Learning Tuition Can Help
Our private school consultants can help you navigate the process of finding the right prep school and give you expert advice based on your child’s ambitions, interests and personality.