WHAT? WHERE?

SANDROYD SCHOOL SALISBURY WILTSHIRE BOYS WALKING DOWN PATH WITH ARMS AROUND EACH OTHER

Picture the sort of large sweeping country estates you usually find Jane Austen heroines walking across barefoot… that’s the kind of vista you get when driving through the Rushmore Estate to Sandroyd School, near the village of Tollard Royal sat on the Wiltshire-Dorset border. There’s even a copper-domed temple with fluted columns for summer evening picnics.

Starting life as a private coaching establishment in Surrey, the school moved to the 19th Century-built Rushmore House in 1939. While Sandroyd historically educated boys, it’s now a co-educational day and boarding school for ages 2-13, with 260 students across the Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep. You’ll find 187 in the Prep, of whom 183 are boarders.

There’s an emphasis on learning independent life-skills like resilience, courage, kindness and problem-solving. By encouraging pupils to move out of their comfort zone, they learn to cope with life’s disappointments. Nailing these skills during these formative gives children the toolkit to cope better with the big or small stuff life throws at them.

The School is also geared towards preparing children who will progress to the next stage in the system – Senior schools like Marlborough College. And if you like the idea of a focus on building children’s characters early, you can even start them in the nurturing nursery in The Walled Garden from as young as two.

Walking around the school you notice the wholesome demeanour of the pupils and friendly, smiling teachers. Located a mere stone’s throw from Salisbury, children come from the local area but plenty have ventured from as far afield as Spain, Thailand, the United States and Japan, with 9% of pupils from overseas.

FACILITIES

Fresh-air fans will be in their element here. There are 70 acres of bucolic grounds plus a further 500 on the estate proper to muddy knees in. The grounds consist of playing fields and a whole array of gardens, paddocks and lawns plus tennis courts; a floodlit astroturf; numerous playgrounds and natural deciduous woodland. It’s also handy for horseriders: There’s an equestrian cross country course, riding arena and stables. For swimmers there’s an indoor swimming pool – the outdoor pool was returned to a pond some years ago.

In terms of creativity a dedicated art block was built recently, and there’s an impressive theatre where assemblies, chapel services and school plays are held. There’s also a Design and Technology classroom and IT suite, too.

The buildings feel lived-in, adding to the comforting family-feel of the school which Mr Speers the headmaster describes as ‘putting people first’.

ACADEMICS

Since Alistair Speers joined the school as headmaster in 2016, he and his wife Alice, a former state school English Teacher who is part of the Senior Management Team, have bolstered early-years learning and development. Mr Speers states that the school is proudly non-selective academically and that he and his wife are fiercely protective of time outside the classroom. They fly the flag for developing children’s characters through play and outdoor activities and so have stripped back teaching time – making lessons more efficient. There are just four lessons before lunch with one break, after which they try and spend the whole of the afternoon outside, although Mr Speers admits sometimes other lessons do need to be squeezed in.

Class sizes are kept deliberately small – Sandroyd aims to have a one class entry in Y3, two classes in Y4 and Y5 and three classes in each year beyond that. Obviously, birth rates and pupil numbers vary from year to year so bear that in mind. Some subjects are set in the later years, with a scholarship stream from Year 6. This makes for a successful formula – a whopping 40% of pupils have snaffled scholarships to their senior school in everything from academic to drama, from sport to all-rounder. Children mostly head on to boarding schools, with around 20% going to the big hitters of Winchester, Eton, Harrow and Radley, and 50% heading towards more local schools including Marlborough, Bryanston and Sherborne.

SPORTS

With so much outdoor space, it’s no surprise that sports and outdoor activities are highly prized at Sandroyd. The offering is pretty traditional – boys play rugby, girls play netball, but both sexes play cricket and hockey. All children are encouraged to use the indoor swimming pool (under supervision) and to make the most of the outdoor space.

This is also a fantastic school for keen riders or those who want to learn as the school is a registered Pony Club Centre and licensed riding school. Lucky children can house their own here (for an additional fee) or ride one of the many owned by Sandroyd which you can see roaming around in the grounds from the headmasters’ office.

DRAMA & MUSIC

With its own on-site theatre, it’s no surprise that performing arts at Sandroyd has taken more of a starring role in recent years, especially with a Head of Department who’s passionate about developing these skills and a Headmaster who believes in pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. If children are shy, for example, Mr Speers thinks that the challenge of conquering performing fears can be as enriching as achieving sporting prowess. There are special ‘Showcase’ performances every fortnight where children prepare an act to perform to the whole school (usually the boarders). This all builds up to the annual shows for each year group culminating in a show-stopping musical in Y8. Super-charged confidence-boosting fun whether you child is a keen jazz hander or simply needs a little encouragement to come out of their shell.

All school children also take part in the public speaking competition, called Bridmore Public Speaking, in which each child researches, prepares and performs a speech to their class. The best two go through to an all-school final with an independent adjudicator. Recently the Stowe Verses poetry recital competition has been introduced and both these activities are designed to improve children’s self-esteem.

Musically, children can choose from a range of different instruments to learn or try and join orchestra, choirs, string band, swing band, rock band, brass band, plus one-to-one music lessons with peripatetic teachers (many of which will take place in the theatre itself). There’s are also varied dance lessons from ballet to modern held in the dance studio at the prep school.

LITTLIES

The Walled Garden is not somewhere to slope off to in your lunch break, but the charming name for Sandroyd’s Nursery and Pre-Prep, housed in two different buildings.

The Nursery is modern, spacious and warm with a large outside space and children play a large part in deciding what they want to do in this space. For example, they asked for and helped create a recycling area. There’s also a focus on wellbeing, starting from this early age (children as young as two can attend the morning or day sessions) with walls stuck with pictures answering questions like “What makes me happy?”. Usefully there’s a “nap room” so the youngest children can keep to their sleep schedule or take time out when necessary.

The neighbouring Pre-Prep is also a modern building with small classes that act as an introduction to life at Sandroyd, and with the same focus on wellbeing, through active discussion and expression of feelings and emotions and the freedom to create their own activities. Classrooms are hung with brightly coloured children’s art and paper decorations and are also taught french, music, outdoor learning, swimming, gymnastics and sport by specialist teachers alongside general learning.

From Reception onwards children can take part in a range of after school activities including Art Club, Mindfulness, Performing Arts, Yoga, STEM, Ballet, and Sports Club. Horse Riding is also on offer for an extra fee, and is available to children from nursery all the way to those in Y8.

BOARDING

Boarding at Sandroyd is the very backbone of school life, and the Boarding House rooms are spacious and neat while still homely and cosy. There are four boarding houses, each delineated by sex and age and each with a house parent, as you’d expect.

In keeping with most of Prep schools, Sandroyd offers weekly and flexi- boarding, although plenty of children board full time (the majority of children board at least a few nights a week, and the number of pupils choosing to board is on the up). All pupils are encouraged to board in Y7 and Y8 to help prepare them for senior destinations, but it not mandatory.

The boys’ common room is gaming heaven, with table footballs, pool tables and table tennis. The Junior Girls’ Boarding House has a large TV and a cosy common room with books, sofas and games. In fact, boarding is so popular here than most children board at some point. Evening activities include free swimming or full use of the gym or art block, while weekends (an impressive 50% of boarders, 70 kids, stay for the weekends, with some even more busy than that) are packed with camping, horse riding, Sunday lunches with the staff or chilling with the sheep that wander freely in the grounds. There is no need for expensive flashy trips to Laser Quest or paint balling – indeed, they rarely offer that here – this is good, old-fashioned childhood fun – like adventure games that all the boarders participate in.

THE HEAD

Alastair Speers is the man at the helm at Sandroyd and his vision and passion are palpable. Sitting in his large ground floor office, with comfy sofas and a roaring fire in winter, he comes across as affable and approachable. Having once been a Senior Housemaster at a boarding school himself (Oakham), he’s a firm believer in empowering children’s confidence to solve their own problems and take care of themselves as he’s seen first hand how much children can struggle moving from Prep to Senior without resilience skills. He also knows that’s what Senior schools are looking for in prospective pupils.

While the academic results are outstanding, Mr Speers believes that a Sandroyd education offers much more than just academic excellence. He aims for Sandroyd to provide an exceptional, inclusive education that allows each pupil to fulfil all aspects of their potential: academic, artistic, sporting, cultural and social. Mobile phones are not allowed in school and despite him having a First in Engineering, and Design and Technology being his specialism, he’s keen to keep activities as analogue as possible, instead encouraging children to learn how to fail – to experiment with making and designing things by trial and error, rather than learning a method and perfecting it or using screens. That being said, there is still a supportive pastoral care system in place – first teaching children to try to take care of basic needs like good sleep first, then encouraging them to use the Independent Listener. There are regular visits by a professional counsellor for those who then require extra support.

While the academic results are outstanding, Mr Speers believes that a Sandroyd education offers much more than just academic excellence. He aims for Sandroyd to provide an exceptional, inclusive education that allows each pupil to fulfil all aspects of their potential: academic, artistic, sporting, cultural and social. Mobile phones are not allowed in school and despite him having a First in Engineering, and Design and Technology being his specialism, he’s keen to keep activities as analogue as possible, instead encouraging children to learn how to fail – to experiment with making and designing things by trial and error, rather than learning a method and perfecting it or using screens. That being said, there is still a supportive pastoral care system in place – first teaching children to try to take care of basic needs like good sleep first, then encouraging them to use the Independent Listener. There are regular visits by a professional counsellor for those who then require extra support.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Excellent. You can drop off as early as 7.40am and pick up as late as 6.30pm – with Breakfast Club and a range of after-school activities available. Activities vary each term so please contact the school directly for details.

QUIRKS

It’s not unusual to see a dog in every classroom including the nursery as most teachers own one and are encouraged to bring them in. Children find them a great comfort.

There’s also a ‘Pets’ Corner’ where children can bring their pets to stay with them during the term. These are generally those that can be kept in hutches like guinea pigs and rabbits, rather than big or exotic. Phew.

WHAT ELSE?

Four times a week, 40 minutes is carved out for their STRIVE program, which includes everything from confidence building to study skills, inventing to public speaking, mindfulness to wellbeing, and philosophy to generally thinking outside the box. Teachers are there to mentor children in these sessions, not teach them the answers. Children are encouraged to learn how to teach themselves under guidance. Indeed, the STRIVE programme won the Strategic Education Initiative prize at the TES Independent School Awards in 2019 because of its breadth and creativity. Plus, and possibly more importantly, pupil feedback has been incredibly positive and all staff agree they have noticed improvements in their students’ confidence, problem-solving, creativity, communication and independent learning since the initiative began.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents love the academic ambition as well as the high level of pastoral care and outdoor life, not to mention the eye-wateringly impressive setting. The general feedback is that Sandroyd kids are happy and thrive here.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Parents looking for a traditional prep school experience, with all the facilities, activities and old-fashioned fun that brings. Pony lovers, nature lovers, outdoorsy types and kids who will thrive in a small, family school in breathtaking grounds. Also ideal to teach them life skills if you’re sending them onto to a Senior Boarding schools.

Not for: Anyone looking for a diversity – North Dorset and West Wiltshire are not diverse areas, although the school hopes to improve this aspect of their intake. Also perhaps not for parents who want a more intensive academic programme.

Dare to disagree? Don’t take my word for it! Contact Mrs Dinah Rawlinson, Admissions Registrar on 01725 530 124 to arrange a visit, or book onto one of the upcoming open days. Keen to find out more? You can check out school life in this handy video, and keep tabs on Sandroyd’s instagram, here.

Sandroyd School, Rushmore, Tollard Royal, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP5 5QD. Tel 01725 516264, www.sandroyd.org

Sandroyd School, Salisbury

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