Where girls thrive
Welcome to Tormead Prep
I recently had the pleasure of meeting a former Tormead Prep pupil and she told me that we “always made school feel like home”. That was such a proud moment for me as the wellbeing and happiness of each girl here is what we strive for every day.
Your daughter will thrive in our warm, inviting atmosphere where our pupils’ social and emotional development is as valued as their outstanding academic attainment. She will be able to flourish, make mistakes, express herself, and learn to grow.
With a future women leaders’ ethos, we also dispel gender bias and stereotyping. After all, research shows that girls perform better in all-girl educational settings.
The following pages will tell you more about our wonderful THRIVE pastoral programme which runs across both our Prep and Senior School, and embodies our sense of belonging, safety, empowerment, enjoyment and understanding.
Our tight-knit and supportive family community, small class sizes, inspirational specialist teaching and unlimited extra-curricular opportunities are exceptional.
I highly recommend arranging a visit to Tormead Prep and I will be honoured to personally show you how we will ensure your daughter achieves her full potential.
Nicki Fry Head of Prep School
T H R I
ogether ealth esilience nquisitive ision njoyment
Our THRIVE programme ensures the Tormead community feels a sense of belonging, safety, empowerment, enjoyment and understanding:
Together
Connecting to others within supportive relationships – promoting kindness, forgiveness and respect.
Health
Recognising behaviours and developing healthy habits – an acceptance of emotions and putting positivity into daily life.
Resilience
Embracing challenges and bouncing back from adversity in difficult circumstances, where making mistakes is part of the learning process.
Inquisitiveness
Developing interests beyond the classroom with a free-thinking approach.
Vision
Setting goals linked to academic achievement, which are also beneficial for the wider community.
Enjoyment
Bringing joy, love and gratitude into daily life with sustainable habits for optimal physical and psychological health.
Together H R I
Feeling at home: Our Houses
From her very first day, your daughter will be welcomed into one of our House families: Curie, Earhart, Keller or MacArthur
Named after legendary female pioneers, our Houses play a vital role in Tormead life – with girls from all year groups joining together for special events. From lunches to sporting and arts competitions (such as music and poetry recitals), our House system enables pupils of different ages to bond and encourage each other. The race for the House Point Cup takes place each term to keep things competitive too!
Celebrating our achievements
Celebration assembly
Each week, we proudly recognise girls’ individual and team achievements and efforts in the curriculum and co-curriculum during assembly. From certificates for music, sport, drama and times tables challenges to prestigious individual awards such as Beacon Awards, Commendations and Head Teacher Commendations.
Hall of Fame for kindness and politeness
Every half term, a girl from each class who has displayed exceptional thoughtfulness or kindness is welcomed into our very special Hall of Fame. As a school with outstanding pastoral care, we instil these values within our inclusive, respectful and tolerant community.
Prize-giving award ceremony
At the end of the year, we hold a formal ceremony which recognises the outstanding achievements of the girls with cups and awards, while helping us reflect on another busy year. We also bid a fond farewell to our Year 6 girls as they progress to the next chapter of their educational journey in Senior School.
A place for everyone
Inclusivity is so important to us here at Tormead. We always respect and value each other’s faiths and beliefs. We are very grateful to our pupils and their families who proudly share their traditions and celebrations in our assemblies throughout the year. We strive to ensure that our pupils have first-hand knowledge and understanding of different religious festivals as well as customs and traditions from other countries. Presentations and activities take place as we celebrate religious events with our Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh families.
Playing our part in the wider community
Tormead Tumblers
Each week, we share our fantastic Olympic-grade gymnastics facility with families outside the school community at Tormead Tumblers. Led by our experienced Head of Gymnastics, these popular sessions introduce the benefits of movement to local preschoolers and their parents.
Charity partnerships
Our House Captains organise events to raise money for different charities each year. Last year alone, Tormead Prep supported Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, NSPCC Number Day, North Guildford Foodbank, Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex and the Born Free Foundation. We are also proud of our continual support for Age UK Surrey over many years. Our Tormead Prep Choir sings at Age UK’s annual Carol Service at Guildford Cathedral and a smaller Year 4 Choir visits the Clockhouse Community Centre to sing carols and share Christmas cheer. Above all, we encourage our girls to build empathy and understanding of both local and global issues.
Partnering with RGS Prep
In recent years, we have joined forces with the boys at RGS Prep for events such as World Book Day parades, joint sports lessons, and drama workshops. We are striving to develop these collaborations further so that our girls continue to benefit from these interactions.
Secret Assemblies
Visiting speakers sharing their experience and expertise is an important way of supporting our girls’ development. At our regular Secret Assemblies, we have welcomed speakers from our Prep and Senior School staff, alumnae, parents and family members. These talks have proved truly inspiring with fascinating presentations on a broad range of topics: from women and leadership to sustainability, clinical research, aviation, entrepreneurship, and architecture.
The Sparkly Jar of Fabulousness
During the 2020 lockdown, the Sparkly Jar of Fabulousness was born! In our weekly Celebration Assemblies, it continues to boost our school spirit with sparkly and glittery nominations recognising great work, deeds, accomplishments and kindness within the Tormead family.
Health T H R I V
Pastoral care and wellbeing
The wellbeing of our entire school community is at the heart of everything we do. We constantly nurture the Tormead values of respect, tolerance and inclusivity. And, with kindness at the core of our pastoral care, our girls develop genuine friendships within a safe learning environment where they feel happy and comfortable. Our teachers are friendly, approachable and provide the outstanding pastoral care your daughter deserves, which is vital to our pupils’ success.
Our PSHE programme encourages all pupils to increase their emotional literacy in lessons. In addition, wellbeing strategies are in place for every year group –providing the tools to ensure our pupils feel comfortable articulating their thoughts, ideas and problems.
Whenever a child becomes part of our Tormead family, they are asked to identify five people at school they feel comfortable talking to. The ‘Walk to Talk’ initiative encourages pupils to share concerns while walking with a friend, a teacher or family member. In addition, Tormead Chatterboxes include sentence starters designed to help pupils find the right words when needed, and each class has its own ‘worry monster’ to help form teachers respond to any concerns. Finally, Tormead Together Time ensures that our pupils have opportunities to bond across year groups and foster inter-year friendships.
Our specialist pastoral staff provide an ELSA programme, led by a trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. In addition to individual support, our ELSA runs a ‘Calm Club’ for pupils who may need a break from the playground. For pupils in Years 5 and 6, who may require more targeted support, there are school counsellors on site.
Form teachers are always available to discuss the emotional wellbeing of your daughter – through parent meetings and consultations, they will work with you to support your daughter together.
Above all, we take the time to mentor and guide the girls with their friendships through teaching and encouragement.
T H R I V E Resilience
Our dedicated and inspirational teachers will build and nurture your daughter’s individual talents and skills, while helping her understand that mistakes are an essential and necessary part of the learning process.
Sport: ‘Yes, she can!’
Sport and exercise are central to school life. We encourage all girls – from Reception to Year 6 – to discover a lifelong love and appreciation for physical activity within our broad and stimulating curricular and co-curricular programme. Through specialist PE teaching and high-level coaching, we support all girls, regardless of their experience and ambition, to find their sporting passion.
With over 10 sports and physical activities on offer to help each girl find her ‘forever sport’, this exceptional programme is delivered by a 30-strong team of PE teachers and sports professionals who enable our high performing athletes to excel, while fostering a ‘sport for all’ ethos.
Above all, our girls are encouraged to focus on being the best they can be, whatever their ability. We teach the rewards of hard work and perseverance, and challenge girls to try new things and be unafraid of making mistakes. Most importantly, we support the lifelong benefits of participating in a sport with like-minded girls, having fun and being part of a bigger team. Girls develop a strong sense of pride and belonging, and build their communication skills while always demonstrating the highest levels of sportsmanship.
Outdoor Learning
Our outdoor classroom and woodland area offer unique and hands-on learning experiences, including opportunities to build shelters, learn bushcraft skills, go bug hunting, and gain an appreciation of nature and the wild. This emphasis on playful and meaningful activities encourages girls to become risk aware and collaborate on overcoming challenges.
The Lioness Award
This award is presented throughout the year to celebrate a pupil’s bravery and courage. A girl earning this accolade may have faced fear or experienced failure but has shown the heart of a lioness to overcome any feelings of self-doubt. The deserving pupil takes home a toy lioness (Nala, meaning ‘Queen’ and ‘successful’ in Swahili) for a week to remind herself of the determination and strength of character she has shown.
H R I V E T Inquisitive
Academic life
Academic life at Tormead Prep is purposeful and exciting with a strong focus on academic progress and achievement. We aim to inspire confident girls and learners.
All girls enjoy specialist teaching in Music, Languages, PE, Gymnastics; and, from Year 3 to Year 6, in Science, IT and Design Technology.
Higher Order Thinking
We believe all pupils have the potential to succeed as high performers given the right encouragement and supportive learning environment. Each girl is unique, and our academic programme reflects this.
Our teachers engage their classes with activities that require fluidity of thought, creativity and original ideas. From Year 1, girls are taught ‘Critical Thinking’, covering a broad range of topics encompassing philosophy and independence of thought, as well as ensuring pupils are challenged with verbal, non-verbal and spatial awareness problems.
Using learning skills such as curiosity, creativity, collaboration, reflection, resourcefulness, and resilience (taught and modelled by teachers), the girls are encouraged to build on their knowledge through a multi-faceted approach.
InquisiTOR Week
Our annual InquisiTOR Week covers a different STEM area with workshops, lessons and challenges. Last year, Pre-Prep and Year 3 took part in Sublime Science workshops aimed at capturing their imaginations through fun experiments and demonstrations. Girls in Years 4-6 took part in a virtual reality journey through space. Year 6 were also challenged to reflect on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and a small group entered the Imperial College Science and Innovation competition.
The Beacon Programme
The value of growing into independent lifelong learners starts as soon as the girls begin in Reception. Teachers set high expectations and aspirations in their lessons, encouraging and teaching the girls to be curious learners who make links between their learning and who apply their previous learning to newly introduced concepts and skills.
The Beacon Programme builds on the natural curiosity of pupils as they work independently on any topic which intrigues or inspires them. The girls research the topic at home and then present it to their class or year group in any way they choose.
T H R I V E Vision
Future leaders
Our all-girls’ environment is designed to inspire your daughter to become a successful and self-assured young woman.
With a future women leaders’ ethos, we provide an educational setting that dispels gender bias and stereotyping. That means we will encourage your daughter to celebrate her achievements – by asking her to be her own best advocate, speaking openly and proudly about her accomplishments.
Girls are encouraged to practise positive affirmations each day – and given opportunities to speak with confidence. They are taught to be ambitious; to strive for excellence rather than perfection. Our girls need to understand that mistakes are an important part of the learning process and encouraged to take risks and be trailblazers. When stepping out of their comfort zones, we provide support and strategies for a growth mindset to confront disappointment and fear of failure.
Embedded into school life are the themes of bravery, courage and resilience. We encourage the girls to employ their ‘superpower of confidence’ to feel invincible when facing tough challenges.
Roles of responsibility
Every Year 6 pupil has a role of responsibility – which cultivates leadership skills and nurtures a sense of ownership and community within the student body. These include head girls, house captains, form prefects, librarians, Beacon prefects, and eco captains.
Each of these roles plays a vital part in shaping our school culture, enabling our students to excel both academically and socially.
Prep School Council
Comprising four permanent members and two elected representatives from each class, our School Council enables our pupils to be heard. The council promotes decision-making through discussions, presentation skills by leading assemblies, and elections. The council instils responsibility and confidence in democracy and hones oratory skills through respectful debate. It empowers pupils to engage actively in the school community, promoting British values and equipping them with vital skills.
njoyment
Music
All girls participate in music lessons with specialist teachers. Co-curricular music is lively and flourishing with a wide range of opportunities for girls to participate at a level appropriate to their ability, including solo and group performances in our informal Year Group Concerts. In addition, the Prep Spring Concert showcases the Prep music groups and ensembles (orchestra, training orchestra, string ensemble, guitar ensemble and jazz band) and choirs.
Individual instrumental tuition
Our visiting music teachers offer lessons on a wide range of instruments, from beginner to diploma and beyond. Associated Board Music exam sessions are held each term for pupils who take individual lessons with Tormead music teachers.
Endangered instruments programme
Our endangered instruments scheme offers a limited number of supported places annually for students to learn an endangered instrument – such as the bassoon, French horn, oboe, trombone and viola.
Drama
All girls enjoy drama lessons within the curriculum. Lessons encourage the pupils to be imaginative and to think and act creatively, to speak, listen and respond to each other. The aim is to develop lifelong selfconfidence, enquiry, empathy and collaboration alongside performance and presentation skills. In curriculum drama, all girls can steer the process by making decisions and shaping their own work. All girls will experience the joy of being on stage in class assemblies and our annual House Poetry event, as well as the annual year group performance in the Senior School Hall or JCS Theatre. Not to mention visiting theatre groups and trips to theatre productions that all help foster the girls’ love of performing arts. In addition, speech and drama lessons help bolster girls’ confidence, communication and performance skills through small group drama tuition. Mainly focused on preparation for graded exams and performing arts festivals, pupils participate in fun drama activities that develop skills in acting, voice-work, posture, teamwork and self-expression, and build confidence for situations such as public speaking and interviews.
Love of literature
Each year, we celebrate World Book Day by embracing the pure magic of storytelling! An additional timetabled reading slot and weekly book clubs are also designed to encourage reading for all – and ignite the girls’ passion for literature.
Day trips and curriculum days
We enrich each subject through day trips and fun curriculum days in school. These have included exciting excursions related to Ancient Egypt, the Stone Age, the Tudors and World War II in history, as well as science and geographical opportunities with interactive exhibits and hands-on activities to stimulate enthusiasm and curiosity.
Residential trips
From Years 3 to 6, residentials are the highlight of the academic year for our girls. Being away from home with friends is not only exciting but encourages independence. Through carefully selected activities, pupils develop essential skills for life such as problemsolving and decision-making. Activities promoting ‘challenge by choice’ help pupils become more resilient and self-assured – learning to collaborate in activities where ‘outside the box’ thinking encourages leadership and team-building skills.
Pre-Prep: the best start
The pastoral care and wellbeing of the girls is at the heart of Tormead Pre-Prep. We believe that happy girls will flourish. The strong, secure relationships that the girls develop enables them to become competent learners who are resilient, capable, independent and self-assured.
The Pre-Prep years are the foundation for your daughter’s future development and learning. We provide an exciting and challenging curriculum enabling the girls to fulfil their true potential. We are dedicated to teaching to the preferred learning style of girls.
We have an experienced, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic team of staff who are incredibly passionate about the importance of early years education.
Girls are in an environment where they feel safe to express themselves and engage. We provide experimental learning, which is how girls learn best. We focus on developing teamwork, which girls prefer, and we develop a growth mindset from a very young age with a ‘can do’ attitude.
Our Pre-Prep is quite simply buzzing with activity and the joy of learning. The girls are engaged, motivated and keen to share their learning experiences.
The nurturing, happy environment and opportunities given to the girls allow for exceptional learning and development of the whole child.
Our close links with the Senior School
Our pupils benefit hugely from access to the fantastic facilities in the Senior School, such as the netball courts and the sprung gymnastics floor for Games and PE, the Senior School Hall, and the stage in the JCS theatre for our drama productions. Links are also strengthened by relationships with the Senior girls, including Sixth Form subject mentors giving talks about their chosen subjects to Years 5 and 6 girls. These have previously involved fascinating discussions on whether aliens exist, different aspects of plant or animal life, and the wives of Henry VIII. Not only do these interactions provide role models for younger pupils, but they also enable staff to follow the successes of former Prep School girls.
Crossing the road...
Preparing for Year 7
Moving up to the Senior School can seem daunting. That is why we ensure that all our parents and girls are thoroughly prepared to feel confident about this next step. During the summer term of Year 5, Senior School staff host a series of transition taster lessons. In addition, the girls have an opportunity to meet their Senior School form tutor and new classmates at the ‘New Girls’ Afternoon’.
An 11+ assessment is not required for our girls as their progress is tracked through rigorous testing and assessment during Pre-Prep and Prep, including GL Assessments, CAT4 tests and internal testing. For girls eligible to apply for academic, art, drama, music and sport scholarships, these assessments and interviews take place in January.
Admissions
Visiting Tormead
Attending an Open Morning event is an ideal way to get to know our school, meet our Head of Prep School, Nicki Fry, and hear directly from our pupils about life at Tormead.
If you are unable to attend an Open Morning, our Head of Admissions, Mrs Jo Drury, will be pleased to arrange an individual tour. She can be contacted on 01483 796040 or by email on admissions@tormeadschool.org.uk.
Transport
Guildford is easily accessible by both road and rail and our pupils travel to school from the many towns and villages throughout Surrey. The School is a short walk from London Road Station and many of our older pupils travel by train.
Our dedicated Tormead coach service offers pupils and parents a convenient, safe, reliable and environmentally friendly means of transport to and from school. We currently operate eight routes, using well regarded local coach operators, covering Camberley, Cobham, Cranleigh, Esher, Ewhurst, Farnham, Godalming, Haslemere, Peaslake, Surbiton, Walton, Weybridge, Woking and the surrounding villages.
