Frequently Asked Questions 2 - February 2024
Introduction
In September 2023, the governors made the announcement that Westbrook Hay School will be growing its senior school by adding 3 extra year groups, extending its provision to Year 11 and teaching GCSEs. Before, and following the announcement, the school has engaged with Westbrook parents to plan the next steps of our expansion.
After the initial round of FAQs in September 2023 we invited a second and recently a third round of questions. Many of the questions asked on the second round were similar to those from the first round but we will go over the basics again.
Much of what you will read is planned, it is our intention. Plans don’t always end up how you hoped; better ideas come along or unforeseen barriers mean you need to divert to plan B. What you will read is genuine and intention but not necessarily a promise.
Why was this decision made?
Initially, the first question on many lips was why? Why has the school decided to move in this direction?
A summary is that decision was made due to the demand indicated by current parents in the parent surveys and anecdotal conversations with current and prospective parents about their desire for a well-rounded, co-educational independent day school in the area.
With some senior schools becoming more academically selective, raising the bar for entry we have become increasingly concerned about destination schools for the ‘good solid allrounder’ or a pupil who offers so much more than you can discover from an academic test and is cast aside because of it.
As we already have 2/5s of a senior school and have noticed this reduction in senior schools willing to take children, especially at Year 9, we felt we could provide this and do it really well.
We wanted to provide another ‘option’ for parents, especially as we know we can provide that option really well.
We commissioned robust market research through MTM consultants and looked internally at, for example, the number of staff on the team who already have senior experience.
The planning behind the decision was over a long period and involved Governors and the Executive Group gaining a full understanding of what the move would entail.
At the time of the decision there were nearly 30 Prep schools nationally who had moved to 16, who had grown out of the 3-13 model. Mr Brain visited 6 of these schools and spoke to Heads of many others. All have been successful. None feel like Prep schools with some senior years - all feel like all-through schools and you wouldn’t have known their history.
As the pressure is put on Y7&8 in Prep schools, more and more schools have made this move. Nationally, it is happening at a faster rate than ever before as Prep schools evolve.
It is also worth adding that some of the schools who have made this move have done so because it was a choice of that or close. Those schools were not able to add to their facilities for a number of years well into the project. That is not the case for us. For us, it is from a strong financial position, not a weak one and we will be able to add to the facilities before our first cohort reaches GCSE.
We believe that this expansion will secure the long-term future for Westbrook Hay, in what is an uncertain time for independent schools and I am pleased to say that, although our senior school of the future might not suit everyone, the announcement has been met with universal positivity.
The Structure of the School
There have been a number of questions about the structure of the school, such as ‘will the senior school start at Y9 or Y7?’ and ‘who will be in charge of the different sections of the school?’
The school will provide education for children from 3-16 years.
We see the future of WBH as being one all through school, loosely split into 3 sections;
• Pre-Prep (3-7 year olds);
• Prep (Year 3 to Year 6) and
• Seniors (Year 7-11). Seniors will be loosely split into Lower Senior for Y7&8 (which keeps the current top of Prep School feel) and Upper Seniors (Year 9-11)
We think that it is very important to maintain a ‘one-school’ feeling at WBH. This is something special about WBH that you lose with schools that operate very differently in different sections, even moving sites between stages.
We anticipate that the school will be moving towards a tall and thin model. We will be offering a taller age range (the older years) but probably with fewer classes in the busier Yr 36 age range. This matches our mission to provide personalised education, to know every child, and to offer a smaller, more bespoke education that many of the much larger senior schools in the area.
We are likely to see the school move to 2 classes in Y3-6 by 2028-29.
The current Year 1 class will likely be our first class moving through as 2 classes and not adding a 3rd in Y3. By 2028-29 we anticipate 2 classes in each of those 4 Prep year groups. This is because we need to work within the restrictions of a maximum pupil numbers cap and be wary of pressure of overall numbers on the infrastructure of the school.
That is not to say that this is fixed as we need to see how the market evolves and be nimble enough to react year-on-year.
In terms of the leadership structure, it is important that we have experts in the key areas of the school.
● Mr Baird is in charge of the day to day running of the school as Senior Deputy Head and will deputise for Mr Brain
● Mrs Busfield will continue to lead the academics as a Deputy Head
● We are currently recruiting a new Deputy Head Pastoral and
● Mr Lloyd will manage and lead the Prep School.
In time, we will be looking to add a Head of Seniors to oversee all of Y7-11.
What is the ethos of sport going to be as we move forward?
We are aiming to build upon on our current model. We are an outdoors school with amazing grounds and sport is part of our DNA.
We will operate two models that changes as the children get older.
A Westbrook pupil will begin their sporting life under the ‘Sport for All’ model.
‘All’ means everyone is involved, irrespective of ability. The children will benefit from being part of a team ethos. ‘Having a go’ will be the main emphasis, with all children playing competitive sports against peers or other schools. Although not all children take to all sports immediately, we believe in developing the value of perseverance during these formative years. We know that rates of development vary from child to child and late developers must be given the chance to bloom.
As the children grown through the school they will move from the above programme to a ‘Sport for Life’ model.
This signals a change of ethos by posing the following question to our pupils. ‘What sports do you see yourself playing in 10 years' time?’
We know that the answer is unlikely be ‘football in the Autumn Term, Netball in the Spring Term etc.!’ At this stage, we are aiming to establish exercise habits that will last well past
school age and into adulthood. We want to widen the choice of activities beyond competitive team sports to include recreational sports for example.
For some, the ‘Sport for Life’ model will mean continuing with core sports, for others this might be more specialised or individual, such as badminton, long distance running, climbing etc.
Research shows that, the more sports teenagers are introduced to during those crucial years, the more likely they are to develop exercise habits that last a lifetime.
Where do the specific sports fit in with that? We had a question ‘Will my Y9 daughter still be able to play netball?’
Years 3-8 boys and girls will play football in the autumn term and cricket in the summer term.
In the spring term, girls will play netball and boys will play rugby. If boys wish to play netball instead or girls wish to play rugby we will enable this by looking at it on an individual basis.
The boys play introductory contact rugby up to Year 5 and in Years 6-8 they are able to choose either contact or non-contact (touch rugby or tag rugby) rugby
Years 9-11 same as above but with the choice enabled through the ‘Sport for Life’ programme some may decide that they want to move away from core sports.
It is our aim to continue to be as competitive as possible at our core sports in the senior school. We have a strong reputation for success at regional and national level and we would like to keep developing competitive teams, all the way up to Year 11.
Discussions have taken place about when to begin the ‘Sport for Life’, this will initially be Year 9 but, as with any new initiative, we will allow this to run and review with pupils/parents/staff
Will girls and boys play together or in separate teams?
At the moment our plan would be that girls and boys can play together up to Year 4.
From Year 5 onwards, as the physical differences between the sexes start to impact performance for some, we think that the girls and the boys develop best playing separately.
As a smaller school, we believe that we have an advantage by being able to treat pupils as individuals and flex the programme accordingly. For example, our U11 girl football scholar played with boys at IAPS national level with great success.
With an increase of girls into the senior section of the school, how will you cater for their needs from a sporting perspective? Will anything change? (staff, ambition, scholars) We are already successful with girls’ sport but we would like to develop their opportunities further.
We are currently advertising for a Head of Girls’ Sport to take girls’ sport to the next level.
We have also attracted sporty girls into our senior school, being impressed enough to offer external pupils scholarships in football and cricket for example.
With older children on site will you be looking to add to the sports facilities?
Westbrook Hay has always been ambitious with its facilities and we are blessed with wonderful grounds. The PAC building for example is one of the best Prep School Performing Arts facilities in the country.
Adding sports facilities is not the current priority; the new ‘STEAM Building’ is. However, sports facilities will be an important part of the next stage of the school’s development
The Executive Group and Governors’ next ‘Strategy Day’ is planned for Autumn 2024, this will look at the next phase of the school’s life and this may well consider expanding the sports facilities
What subjects will be taught in Year 7 and 8?
Our Year 7 and 8 curriculum is already firmly established. We want pupils to experience a broad range of subjects, and so they continue with all the subjects which are currently taught in Year 6, with the addition of a second language, Spanish.
Games is taught 3 times a week and PE once a week.
Pre Senior Baccalaureate - this is a skills based means of assessment, encouraging skills like communication, independence and leadership, through termly PSB enrichment days.
Will there be setting in Year 7 and 8?
The question as to whether we use setting or not, is always dependent on the cohort.
With the introduction of external pupils in Y7 it is appropriate to set for some subjects (such as maths) but not for all.
As pupils move into Y8 we would hope to use ability-based setting for Maths, Science, Geography, History, French and Spanish. This is the model we currently use in Y7 and 8 and it works well.
At GCSEs, how many subjects will I study and how are they chosen? Pupils will normally study 9 subjects.
Some subjects are compulsory: English literature, language, maths, at least one science subject and one humanities subject.
We want to keep the breadth where possible but also allow for specialism and pupils make their GCSE choices in consultation with their teachers and their parents.
We invited our current Y7 pupils to join their parents at the parent consultations recently. This is the the start of the children having greater agency in their learning.
Will my child get the options they choose?
We would hope so but, like all senior schools, we cannot guarantee this. There will be some timetabling and staffing restrictions which mean it may not be possible for this to happen. If we foresee any difficulties we will talk to families individually.
When would a pupil need to have decided their GCSEs by?
GCSE courses start in September of Year 10. In the spring term Y9 pupils will come to an options evening at school. By the end of the spring term option choices will need to have been submitted
Why are we offering sciences individually rather than a combined science award?
We looked at various models for GCSE science. As part of our ethos we want to offer as individualised a programme as possible. By offering separate sciences we are allowing our pupils to play to their strengths and through these more specialist courses they will be more thoroughly prepared for their A Levels. Results in the separate sciences, nationally, are stronger than the results for combined sciences. We want to get the best out of our pupils. Interestingly, some local schools currently offering combined award are looking to move to the model we have chosen.
Why are some subjects compulsory at GCSE?
It is common across the country for all pupils to sit GCSEs in English literature, language and maths. Science is also a core subject. Humanities have always been a core part of the academic curriculum and an important part of a rounded selection of subjects. These core compulsory options keep the doors open for our pupils and their futures.
Why are we only offering French and Spanish and why isn’t a language compulsory?
We hope that most pupils will take one language at least and some will take 2. Languages are not for everyone and for some it is counter-productive to continue with language learning when other strengths can be explored.
What happens if my child wants to change subjects?
This may only be possible if the timetable permits it and when the request comes in. Once a
pupil is a term or two into a GCSE course it is harder to swap as core content will have been covered.
Currently in Prep children, by Year 6, children receive English, maths, French and science homework, weekly. How will this work for Seniors and how will this feed into coursework?
As the children get older, there is more expectation for them to take responsibility for their learning. Homework in other subjects (Spanish, geography, RS and history) will begin. This independence, time management etc will feed into GCSE preparation, where in the case of some subjects (English, food tech and drama) pupils will have coursework.
What about after GCSEs - you haven’t decided to offer A levels too so what would my child do at 16 and isn’t there an advantage in going to a school with 6th forms because I’ve heard that it is easier to join a 6th form in a school that you already attend?
All 6th Forms have entry requirements for their A levels. It depends on how academic a school is as to what those requirements will be. For example: a minimum of Grade 6 (old fashioned high B) is standard as an entry level for an A level, even when a child is already in the school in question.
It is a competitive process and being in the current senior school doesn’t change that. By the time your child reaches 6th form they will have a clear idea of what they want to study and where. Having the ability to choose the right environment, course, even teaching staff, for them is key. By this point the children are in the driving seat. Many children at single sex schools choose to go coed at this point, so this can be a consideration too for some families. So a move at 16 is not detrimental, it can be quite empowering.
We would like to know what the new building will have in it and where will it go?
We’re planning on creating a new STEAM building (Science, tech, engineering, art and maths) which will house science, with 2 new labs, design technology, computing and art. Alongside this there will be some offices and prep rooms for these practical subjects. This building will be purpose built and will benefit the wider school community. There is a visual image of the building available for viewing. As you will have seen from the GCSE booklet, we are also going to be offering food preparation and nutrition and there are various plans for where this subject will be housed.
Where will the new building be going and how does it fit in with the school’s recent facility projects?
The plan is for this to be located where the current grounds compound is - at the back of the staff car park, next to the netball courts. We are working with a local planning consultant given the complicated restrictions we have - listed building status, blanket tree preservation orders, complicated access etc.
We are close to submitting a formal planning application having worked with the council on a process of pre application engagement, so are confident of a successful outcome. Rest
assured the process is well under way and as soon as we have anything more to share, we will. By the time our first cohort gets to their GCSE years they will be using that building.
How will the expansion to GCSEs affect the rest of the school?
As we move to our new structure over the coming years there will be various adjustments to our existing buildings to make sure that the facilities are appropriate for the ages of children. We hope to be able to move Year 2 into the Pre-Prep building so that all of Pre-Prep will be based together. Gadebridge will become our Prep building for years 3-6, making use of the extra space afforded by moving DT to the new building. We will be adding some muchneeded changing room space to this building in due course.
The mansion will become the main base for our senior pupils. We will be creating some impressive social spaces for the older pupils. We also plan to add a dining ‘pod’ type cafe area for use by our senior pupils.
Have any decisions been made about school uniform?
Yes! There will be a blazer colour change for Seniors. The colour has not yet been decided but the children were clear in the discussions that, while they liked the red blazer for prep, they would prefer something less bright as seniors! Sustainability is important to us and, again following feedback from both parents and staff, the introduction of the new uniform will be transitional. We imagine a period of time when children grow out of their old uniform and into their new one. We are hopeful that, given the work that has gone on over the past 6 weeks in our focus groups, we should be in a position to reveal our senior uniform, which the children will be wearing from September 2025, at some point in the summer term.
A common question about seniors has been around the development of independence. Town schools tend to offer options like walking to school, lunch time leave and generally more freedom for seniors. Westbrook Hay is up here at the top of the hill - how can it replicate that?
There are a number of ways to develop independence and readiness for the ‘real world’. These include; travel plans (train and bus), exciting plans for social spaces (House Common Rooms and ‘Cafe’) and generally less supervision and more trust. We have to remember that ‘town schools’ have their problems too!
We will also develop independence through leadership. Opportunities such as having ‘Senior Mentors’.
We expect our pupils to look beyond Westbrook Hay and to understand their responsibilities to broader communities and a wider society. We will develop this perspective through charity work, community service and partnerships with other schools. The Duke of Edinburgh scheme is an excellent way to facilitate some of the things outlined. We have had opening discussions with the scheme about setting up at Westbrook Hay and offering initially bronze level, with silver possibly following in the years after.
The 4 sections of this award are:
● helping the community/environment (volunteering section),
● becoming fitter (physical section),
● developing new skills (Skills section),
● planning, training for and completing an expedition (expedition section)
This offers children the opportunity to excel in so many ways beyond the classroom.
Do you see the academic profile of a typical WBH pupil changing?
The short answer to that is no. Westbrook Hay is a school for a diverse range of pupils.
Every Westbrook Hay child benefits from being around children who are different from themselves. The obvious way is by being coeducational, with boys being with girls and viceversa. Other benefits come from the diversity available through different religious belief systems or simply differing abilities and interests.
We hope that as many prep pupils as possible will progress into our seniors. That is partly why there is automatic entry from Year 6 to Year 7. That decision was made because we don’t want a completely different senior school but also because we don’t want to put our children under the intense pressure of high stakes exams at such a young age.
Ideally our Year 7s will be a healthy mixture of new pupils and current pupils.
It will always be the case that some pupils leave at 11 or maybe 13, for some pupils this will be right and we will continue to support them with this, but eventually we anticipate that most pupils will stay.
However, eventually, parents will be joining WBH with the desire for their child to stay all the way through to GCSEs. Leaving at 11 or 13 will be a less common event - this is just what happens in all-through schools.
Based on all of that perhaps, it's fair to say that a WBH senior pupil is likely to be just an older version of a typical current WBH prep pupil.
We know from our rigorous data collection, that the attainment of each of our cohorts, across the school, is in a very similar range. Our ‘average’ score always lies above the national average, our pupils attain well.
In terms of children joining from other schools into Year 7, we only have one year of data on this so far. It was satisfying that in November, when we ran our Year 7 assessment day, the mean score of the group of external children was exactly the same as our current Year 6 cohort. Their profile fits that of the children we currently have. We value the diversity of individual pupils and we have always been academically ambitious and will continue to be so.
How is value added measured?
We believe that academic success means different things to different people.
Often schools will use league tables as their measure of success. They will provide percentages of how many GCSEs at 5 - 9s each cohort achieves and this can indeed be useful.
However, the number of 7s, or 8s or 9s a pupil achieves doesn’t always tell the whole story of a successful education.
Value-added is a fairer measure of the progress that many schools use in addition to the above. Rather than relying solely on exam results, it takes account of where each pupil started from and the progress they made relative to other, similar pupils. As a result, value-added measures are used in schools to offer a fair indication of how far a pupil has come and how well that school has helped to progress that pupil.
For example, if a child who is predicted a 5 in maths then gets a 6, there is real success in that story. We have added value to their education in a tangible way. And we celebrate this success. This is not to undervalue the child who has been predicted and then gains a 9. But it is an important part of our ethos to realise that success can be measured in a number of ways.
At Westbrook Hay we don’t yet have value-added scores for our senior school. Because we don't have our first GCSE results. However, pupils in Year 7 have started on their journey and their first set of data, used to predict their GCSE attainment, has already been produced.
This data collection and use will be carefully monitored and assessed over the coming years.
I think it is clear that we will continue to value pupils who bring expertise and talents in many areas to WBH, not just top academics. Does this in any way mean that the learning support provision, for those who aren’t at the top of the academic lists, or have some barriers to their learning, will change?
Our learning support department will see some growth. And, as you know, our new Head of Learning Support, Jo Byron will start after the Easter holidays in April 2024. We always aim to adapt teaching to the needs of the individual and the cohort. That won’t change.
In education the term ‘Quality First Teaching’ is well-used and it means excellent and inclusive teaching. This is the starting point for all children. If a child has more specific needs then, as currently happens, the Head of Learning Support to consult over pupils who have more specific needs. Pupils with additional needs will be looked after under the umbrella of the Learning Support department.
The support they need will change as they grow, and we are planning to develop the Learning Support department in terms of staffing the next few years to meet the needs of our changing school.
As children grow through the school with us, we will know them as individuals and be able to meet their needs. So for example, it may transpire that for a few pupils, taking 9 GCSEs will be too many. As a small school we can be agile with this and create something which is bespoke for those children.
Changes have already taken place, for example, the number of 1:1 support staff has more than doubled in the last 12 months. When we feel that specific training is needed for either a particular need we are seeing more commonly arising, or looking at how certain learning support diagnoses affect older year groups, that training will be put in place. The specialist
care that teenagers need is something which we know we will need to provide. We do this, to a certain extent already and know how we will grow this in the coming years. This is likely to continue to grow as we move into our senior provision.
We chose WBH because of its outstanding reputation for pastoral care and for nurturing the individual" - will that ethos be the same in the senior school or will it be more academic?
The Pastoral Leadership Team researched into different models of pastoral care in Years 711, building on systems that are typically ‘Westbrook Hay’, trusting partnerships with parents as a place where every pupil is known by name, by face and by character, but for an older audience.
Personal Tutors will be put into place and we would like the pupils themselves to have an element of choice in their tutor. Each pupil will meet with their tutor once a week with an emphasis being on individualised care and support.
Pastoral care will run through a House System. Initially, there will be two co-educational Houses run by a Housemaster or Housemistress, and the House will be pivotal in the life of Westbrook Hay. The house will be a place where each pupil feels they belong, it will also acts as a base for personal belongings and where registrations take place.
Co-education: Girls were first admitted in late 1970s, the first prep school to go coeducational was in 1967, we have never been far behind the curve, Mr Brain has been leading a dialogue with pupils, parents and staff regarding gender equality and Mr Baird is chairing an ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Party’ to drive forward this agenda.
In addition to the Personal Tutor and House System, there will be a Head of Seniors, who will have pastoral and academic oversight of all pupils in Years 7-11. They will have an important voice in Pastoral Leadership Team meetings, ensuring all senior pupils receive the care they need, particularly regarding mental health and wellbeing. We are also exploring a secondary ELSA and our School Counsellor provision
Currently we cater for a broad range of pupils (top St Albans Scholars, Millfield Art & Rugby Scholars etc.) as well as those who need support - this is a part of the fabric of Westbrook Hay. No single aspect defines a Westbrook Hay child, what unifies them is that our parents want the style of education that Westbrook Hay currently provides, this will continue into the senior section of the school.
Will it be more academic? Westbrook Hay will continue to be as academic as it is currently, but we will also continue to cater for all pupils of all abilities, and promote a holistic, broad and balanced education.
What are the advantages from the perspective of a 10 year old to staying into WBH seniors?
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest advantages is the removal of high stakes testing at 11. The increased pressure children are being put under is detrimental to their mental health. The transition between the prep and the seniors will be overseen by staff who know each child’s academic and pastoral profile.
Mrs Busfield and our new Deputy Head Pastoral will be involved in each child’s journey from the moment they enter the school. There will be no interruption to the teaching and learning process and time spent on the broad and balanced curriculum we offer can be broadened further without the time pressure of preparing for entrance tests.
Will there be other changes to Prep?
As you have already read, the plan is to house all of Year 3 to Year 6 in the Gadebridge building. As well as the new STEAM building we are planning to repurpose the DT room into dedicated changing rooms and will look to improve the general spaces so that the building reflects the excellent teaching taking place within its walls. Housing the Prep section together will allow a much greater cohesion across year groups with the oldest pupils supporting and helping the youngest. We will continue with our Junior Prefects and, in time, we will look to them to be the leaders of this section of the school.
How many children do you plan to have in Year 7?
We are determined that the senior school will be as coeducational as we can make it - like all coed schools we would like it to be 50-50 because of all the benefits that coeducation can bring. Our aim initially is to have 2 classes in each senior year group - looking at between 36-40 children; 20 boys and 20 girls. We want to be a high quality, small, coeducational senior school - the best of its type.
How is the marketing of the Seniors going?
All our marketing material and adverts now carry the message that we are extending to GCSEs. We are thrilled with the interest that we have had regarding seniors in such a short period of time. Many families who are looking for a place at Westbrook Hay lower down the school are now applying to us as we are an all through school.
For entry into Year 9 in 2025 we have reached out to our local Prep School Heads. They have been invited to come and visit and see the plans and vision for the school. It is not our intention to encourage pupils away from their prep schools early, but to finish their time there and join us in Year 9. We know that we are an attractive option for these Prep schools who may have previously had to look at schools much further afield for their pupils. We have already had applications for Year 9 in 2025.
For entry into Year 7 we have been overwhelmed with the number of enquiries. Many from children currently in local primary schools, or Prep schools which finish at Year 6. We will continue to proactively communicate and build relationships with our local Prep and primary schools providing a wonderful senior school opportunity.
Given that senior schools have a wider catchment we are marketing Westbrook Hay to some new geographical areas with, for example, children joining us in Year 7 from Amersham, and area where we traditionally have not recruited.
What will happen with the school fees?
The Governors have committed to keeping the fee levels at the same rate as years 5-8 for our first year 9 cohort’s first two years. We review our fees compared to our local competitors and our current destination schools every year, to ensure we remain competitive as well as ensuring we offer the best value for money.
Based on our current fee structure we are between 10% and 40% cheaper than our main current secondary school competitors.
It is important to remember that we are a charity and therefore are constantly re-investing any surpluses we make back into the school - in updating existing and investing in new facilities, ensuring we can attract and retain the best staff etc. we need to make sure we have enough fee income coming in to support our existing costs and our future plans.
What are the plans for buses and trains?
We have recently expanded our bus routes to include a shuttle to and from the station. This is aimed at children travelling independently to the school via train or local bus routes. From September we are also introducing an Amersham route, morning and afternoon. These routes were identified following extensive market research.
Next year, we will have 5 morning routes and 4 afternoon routes. If these are full it is taking up to 70 cars off the drive each morning which is obviously good for our sustainability credentials as well as making the drive less congested
We would encourage as many pupils as possible to take advantage of these routes as every car off the drive makes a difference.