Reviews
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Reviews

Mrs C Austin

01

Mrs C Austin

Parkside Parent

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Parkside is a very special school with a best in class leadership team, a creative and high energy teaching staff and a unique ethos that nurtures every child. As a family we enjoy a wonderful sense of community at the school and have made many life-long friends. Parkside School is distinctive in that every teacher knows every child's name and caters for their unique needs and personalities.

Mr & Mrs F

02

Mr & Mrs F

Parkside Parents

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Parkside is a wonderful, forward thinking, family orientated and traditional prep school. Nurturing with a focus on excellence in education and sporting achievement, we couldn’t have selected a better school to fit our family values.

The passion and kindness of the teaching staff and leadership team shines through in every aspect of school life and can be seen daily through the warmth, enthusiasm and joy they bring to the boys. Being part of Parkside’s community, which is built on fellowship and camaraderie, has enabled our three boys to thrive in a secure environment that they love.

Mrs Dixon

03

Mrs Dixon

Parkside Parent

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We have recently moved to Parkside and have had nothing but a positive experience. The number one priority of the school is the boys and this is apparent in all areas, academic progress and development, sporting achievements and the boys’ happiness and wellbeing. We have watched our sons flourish in all aspects of school life at Parkside and that is credit to the fabulous teaching staff but also the overriding culture of the school.

Mr & Mrs G

04

Mr & Mrs G

Parkside Parents

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We chose Parkside for our son because we felt the school truly cared for the boys. Our initial feelings couldn't have been more right, Parkside has proved to be the perfect choice for our son who has loved every minute of his time there and has made many lifelong friends.

Mr & Mrs C

05

Mr & Mrs C

Parkside Parents

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Parkside has provided an amazing environment for our sons to learn, mature and enjoy school life. The care and commitment by the teachers have seen the boys develop and perform to their best. There is a lovely relaxed, friendly and inclusive atmosphere which has certainly brought the best out of our sons.

Dr JM Cox

06

Dr JM Cox

Headmaster, Royal Grammar School, Guildford

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I am always delighted to accept young men from Parkside as members of the RGS.  I have been very impressed with the academic standards which are being achieved at the School but, more importantly, boys from Parkside are delightful additions to our community.  They are invariably engaging, polite and academically curious, skills which have been established and nurtured at Parkside and which will hold them in very good stead for the future.

James Priory

07

James Priory

Headmaster, Tonbridge School

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We were delighted to be able to make three Unconditional Offers to Parkside boys this year. Like the prep school at Parkside, Tonbridge specialises in the education of boys. We are academically selective and Parkside boys are well prepared for the academic rigour here. Similarly, boys from Parkside easily transition to the depth and breadth of co-curricular pursuits at Tonbridge, including music, sport and the creative arts. The intellectual curiosity and enjoyment of these activities is nurtured at Parkside and flourishes at Tonbridge as the boys reach their teens. 35 miles along the M25, we are not that far away either! We very much look forward to developing our relationship with Parkside in the years to come.

Mr James Dahl

08

Mr James Dahl

Master of Wellington College

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Wellington College has been lucky to have had a steady stream of excellent Parkside boys join us over the recent years and we would be more than delighted to see many more! There is an a real passion for learning evident in the boys that we have met but this passion appears to extend beyond the classroom too and hence aligns very closely for what we look for in Wellingtonians. We also note tremendous values in the Parkside boys we have met and this explains the wonderful atmosphere evident in the school whenever we visit.

Mr James Davies

09

Mr James Davies

Headmaster, Halliford School

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(Halliford and Parkside) schools share a set of core values that sees us completely committed to seeing each student as an individual and doing everything possible to enable them to flourish and make the most of the many opportunities we are able to offer them. The confidence and maturity they develop in Year 7 and 8 at Parkside greatly contributes to our warm-hearted community at Halliford. Parkside students thoroughly embrace our values of creativity, respect, warm-heartedness, resilience, intellectual curiosity and being exceptional team players. It is no wonder that a number of Parkside boys have been awarded scholarships to join Halliford School. They achieve tremendous academic success at both GCSE and A Level thanks to the tremendous academic grounding they receive at Parkside, and they always fully immerse themselves in our wide variety of co-curricular activities and trips. The boys transition extremely quickly into life at Halliford, and we believe they benefit from our comparable size and ethos. Parkside boys contribute enormously to our school community, and it is our pleasure to celebrate their successes as members of the Halliford family.

Mrs C Austin

01

Mrs C Austin

Parkside Parent

Read More

Parkside is a very special school with a best in class leadership team, a creative and high energy teaching staff and a unique ethos that nurtures every child. As a family we enjoy a wonderful sense of community at the school and have made many life-long friends. Parkside School is distinctive in that every teacher knows every child's name and caters for their unique needs and personalities.

Mr & Mrs F

02

Mr & Mrs F

Parkside Parents

Read More

Parkside is a wonderful, forward thinking, family orientated and traditional prep school. Nurturing with a focus on excellence in education and sporting achievement, we couldn’t have selected a better school to fit our family values.

The passion and kindness of the teaching staff and leadership team shines through in every aspect of school life and can be seen daily through the warmth, enthusiasm and joy they bring to the boys. Being part of Parkside’s community, which is built on fellowship and camaraderie, has enabled our three boys to thrive in a secure environment that they love.

Mrs Dixon

03

Mrs Dixon

Parkside Parent

Read More

We have recently moved to Parkside and have had nothing but a positive experience. The number one priority of the school is the boys and this is apparent in all areas, academic progress and development, sporting achievements and the boys’ happiness and wellbeing. We have watched our sons flourish in all aspects of school life at Parkside and that is credit to the fabulous teaching staff but also the overriding culture of the school.

Mr & Mrs G

04

Mr & Mrs G

Parkside Parents

Read More

We chose Parkside for our son because we felt the school truly cared for the boys. Our initial feelings couldn't have been more right, Parkside has proved to be the perfect choice for our son who has loved every minute of his time there and has made many lifelong friends.

Mr & Mrs C

05

Mr & Mrs C

Parkside Parents

Read More

Parkside has provided an amazing environment for our sons to learn, mature and enjoy school life. The care and commitment by the teachers have seen the boys develop and perform to their best. There is a lovely relaxed, friendly and inclusive atmosphere which has certainly brought the best out of our sons.

Dr JM Cox

06

Dr JM Cox

Headmaster, Royal Grammar School, Guildford

Read More

I am always delighted to accept young men from Parkside as members of the RGS.  I have been very impressed with the academic standards which are being achieved at the School but, more importantly, boys from Parkside are delightful additions to our community.  They are invariably engaging, polite and academically curious, skills which have been established and nurtured at Parkside and which will hold them in very good stead for the future.

James Priory

07

James Priory

Headmaster, Tonbridge School

Read More

We were delighted to be able to make three Unconditional Offers to Parkside boys this year. Like the prep school at Parkside, Tonbridge specialises in the education of boys. We are academically selective and Parkside boys are well prepared for the academic rigour here. Similarly, boys from Parkside easily transition to the depth and breadth of co-curricular pursuits at Tonbridge, including music, sport and the creative arts. The intellectual curiosity and enjoyment of these activities is nurtured at Parkside and flourishes at Tonbridge as the boys reach their teens. 35 miles along the M25, we are not that far away either! We very much look forward to developing our relationship with Parkside in the years to come.

Mr James Dahl

08

Mr James Dahl

Master of Wellington College

Read More

Wellington College has been lucky to have had a steady stream of excellent Parkside boys join us over the recent years and we would be more than delighted to see many more! There is an a real passion for learning evident in the boys that we have met but this passion appears to extend beyond the classroom too and hence aligns very closely for what we look for in Wellingtonians. We also note tremendous values in the Parkside boys we have met and this explains the wonderful atmosphere evident in the school whenever we visit.

Mr James Davies

09

Mr James Davies

Headmaster, Halliford School

Read More

(Halliford and Parkside) schools share a set of core values that sees us completely committed to seeing each student as an individual and doing everything possible to enable them to flourish and make the most of the many opportunities we are able to offer them. The confidence and maturity they develop in Year 7 and 8 at Parkside greatly contributes to our warm-hearted community at Halliford. Parkside students thoroughly embrace our values of creativity, respect, warm-heartedness, resilience, intellectual curiosity and being exceptional team players. It is no wonder that a number of Parkside boys have been awarded scholarships to join Halliford School. They achieve tremendous academic success at both GCSE and A Level thanks to the tremendous academic grounding they receive at Parkside, and they always fully immerse themselves in our wide variety of co-curricular activities and trips. The boys transition extremely quickly into life at Halliford, and we believe they benefit from our comparable size and ethos. Parkside boys contribute enormously to our school community, and it is our pleasure to celebrate their successes as members of the Halliford family.

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Who We Are

Courage | Confidence | Character

 

"A popular and successful prep that sends boys off to the big name Surrey schools with a confident handshake and a spring in their step" The Good Schools Guide, March 2024

 

Aims and Ethos2

Leadership Team

Staff List

Our Story

Old manor3

The School was founded in Ewell in 1879 by a scholar from Oxford, originally with four pupils. 

From humble beginnings, the School grew and flourished. So much so, that on reaching its centenary year, it acquired the superb Manor House and 45 acres of grounds at Stoke D’Abernon. The Manor, which sits on an idyllic terrace of the north bank of the River Mole, and only 18 miles from Westminster, has a rich history. 

Robert Bloomfield wrote:

‘Where the Mole still glides, dwells peace, and peace is wealth to me’

The site, which has been inhabited since Roman times has Surrey’s oldest church within its grounds. The 7th Century Church of St. Mary’s along with the Manor, are both referred to in the Domesday Book. Queen Elizabeth I visited here in 1590 and again in 1601, when on 25th September, she knighted the owner, Thomas Vincent, in the oak parlour, where the oak panelling and ceiling decorated with doves remain much as it was on that day. It now serves as the School Office. 

The current Georgian appearance of the Manor House was completed by 1745 and included the creation of the magnificent two-storey Palladian Salon (which is now the assembly and dining hall). Sir Aston Webb, architect of Buckingham Palace, designed and built the Italianesque ‘Loggia’, outside the Salon, and completed the Baroque front porch by 1911.

Pussdog poppes

In 1933, the Estate was bought by the 16th Baronet Edgar Vincent, the first Viscount d’Abernon, who, therefore, returned to his ancestral home. They extended and enhanced the magnificent grounds, which are now also used for weddings, bringing two gigantic stone urns from Esher Place. He died without issue, so his niece eventually sold the Estate in 1956 when it became a training college for graduate engineers before becoming a teacher training college in the 1970s.

From 1979, Parkside School has built and developed the Estate into an inspirational learning environment providing top class facilities for our forward-thinking preparatory school. Now a School of 300 pupils, many improvements have been made. A Sports Hall and swimming pool were built in 1981, with the Science and Music Block and Pre Prep extension following in 1985. In 1995, the pool was enclosed and in 2002, the Crescent Block opened sporting twelve new classrooms. The Nursery was launched on the ground floor of the Stable Block in the 1990s with a D&T workshop and in 2018, the STEM-IT room was developed on the top floor. The main Library was opened in 2011, and in 2019, the 4 seasonal Outdoor Learning Areas were created, along with a Food Tech Room in the Science Block. An additional Science Lab was launched in 2021 along with our new Outdoor Classroom. New for 2024 is our exciting new 'Adventure Playground'.

Yet with all this development and modernisation, the School has been mindful of its heritage and has sympathetically retained the very essence of both buildings and grounds alike. The pupils are given the opportunity to embrace a wide range of experiences which utilise the site to the full whilst also promoting the values of the School; not least in respecting our beautiful surroundings. Alongside academic lessons and traditional sports, there are also activities such as cooking, forest school, fishing, camping, kayaking and even river walks.

Facilities

Aerial3

Parkside’s extensive facilities are what sets us apart from the rest and provides such a diverse environment for pupils to learn and develop during their journey here.

Set in 45 acres of beautiful Surrey countryside, on the banks of the River Mole, our School offers unlimited possibilities for teaching to be delivered in a variety of ways both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Outside, there are 3 forest school areas within the grounds which are seasonal and are used in accordance with the weather and what is growing or living during certain times of the year. An outdoor classroom was developed in 2021 to allow for learning outside of the walls of a classroom. It was a concept developed during lockdown to ease those feelings of confinement caused by the pandemic. 

“Boys are given lots of oxygen and opportunities to flourish, so the quiet pressure on academic improvement is not as noticeable as it might be.”
 The Good Schools Guide 2021

The grounds offer space for boys to be boys, and to have the freedom to express themselves. It creates a balance of wellbeing and academic rigour, and it is often used to enhance the learning experience. For example, our extensive orchards and vegetable patches are not only an exciting place to explore and learn, but they are also used to collect apples and produce for food tech lessons where they are transformed into delicious apple crumble, fruit salads and pasta sauces.

 

 

 

 

The River Mole provides not only a calming influence, but also science and forest school classrooms. The boys enjoy river walks in the summer along with kayaking and fishing. They are encouraged to take calculated risks and push their personal boundaries in order to boost their confidence and perseverance.

“The nearest thing to Swallows and Amazons within throwing distance of the M25, Parkside has a generosity of spirit and an enjoyment of all that can be done which is uplifting.”
The Good Schools Guide 2021

The grounds also house four sports pitches which are primarily used for football, rugby and cricket, alongside our cricket nets and tennis courts. There are outdoor climbing and play areas, with separate and dedicated areas for Nursery, Pre Prep and Prep to enjoy. The gym also provides equipment for gymnastics, softball and indoor basketball courts, as well as a stage where some performances are held. 

Our 22m indoor swimming pool offers swimming lessons to all pupils from Nursery to Year 8 with specialist swim teachers who instruct pupils on perfecting this key life skill. Waterpolo is extremely popular with the boys and is taught as part of the sport curriculum. Swimming galas and competitions are also hosted in our pool, allowing healthy competition against other local schools.

Indoors, the Manor is home to the newly refurbished Pre Prep classrooms, Pre Prep Library, Office and Support Staff, as well as the magnificent Salon, where assemblies take place and achievements are celebrated. A new addition to the Manor in 2022 was the new CHQ (Computing Headquarters), where the displays of old vs new is there for all to see in a high tech environment perfect for computing. All pupils are served their lunch in the Servery, and they enjoy eating this whilst chatting amongst their friends and teachers. When the weather is fine, Parkside pupils love nothing more than grabbing a BBQ and sitting on the grass and walled area outside the Italianesque Loggia, overlooking the River Mole.

The Crescent Building is sympathetically designed to provide all Prep School classrooms and a courtyard which provides access to the extensive Prep Library. Separate to the Crescent Building, is the Performance Hall and Music Rooms, where classical instruments are practised alongside musical creations using state of the art music technology. The Performance Hall is where Pre Prep and Nursery assemblies take place and is a smaller space for presentations. Drama is also taught in the Performance Hall, where productions such as Aladdin Jr were performed and productions such as Les Misérables were rehearsed. Upstairs, are the impressive food tech kitchens (kindly donated by the Parents of Parkside), where culinary delights can often be smelt before they are tasted! Alongside the kitchens are the impressive and newly enhanced separate Science Labs where dissections, metal conductions and explosions are discovered during chemistry, physics and biology lessons. 

Nursery children revel in their own space within the ground floor of the ‘Barn’. This contains 4 separate classrooms, digital learning area, kitchens and offices. Nursery children also enjoy their own dedicated library as well as a fantastic Music Room fully equipped with tambourines and drums, triangles, xylophones and bells. Outside, there are 2 larger secure outdoor playgrounds for our Nursery children to enjoy play equipment. The Parent Toddler Group also have their own dedicated space in a separate building with 2 classrooms on the other side of the outdoor play area. 

Upstairs in the Barn, the sounds of drills and hammers can be heard in the D&T Workshop. This has four fully functioning work benches where boys are encouraged to independently utilise electrical tools in order to build and create their own designs. The state-of-the-art STEM-IT room hosts a suite of technology including three 3D print machines where coding and technology is taught alongside the basics.

Please note that we are a dog free site, so please do not bring your dogs into School.

School Policies

Parkside School has many policies which are regularly reviewed and updated by the Executive & Senior Leadership Team and Staff, in partnership with the Board of Governors. These are arranged alphabetically for ease.

School Policies

Please let us know if you are unable to find what you are looking for or if you would like a hard copy of any of these polices by e-mailing reception@parkside-school.co.uk.

Visit Us

Manor Building Dec 22At Parkside, we understand the importance of choosing the right school for your child. Therefore, we recommend that you come and visit us in order to get a true feel of our School. There is nothing better than being able to ask your questions directly to staff and to meet the Parkside boys in person.

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