Makerspace

With great imaginations and access to a wide range of resources and technology, there really is no limit to what our children can achieve.

Children will buzz with ideas during their dedicated sessions in the makerspace. Personalised learning is brought to life with children choosing how they develop their ideas and problem solve.

From green screen technology to 3D printing, craft and construction to coding and a breaker space, the makerspace allows creativity to develop and flourish. Children learn how to use technology safely and develop key communication and collaborative skills for the future.

Secret Garden

At Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School, we have access to brilliant outdoor spaces on our school site. This includes a wildlife garden that forms part of the Early Years outdoor classroom area, but also a huge 2 acre garden that all of our children access daily.

Hands on, practical outdoors experiences are the most effective way to stimulate conversations, develop an enquiring mind and to foster an affinity with nature and we are able to offer that as part of the our daily experiences.

The wildlife garden is the perfect location for going on a minibeast hunt, for planting and growing our own vegetables, for playing in the mud kitchen or for sharing stories and enjoying snacks. The children all have waterproofs and wellington boots and can therefore use the area come rain or shine.

In the 2 acre secret garden there are a wide variety of habitats, trees and plants as well as a huge open space for the children to enjoy. Having such open space gives the children the environment they need to run, play and enjoy lots of fresh air during the day. We use the garden for outdoor learning experiences for children throughout the school. Whether it is reading under the shade of a tree during the summer, building dens or exploring animals habitats, taking out art resources and having art lessons outdoors or using the space with our specialists teachers to enjoy outdoor science, art, music, PE or drama, the garden is used all year round as an extension to our classrooms.

Sports Facilities

Pupils in Pre-Reception and Reception use the fantastic on-site facilities at Prince’s Gardens which include both the small and large back garden areas, in addition to the main Hall in school. As pupils progress through the school they take part in PE off-site. Pupils take the short walk to Imperial College where they enjoy use of the sport hall and the swimming pool for Games lessons. PE lessons take place at Beit Gym, a short 5 minute walk from school. We are also extremely lucky to be positioned on the doorstep of Hyde Park, with pupils enjoying many sports on the expansive fields.

State of the art Science Lab

All children from Year 3 upwards are taught science in a dedicated laboratory space. In this laboratory, children are taught how to work safely and sensibly in what is a model of a professional environment. The skills they develop in this setting give our pupils a head-start when they continue their science learning in their senior schools. We ensure that all pupils are trained to use scientific equipment such as Bunsen burners, pH probes, light-gate meters, thermometers and measuring cylinders. This enables our pupils to develop excellent practical skills that they can use to provide answers to the many questions they are encouraged to ask about the topics they explore within the science curriculum.

Music Room

Our children benefit from learning and enjoying music in our dedicated music room within school. The room contains many of the original 19th century architectural features, including an impressive domed ceiling which enhances the acoustics within the space. At the heart of our music curriculum is the focus on instrument learning in the classroom and our music room is outstandingly resourced with a wide range of instruments suitable for beginner learning. These range from two whole class sets of Stentor Student II violins, Nuvo plastic wind instruments and a set of trumpets. We also have a full set of djembe drums, a samba kit and a set of ukuleles. Taking pride of place in our music room is our Steinway Model S grand piano. This gives children the exciting opportunity to explore many different types of instruments and styles of music as they journey through the school, including choral practice.

London as a Classroom

Situated in the heart of South Kensington, we are ideally placed to make the most of the world renowned museums, galleries and concert venues which are a 5-10 minute walk from our school. Embedding stimulating experiences into our curriculum at these venues enhances the children’s excitement and love of learning. Sometimes these visits may be for only 20 minutes to see a particular object or display and the children are then able to return to school, full of enthusiasm, to delve deeper into what they have seen. For example, a visit to the replica of The Eagle, the landing vehicle for Neil Armstrong, may lead to work designing a house on the moon, or a visit to the Natural History Museum may result in ideas on how we can better protect our planet. The school also has close links with the Royal College of Music where we host our Summer Prom. The peripatetic staff are all Royal College of Music graduates and we work with the college to support their undergraduate programme which provides opportunities for our pupils to meet and be inspired by professional musicians on a regular basis.

With study skills, reasoning, current affairs, and literacy practice incorporated within the timetable, we also support scholarship candidates and presentation skills. Our engaging and broad curriculum provides many experiences for our pupils to share at interviews and they excel during group tasks where schools look for creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills.

Parents are supported on every step of the 11+ journey. Our Headmistress and Deputy Head host an annual presentation for parents, covering the transition to Senior School, when to start looking, what to ask and how to support your child.

We hold Talking Head events where parents have the opportunity to meet and hear from Heads from a range of Senior Schools, ensuring they choose a school that allows their child to flourish.