Happy, smiling faces of children loving school life can be seen everywhere at Brambletye Prep School.
Yes the view over Ashdown Forest to the Weir Wood Reservoir is breathtaking, yes the historic 140-acre country house setting is impressive, but the polite, warm, welcoming children leave the biggest impression.
Brambletye provides strong pastoral care and relaxed, confident pupils in their wonderful grey and Leander pink uniform are a testament to this. Eloquent, engaged, enthusiastic children are as confident with adults as they are their peers.
Headmaster Will Brooks puts great emphasis on children taking responsibility for their actions. “We want them to be behaving appropriately because they know it is the right thing to do and they choose to do it, not because we make them.”
Teamwork is encouraged, with Mr. Brooks recognizing a team of the week for their efforts – be it a sports team, musical ensemble, a particular form, or a dormitory.
Brambletye believes in the individual. Children are given a wide range of opportunities to find their niche and excel in it. Equal appreciation and recognition are given to all areas be it academic, sporting, dramatic, musical, or artistic.
Small classes of no more than 15 students mean children are challenged academically and receive plenty of individual help and attention. Brambletye has a strong reputation for art and the inspiring art room encourages pupils to develop their award-winning talents which are proudly displayed throughout the school.
At the heart of the Brambletye Arts Centre is a modern 250 seat theatre which provides superb facilities for actors, technicians, and managers. Benedict Cumberbatch, a former pupil, once trod the boards here. Music school is also housed here and gives pupils the chance to learn a wide range of instruments and join a whole host of orchestras, ensembles, and groups. An impressive 90 percent of pupils play an instrument.
Indoor swimming pool with views over the beautiful Sussex countryside sits next to the purpose-built sports center, complete with its own climbing wall, that was opened in 2000 by cricketer Ted Dexter. Here pupils do everything from basketball and ballet to fencing and taekwondo or trampolining and squash.
Making the most of its idyllic rural setting, Brambletye children are encouraged to use the outdoor space – a huge climbing frame, assault course, zip wire, giant chess set, woodlands, golf course, tennis courts, and football pitch form a wonderful recreational hub – covered in happy, energetic children.
Brambletye enhances the children’s education at every opportunity and with its close proximity to London often takes pupils to the city to visit museums and theatres.
The chapel sits at the heart of Brambletye and plays an important part in school life, focusing on Christian values that are relevant across all faiths. Whilst Brambletye is an Anglican foundation it welcomes children of all faiths.
Brambletye’s Pre-Prep school is housed in its own purpose-built modern facility that feels warm, nurturing, and inviting with everything designed for little people, including the toilets and sinks. Outdoor play is encouraged, whatever the weather, with separate playgrounds targeting the different age groups and their abilities. Like Prep school the importance of good behavior is emphasized, with a jewel reward system encouraging the young ones to do right from wrong. Happy, confident children clearly love the staff who bring out the best in them.
Brambletye has approximately 275 students. Pre-prep is a day school for 85 two and a half to seven-year-olds, while prep has 190 pupils aged eight to 13 being prepared for a wide range of senior schools. Prep school has a combination of day, full boarding, and fixed part-time boarders who do one, two, or three set nights a week. Boarding rooms, which are all being refurbished, are light, airy, and spacious, with residential staff close at hand.
Children at Brambletye are given a great foundation so they go on to flourish. Each child leaves with not only great experiences and achievements but also the right attitudes, values, and quality of character.
With these values, they are sure to go far.