Bancroft’s Preparatory School
Bancrofts Preparatory School
Org 1: IAPS
High Road, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 0RF
Telephone: 020 8506 6751
020 8506 6774 (Admissions)
Age Range: Prep/Junior to 11
Day or Boarding: Day, Day Only
Gender: Co-ed
Chairman of the Governors: Sir Andrew Ford
Head: J P Layburn, MA
Deputy Head, Pastoral: Mrs L Life, BA
Director of Studies: Mr T Paramour, BA
Assistant Head, Lower Phase: Mrs L Dalton, BA
Assistant Head Upper Phase: Miss A Adams, BA
Age Range. 7–11.
Number of Pupils. 123 girls, 138 boys.
Fees per term (2023-2024). £6,365.
Bancroft’s Preparatory School was established in September 1990 in the attractive grounds of Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green (see entry in HMC section) and in 2000 the Head at that time became a member of IAPS. Academic results are excellent and places are much sought after – the school is heavily oversubscribed with numbers of registrations rising year by year. The Prep School has its own distinct character within the Bancroft’s community and has the advantage of being able to use the excellent Senior School facilities. The Prep School is housed in an attractive modern building with its own performing arts studio for drama, music and dance, a science lab and a children’s adventure play area. There are three classes of 22 (maximum) children in each of its four year groups.
The Prep School is a truly academic school but its vision of education is about much more than academic results. It’s about character development, about the life of the school outside the classroom as well as in it. The Prep School believes the bright children it recruits can ‘have it all’: outstanding academic qualifications which will enable them to pursue their enthusiasms; rich and formative experiences from a wide ranging co-curricular programme which will help to develop them as people; and an active, reflective approach to learning which will set them up for life.
Children are assessed for entry at the age of six/seven, visiting the school in small groups and tested by the Head and the Deputy Head, Pastoral. The experience is friendly and low-key. Once accepted, pupils have guaranteed transfer to Bancroft’s Senior School (on the same site) at the age of eleven. Bancroft’s Prep School offers up to two assisted places for pupils entering the School at the age of 7 each year. These awards are based on family finances and performance in the entrance tests. The administration of the Prep School and Senior School are closely linked and the Head is a member of the Senior Leadership Team of Bancroft’s School.
Charitable status. Bancroft’s School is a Registered Charity, number 1068532. It exists to provide a rounded academic education for able children.