St Columba’s College Preparatory School
St Columbas College Herts Prep
Org 1: IAPS
King Harry Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 4AW
Telephone: 01727 862616
Key dates: Applications welcome from girls (for Prep 3–5) and boys (for Prep 3–6): No deadline
Age Range: Pre-Prep/Infants, Prep/Junior to 11
Day or Boarding: Day, Day Only
Gender: Co-ed, Boys
Acting Chair of Governors: Mrs Barbara Elliot, MA Cantab
Head of Preparatory School: Mr R McCann, BA
Deputy Head of Prep & DSL: Mr K Boland, BA
Deputy Head of Prep & SENCo: Miss C Maton, BA
St Columba's College Prep School is a unique and happy place, with a strong reputation for academic achievement in a nurturing and supportive environment. The school strives to create a welcoming community in which each pupil is known, valued and treasuredas an individual, and positive relationships between staff and pupils arebased on mutual respect and understanding. There is a rigorous academic curriculum with an extensive range of extracurricular opportunities, including an ambitious sports programme is offered at EYFS Key Stages 1 and 2.
Age range. 4–11.
Number of pupils. 216 Students.
Fees per term (2025-2026). Reception–Prep 2: £5,722.80; Prep 3: £6,760.80; Prep 4; £7,440.; Prep 5 & 6: £7,533.60. Fees include personal accident insurance. Additional charges are made for coaches and consumables. Fees include VAT. We offer sibling discounts – a second child qualifies for a discount of 5%, a third child qualifies for a discount of 10% and a fourth child qualifies for a discount of 15%.
Entry. Admission to the Prep School is done via a 'taster day' for the children who wish to join. In Reception, this will be done during a morning session and from Prep One through to Prep Six, children will spend the day in our setting. During this day, children wanting to enter into Prep One or Prep Two will complete a series of age-appropriate Maths and English assessments and for children wishing to enter into our Upper Prep (Prep 3-6) they will sit a Quest Assessment which covers Maths, English and Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. For all aplicants, a reference and the latest report will be sought from the child’s school.
Facilities. The school benefits from an established Forest School, providing valuable outdoor learning experiences that support creativity, wellbeing and environmental awareness. Academic facilities include modern classrooms with specialist provision for Science, IT, ADT, Music, PE, Games, RE and Languages, alongside a professionally staffed and well-resourced library. Sports facilities include MUGA pitches, dedicated basketball facilities, and cricket nets. A swimming pool and athletics track are located adjacent to the site.
We offer a limited number of scholarships from Prep 3 through to Prep 6. These include academic and music scholarships. Candidates for the music scholarships should be established performers on one or more instruments, are likely to have reached Grade 4 or above (or the equivalent) and will have good musical skills.
Charitable status. St Columba’s College is a Registered Charity, number 1088480. It exists to provide a well-rounded Christian education for pupils from 4–18 years of age.