Age Range. 3–11.
Number of Pupils. 590.
Fees per term (2023–2024). Nursery £2,270 (mornings only), £3,715 (full days); Reception–Year 2 £4,280; Years 3–6 £5,870. Lunches (compulsory): £330.
St George’s Junior School is a fully co-ed Roman Catholic Day School, with a Senior School on a separate site nearby. The Junior School was established in 1950 by a Religious Order of Priests and Brothers known as “The Josephites” as a development of the educational provision of St George’s College which celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2019.
In September 2000, the Junior School moved from its previous co-located site a mile down the road, to its present 50-acre site on the outskirts of Weybridge close to the River Thames. Huge development has taken place since then, most notably, a new Kitchen and Dining Room, and a state-of-the-art Lower Years building for children aged 3–7 – The Ark – which was opened and blessed by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor in 2016, at the same time as a new Performing Arts Centre. Along with the recent development of a Forest School and the Eco Garden, as well as extra playing fields for cricket, rugby and rounders, the Master Plan has given the Junior School first-rate facilities which provide the children with a wonderful start to their education. The School operates a very extensive bus service and an option for parents using cars to drop off their children at either the Junior School using the ‘Kiss and Drop’ system, or the College, using the minibus shuttle service.
The Junior School has a genuinely happy atmosphere in which every pupil is respected and treated as an individual. The Headmaster considers the staff, pupils and parents to be constituent parts of an extended family – ‘The Georgian Family’. The School has always placed great emphasis on the importance of maintaining excellent channels of communication between members of staff, parents and pupils.
Pupils who are ‘rising three’ are admitted into the Nursery, after which children can be admitted to any year group, subject to available spaces. The size of classes ensures that the School is a learning community by creating the correct balance between pupil interaction and pupil-teacher contact. The pupils in the top two years of the School are taught by subject specialists. French is offered to all pupils from Year 1. In November 2019, the ISI Educational Quality Inspection found the School to be ‘Excellent’ in all areas, following on from the Diocesan Inspection Report in May 2018 which noted that ‘the school's pastoral care is a particular strength’ and the ‘teachers manifest an enthusiasm for sharing their love and knowledge of subject, and communicate high expectations’.
All pupils are assessed on entry and when they leave at the end of Year 6, the vast majority transfer to St George’s College. In 2021, 7 Academic, 5 Sports, 4 Music and 1 Art Scholarship along with 1 Art Exhibition were awarded. While the pursuit of academic excellence is highly valued, the Mission Statement of the School stresses the importance of pupils being the very best versions of themselves. The School requires its pupils to have high moral values especially those of its school motto: “Honesty and Compassion”.
The Junior School has four Houses which compete against each other across a wide range of activities inside and outside the classroom including Music, Public Speaking and Sport.
Extracurricular and other enrichment activities are, likewise, considered to play an important role in the educational development of children. The extensive range of activities include dance (ballet, modern and tap), gymnastics, and clubs based on the academic subjects taught in the School. Mandarin is offered to Upper Years pupils if they so wish, and pupils are taken to places of educational interest regularly, including theatre, music and art trips, and there is an annual Book Week during which pupils meet and listen to visiting authors and storytellers. The School recently hosted its own Literature Festival, inviting over 500 children from local schools to attend.
Considerable emphasis is placed on the Creative and Performing Arts. The school stages six major Drama Productions a year. All children in Year 2 learn the ukulele and recorder as part of the Music Curriculum. There is an orchestra, choirs and various ensembles. Individual music lessons are very popular, with over 50% of the children in Years 3 to 6 learning at least one additional instrument. Since September 2016 an Instrumental Tuition Scheme has been implemented which subsidises free peripatetic lessons for all children in Years 3 or 4, in order to encourage them to take up strings, woodwind or brass instruments, which has been a great success. Concerts take place at least once a term, and music lessons are supported by the use of the latest computer-based technology. Pupils have achieved considerable success at Public Speaking Competitions and achieve a very high level of attainment in their external Spoken English, LAMDA and instrumental music exams.
Apart from its own on-site sports facilities, comprising an artificial sports pitch, netball and tennis courts, a sprung floor gymnasium and a swimming pool, the School has use of outstanding sports facilities at the College including its brand new Activity Centre, a four-court indoor tennis centre, and a tartan athletics track. The Junior School has a track record of great sporting success with Hockey & Rugby teams regularly reaching the final stages of IAPS National Finals and more recently excelling at Boys’ and Girls’ Gymnastics. In the midst of this tangible success, the Junior School prides itself on ensuring that all pupils from Year 3 upwards have the opportunity to represent the school at least once each term in one of the mainstream sports, i.e. Rugby, Hockey and Cricket for boys and Netball, Hockey, Rounders & Cricket for girls.
School lunches, which are compulsory for children in Upper Nursery staying on for afternoon activities and for all from Reception Year onwards, are prepared on site and eaten in the dining room which can seat 320 people. Since November 2020, the School has engaged the services of an external provider – ‘The Gap Club’ – for pre- & after-school care for all children who so wish from 7.30am – 6.30pm. Children in Years 1 & 2 can sign up for 2 after school clubs per week until 4.30pm, while those in Years 3–6 can sign up for clubs which continue until 5.00pm each day.
For the last few years, the School has usually had more applications for places than it can accommodate in all year groups. When vacancies do occur, pupils are admitted as long as they meet the School’s entry criteria and successfully complete an assessment day at the School, as well as receiving a satisfactory report from their current school where this is appropriate. Priority is afforded to siblings and children from Roman Catholic families.
Charitable status. St George’s Weybridge is a registered Charity, number 1017853. The aims and objectives of the charity are the Christian education of young people.