Exciting Developments at Moreton Hall

14 Apr 2021

There is an exciting development at Moreton Hall, in the 20th anniversary year of the Prep School.  The School, Senior staff and Governors are thrilled to announce that, in September 2021, boys will be accepted into Remove (Year 7) at Moreton Hall.  Not only boys from our own Prep, but boys from outside the school, too. The following year, the boys progress into Lower Four (Year 8), before leaving Moreton and heading to their senior school of choice.   The Senior School will remain all-girls in Upper Four and above.

This move is part of the School’s strategic development plan as Moreton Hall’s Prep School forges a unique path to be one of the leading small prep schools in the country.  It allows us to blend the best aspects of our Prep and Senior School in Remove and Lower Four (Years 7 and 8), ensuring the best possible support for our students during this important transitional phase.  The arrival of John Bond as Head of Moreton Hall Prep at Easter 2021 means that we have the very best leadership to make this change the success we all know it will be.  John has a wealth of experience, built over 20 years of working in Prep Schools, and understands how to tailor an education to the interests, needs and abilities of every boy and girl.  His knowledge of preparation for 13+ entry is excellent and he is committed to ensuring that our boys and girls continue to enjoy an equality of educational opportunity whether in the classroom, on the sports field or on the stage.

For many years, one of the hallmarks of a Moreton education has been the bespoke guidance and support which leads Moretonians to be able to pursue whatever next steps they set their mind to.  This is reflected in the vast breadth of higher education courses studied by our Upper Sixth leavers, alongside their wide-ranging accomplishments in sport, music, drama and the arts.  Our careers advice has recently seen us made Independent School of the Year finalists.  Welcoming boys until the end of Year 8 dovetails perfectly with this ethos in allowing our boys to pursue whichever Senior School they choose at 13+, having benefited from an equivalently high level of guidance and preparation.

This change offers the best of all worlds – our all-girls provision is retained in our more senior years, and our boys do not have to prematurely leave a school where they are settled and happy.  All of the successful and distinctive features of Remove and Lower Four life at Moreton Hall’s Senior School can continue exactly as before.  The Boarding House remains at the centre of academic and pastoral life for day and boarding pupils and our personal tutoring system continues.  Lessons can take place in their usual subject-specific venues around the school and all pupils, boys and girls, can access the full range of Senior School co-curricular activities.

We firmly believe that our proposals are educationally sound, in the interests of current and future Moretonians, and help to cement the reputation of Moreton Hall as a forward-looking school for girls to age 18 and boys to age 13.