WHAT? WHERE?

Well hello Brentwood School! You’ll find this handsome independent day and boarding co-ed school in the centre of town, but behind the Tudor frontage there’s an inviting 75 acres of rolling Essex countryside.

Brentwood started life as an all-boys school (the original building dates back to 1568, when just five boys enrolled to learn Latin), but there’s now 1,900 pupils from 3-18 years, with an almost even split of 55% boys / 45% girls. Check out this welcome from Headmaster Michael Bond here.

Interestingly, they adopt a ‘diamond model’ here, with boys and girls taught separately when they get to the senior school, though they still mix outside of lessons – only 16 schools operate this model in the UK, but I’m liking the sound of it. The 70 boarders who enrol each year are almost entirely international students, hailing from the likes of Hong Kong and Ukraine/Western Europe, but the vast majority of students are local day pupils, with Brentwood, Shenfield and Billericay being the main destinations for the school’s private bus programme.

PREP

Housed in a completely new part of the school following a £14million two-year expansion project (yes, you read that right), this grand self-contained area for pupils from 3-11 years offers mixed class sizes of up to 20 – on the higher end for independent schools though personally I think anything between 18-20 is a sweet spot of class ‘buzz’ that still allows for individual attention.

The project combines refurbished buildings as well as new builds and has completely transformed the landscape of the school, improving connectivity on campus as well as focusing on STEAM subjects. Highlights include – deep breath – eight specialist classrooms including a high tech music room, two science rooms, an IT Suite, light and airy Art loft, food tech suite, design tech classroom decked out with Laser Cutters and 3D Printer, plus the Futures Room (below) – a sensory space for kids to get creative.

The lucky kids here also use all the senior school facilities (get settled in to read the list below, there’s a lot of them!) as well as many of the school’s language programmes, and are encouraged to learn everything from French and Spanish to Latin and Chinese with specialist teachers.

SPORT

In a word, impressive. With a 25m indoor swimming pool, acres of sports pitches, three netball/tennis courts, a dedicated sports hall, cricket pavilion, a fencing salle (which has produced five Commonwealth champions), four squash courts, plus two all-weather floodlit pitches and an athletics track, and a stupendously good fitness suite, the kids aren’t exactly short of sporting activities on site. Water polo is popular by all accounts, as is archery.

MUSIC, ARTS AND DRAMA

Have a budding Lang Lang in the house? No problem, Brentwood is an official Steinway school, with a whopping 11 Steinway pianos at its disposal, along with an extensive music facilities suite, which includes a recording studio, music technology suite and seven practice rooms. All seniors are encouraged to play an instrument (or three) as part of the curriculum (the school even runs an ‘endangered instrument’ programme to bring back the French horn, etc), but during lockdown this department really came into its own, holding 14 Friday-night concerts via the Brentwood School YouTube channel.

What’s more, in September 2024, Brentwood School launched a Specialist Music Programme, providing rigorous training and assessment for aspiring musicians within the school curriculum. The launch of the Specialist Music Programme represents another step towards delivering the school’s vision to be known locally, regionally, nationally and internationally as a centre of best practice. High-achieving musicians will benefit from a programme that recognises their talent and ambition while maintaining the range and balance that comes with being part of a thriving mainstream school. No longer will talented musicians need to decide between a mainstream or specialist school – they can genuinely have the best of both worlds here.

For musical and theatrical performances, there are three dedicated spaces for productions, plus filming facilities. You’ll also find two large art spaces and a ceramics studio complete with kilns for budding artisans.

LANGUAGES

There’s no absence of money spent on academic provision here – the big calling card being the multi-media Learning Resource Centre, which includes a purpose-built ‘language laboratory’ allowing students to learn everything from Mandarin and Chinese to Latin. Last year, a pupil actually taught himself Japanese via the cutting edge tech – and bagged himself the top grade!

ACADEMIC RESULTS

Strong. The IB Diploma Class of 2024 returned an average of 38.3 points, which placed the school eighth in the UK. When it came to GCSE / iGCSEs, students again significantly outperformed the national picture. Around a fifth of GCSE grades were Grade 9 (against a national figure of 5.1%) and almost 60% were graded 7-9 (22.6% nationally). 132 students took A Level examinations and a strong set of results saw 37.2% graded A* or A. 10.7% of A Level results were A* and 72.0% of results were A*-B. The pass rate at A Level was 100%. In 2024, all 31 BTEC Extended Diploma students achieved their first-choice outcome. Five students attained the equivalent of A*A*A* and 10 secured the equivalent of A*A*A.

THE HEAD

Brentwood School Headmaster Michael Bond

Following a successful post at Berkhamsted School, Michael Bond took hold of the reins as headmaster in 2019 and has overseen the multimillion-pound expansion of the prep school, plus the roll out of dynamic, future-facing tech to ensure a smooth transition during lockdown. Up-beat, energetic and clearly motivated to uphold the school’s values, I liked him – he’s particularly passionate about Brentwood’s heritage and has got his eye on expanding the boarding facilities to continue the school’s legacy of inclusivity, so watch this space for possible flexi-board options in the future.

BOARDING

As it stands, the school can accommodate up to 70 boarders, with 26 girls currently residing in a beautiful Victorian building a few minutes’ walk from classrooms. The boys, meanwhile, are more centrally located in a bijou 1950s site with views out to the playing fields and pitches. It’s a functional space featuring that all-important pool table and games room, but it’s clear that the girls have struck gold with their secluded, leafy manor – the red bricks of which, touchingly, are etched with their names following graduation each year.

However, in September 2025, the school will open the doors on a state-of-the-art sector-leading boarding house (see an artist’s impression above). The fully-accessible house, which has been years in the planning, will be subdivided into three main sections; a girls’ and boys’ boarding house and a central shared facility including new dining and communal areas and an outdoor courtyard and dedicated landscaped social space. Single bedrooms on the upper floor will offer a home-from-home for boarding students featuring cutting-edge uni-style accommodation with light and airy private ensuite rooms.

WRAPAROUND CARE

A dedicated service runs for prep school students, who can be dropped off daily from 7.30am for breakfast and pre-school activities, and picked up again at 6pm.

PASTORAL CARE

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8GXIRSDxW7/

Wellbeing is at the heart of a Brentwood School education – happiness, purpose and an ability to use setbacks as learning opportunities are all ingredients of a successful education. An extended pastoral team comprises the Senior Deputy Head, Director of Pastoral Care and Safeguarding, Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads, Heads of Year and their Deputies, Form Tutors, Boarding staff, Pastoral Managers, Director of Pupil Wellbeing, the School’s medical team and School counsellors. They are joined by an on-site Chaplain, who is utilising the school’s beautiful 19th century chapel (below), a team of Mental Health First Aiders and Sixth Form Mental Health Champions. And not forgetting the school’s real pastoral stars George, Henry, Freddie and Rosie – Brentwood’s official wellbeing pooches.

FEES

How deep are your pockets? Brentwood School is on the pricier side for day and boarding – but then again you do get a lot for your buck. Day prep costs £20,370 per annum (inclusive of VAT); day senior places rise to £26,665 p/a (inclusive of VAT) while boarders pay £52,251 p/a (inclusive of VAT). For Foundation prices, contact the school for a personalised quote.

QUIRKS

Probably the most unusual element of the school is its ‘diamond model’ teaching method – one of just 16 co-ed independents in the country to adopt single-sex lessons for seniors. So it’s kind of the best of both worlds – single sex learning but co-ed socialisation.

What else? Brentwood School has the largest Combined Cadet Force in the country with more than 600 cadets.

And finally, I don’t think many schools can claim that their grounds saw protestants burned at the stake under Mary Tudor’s reign! More cheerfully though, the land was snapped up by the Lord Justice Chief in 1557 and, by 1568, the ‘Old Big School’ had been erected. The original building is still in use and some of the first students’ wooden desks – etched with the boys’ doodling – have been cleverly built into the floodlit room’s architectural features. Also on a historical note, keep an eye out for features acquired from Weald Hall, ancestral home of Sir Antony Browne in the 1540s – not least the mounting step donated by the Queen of Naples, in Library Square.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Virtue. Learning. Manners: the three founding pillars of Brentwood School from 1622 still embody the school’s ethos today, which is all about offering an unstuffy learning environment for kids of all backgrounds to thrive and flourish in. (To give you a flavour, a quote from 1892-1913’s headmaster Dr Edwin Bean, reads: ‘The children of judges and those of mechanics and tradesmen should mix on equal terms.’) As a result, parents here are largely self-made and love the fact that, despite its grand, sweeping exterior, Brentwood isn’t your average ‘posh’, elitist private school and has a warm heart. In fact, it now financially supports one fifth of the children who attend.

THE MUDDY VERDICT:

GOOD FOR: Those who want the best of both worlds. With its unusual adoption of single-sex lessons from 11-16, Brentwood School allows its pupils to follow their academic interests without fear of gender stereotyping. The sports, music and language facilities seem to be particularly strong, so if your little one happens to fancy a spot of fencing or shows an early flair for the ivories, they’ll be well catered for.

NOT FOR: With its grand site, Brentwood might feel intimidating to those coming from much smaller surrounds.

DARE TO DISAGREE? You don’t have to take our word for it – take a look around yourself at one of their Open Days. Click here to book or call 01277 243243 for details.

Brentwood School, Middleton Hall Lane, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 8EE. Tel: 01277 243243; brentwoodschool.co.uk

Brentwood School, Brentwood

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