Description
Old Buckenham Hall School is Independent Secondary school in Non-selective for kids aged 3 to 13 (Gender - 3 to 13 )
Old Buckenham Hall is a leading co-educational preparatory school for children aged 3 – 13 years and has been educating children for over 150 years. Old Buckenham Hall is very special place for your child to begin their educational journey. Here, children remain just that. They experience, they learn, they grow, but they do so within one of the most idyllic environments imaginable.We are proud of our beautiful school, but it is what goes on inside these old walls and in the grounds that really matters. Every teacher at Old Buckenham Hall is committed to delivering the very best for every child. For us this means inspirational academic and co-curricular teaching, outstanding pastoral care and embracing risk and challenge. Children here feel happy and safe and they have a chance to explore their aspirations and develop their character.
Facilities
Nursery & Pre-Prep
The Pre-Prep at Old Buckenham Hall is a very special place. It’s the first place you pass on your way up the school driveway and makes a striking impression, with the beautiful new playground and clad exterior. The classrooms are spacious, innovative, energetic and welcoming. We are gradually introducing sustainable and eco-friendly furniture, resources, heating and lighting – our beautiful new Nursery was revealed in September 2018.We pride ourselves in offering an excellent education; teaching phonics and maths every morning, supported by the very best educational resources and techniques on offer, such as Read Write Inc, Story scribing, Talk for Writing and Numicon. Alongside this, they have a strong timetable of topic based lessons, such as Geography, History, Science, RS and MBE – Mini Buckenham Explorers – our exciting outdoor learning scheme, which takes place within the expansive school grounds. Come rain or shine, the children are welly-booted up and bug hunting, den building or doing some natural art in the outdoor classroom.
Middle School
The Middle School is situated in the Stable Yard, an area dedicated to the children in Years 3 and 4 and is a nurturing and special environment where the children feel valued, happy and safe. It is an invaluable phase in the children’s OBH learning journey that takes them from the wonderful environment of the Pre-Prep through to the rigors of the Senior School, where the greater focus is on independent learning and preparation for Common Entrance.The transition between Pre-Prep and Middle School is carefully managed so the children feel confident and excited about the move into the Stable Yard. During the Summer term, the Year 2 children spend time getting to know the Year 3 contemporaries and their teachers and carry out transition activities that are both fun and informative. The children write letters to one another and our Year 3 experts take great pride in sharing all they know about life in the Middle School.
Senior School
Children transition from the Middle School into the Senior School in Year 5. From this point forward, the children are placed in form groups for registration and taught each of the curriculum subjects by specialist teachers. All form tutors are the first point of contact for pastoral support and liaise closely with parents. Parents develop close links with all teachers in the senior school and this allows us to prepare children for entry to their senior school of choice. There are various routes of entry into Year 9 that include scholarships, Common Entrance or bespoke examinations. We tailor the programme for all children to meet their individual requirements.
Boarding
Boarding is comfortable, caring and above all fun! They strongly believe in the value of boarding; by living together in a close community the children are able to build up their self-confidence, independence and community spirit. The OBH boarding experience offers the perfect preparation for boarding at Senior School, as well as the chance to take full advantage of all that the facilities and staff can offer, long after the teaching day is over.We have three Boarding Houses – a Girls’ House, a Boys’ House and Spero, a Monday – Friday junior boarding house for all Year 3, 4 and 5 boarders. The recent refurbishment offers pleasantly decorated and cosy dorms and comfortable common rooms in which to relax and unwind after a busy day. The Headmaster lives in the heart of the school and a dedicated team of houseparents, matrons and the school nurse are responsible for the overall welfare and day-to-day wellbeing of the boarders.
Features
Things to note
Art, Drama & Music
The creative and performing arts are highly valued as an important part of our whole school ethos and curriculum. At OBH we firmly believe that the arts foster imagination, risk-taking and curiosity – important aspects of creativity. Governments, businesses and communities now widely regard creativity and innovation as fundamental to social, economic, cultural and technological growth. We know that arts-based enterprises, for example, are acknowledged now as being vitally important to economic success. It follows that creativity in education is a necessity, nurturing imagination and curiosity – two vital elements that drive learning for them all. They aim to show through our exciting, innovative and high quality arts programme how arts and culture can enrich pupils’ lives and give them a real sense of well-being and fulfillment.
Sports
At Old Buckenham Hall we recognise the importance of sport and the great pleasure it brings to many. Rugby, cricket, hockey, football, netball, rounders, tennis, golf, squash, riding, shooting, sailing and more sports are all enjoyed by OBH pupils. They aim to coach all the children from a grassroots level, ensuring that they receive quality coaching right from the early stages in year 1 and 2. By the time they reach the prep school all children at are involved in a team according to their ability level.As part of the curriculum children in the prep school participate in four games sessions each week, including match days, which concentrates on a major sport each term.
Old Buckenham Explorers
OBE’S, or Old Buckenham Explorers was founded three years ago. Its aim, very simply, is to develop all the skills – both physical and emotional – that children possess, and bring them to the fore at an earlier stage in their development. Children may excel in the classroom, music hall or on the sports field but not all children are given the chance to enhance those natural talents which play such a key part in their future lives. These skills – leadership, problem solving, self-reliance and teamwork – are the foundations of the curriculum-embedded OBE programme.
Extra Curricular
Please check the school website link for details.
2.28 miles
