Q&A fact file: Leighton Park School

What happens after lessons have finished for the day?

There is an extensive co-curricular programme offering over 90 hobbies  which runs during lunchtime and after school. There are two after school hobby slots, 4.30-5.30pm and 6.00-7.00pm, which accommodate everything from knitting to parkour, from lego technics to chocolate club, as well as some more traditional options across music, drama and sport. In addition to co-curricular activities, there is time built into the evening for dinner and for quiet, supervised prep, which varies in duration depending on the year. The House Managers ensure there is a relaxing evening activity such as board games, craft, baking or a film, accompanied by a light snack, for students to socialise in their Houses after prep and before bed.

Can you accommodate special diets?

We have a platinum standard contract with our outsourced caterers, Thomas Franks Ltd, which ensures that the three meals we provide every day to our students are of the highest quality. All dietary needs are catered for, with allergies being supported through a robust system involving our Senior Nurse and our Catering Manager, and preferences accommodated by the extensive variety of food on offer. Meals include two main course choices and a vegetarian option, a salad bar, a pasta bar, jacket potatoes, a selection of desserts and regular showcase cooking featuring international dishes and more unusual options.

Can my child have a room of their own?

Boarders joining Fryer House in Year 7 or 8 will share a room with up to two other students in our newly refurbished co-educational boarding house. There are 3 rooms for girls (9 beds) and 5 rooms for boys (15 beds) with a cinema room, a snug and a kitchen / diner / lounge, under the care of our nurturing House Manager, Chavelli. In Years 9 – Upper Sixth students move into our single sex Senior Boarding Houses; Reckitt House for girls and School House for boys. Years 9-11 would typically share a room of 2 whereas Sixth Form students usually have their own room.

How many children in each class?

There is an average of 16 students per class for Years 7 to 11 and an average of 7 per class in the Sixth Form. Below GCSE students are generally taught in classes of 20 with some differences for Maths where students are set. In Year 10 and above option choices result in varying ranges of students per class. Our teacher:pupil ratio is 1:6.

What are your strongest academic subjects?

We excel in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Maths), Music and Ethical Enterprise (Economics and Business Studies in the Sixth Form and Global Perspectives at iGCSE). Leighton Park is a Yamaha Flagship Music Education Partner, the only school in Europe to hold this level of partnership, and a Steinberg partner too. Our students won the independent Schools’ Association (ISA) Music Composition competition for KS3 and came highly commended for KS5 during Summer 2021. The previous term students were recognised by the ISA again winning the KS4 category in the Musical Theatre competition. Following the 2020 public examination results five of our Sixth Formers accepted places at prestigious Music Conservatoires. Our results in Sixth Form subjects, Economics and Business Studies, are consistently strong and we are the only school in the UK to offer Global Perspectives iGCSE as a compulsory subject, combining elements of philosophy, ethics, law, politics and English. Our activities in STEAM this year involved an innovative virtual outreach event engaging primary schools during national Science Week, the engagement of our Year 9 students in the CREST award scheme and the launch of our STEAM Scholarship programme, recognising the value of these subjects within the School community and beyond.

What makes your school special?

Our Quaker values are at the heart of everything we do and the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, truth, respect, integrity, peace, equality and sustainability which guide our ethos, ensure that our community is a special place to live and learn. We won the 2020 Independent Schools’ Association Award for Outstanding Local Community Outreach and at time of writing (July 2021) have been shortlisted for the Independent School Parent Awards ‘Community Outreach’ category. Our values-driven approach ensures students have opportunities to embrace service through a variety of experiences with our partners who include Age UK, three local primary schools and two secondaries, Whitley Community Development Association, Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, First Days charity and Launchpad, Berkshire’s leading homelessness charity.

“In the short time we’ve been at the school, we can all see what a special place it is and I have would no hesitation in recommending the school to anyone.” – Current parent

Questions answered by Emma Randall, Marketing Manager, Leighton Park School