St Christophers Prep School and Nursery Staverton, South Brent TQ9 6PF

"All 3 of my children are past and present pupils at St. Christopher’s school. Once we had enrolled them, it became clear what they had been missing and their attitude to education changed. As well as the high standards of teaching, we also love the emphasis on outdoor activities and the focus on sports has meant that our children our fit, healthy and thoroughly enjoy their days there. The school has also prepared them well for their time beyond St. Christopher’s (there is also a good 11+program). We fully recommend the school, it’s leadership and staff."

"My daughter was unhappy at our local school she was attending as was I. Once I had made the decision to move her I needed to find a school that would boost her confidence and give her a well rounded education in preparation for secondary. St Christopher’s is perfect, all the teachers did an amazing job of settling her in, giving her extra support but mainly in finding what she was good at. My daughter isn’t brilliant academically but finding her strengths and boosting her confidence has set her up brilliantly. At the end of her 2 years at St Christopher’s she is a different child, full of confidence, so much happier knowing what school and friendships are really about. She has since settled into secondary exceeding my expectations, she’s excelling in geography thanks to St Christopher’s going beyond other schools. She says of St Christopher’s that this is the school she would send her children to. If you feel your child needs a boost before secondary this is the place."

"This was by far the best school I ever went to. All the teachers were lovely and the students were darlings. A very successful little school. Its surroundings are beautiful and the atmosphere is very comfortable to be surrounded by. I was so upset when I had to leave to got to secondary school. I wish I could re-live my time at St Christophers."

"I loved my time at St Christophers, it allowed me to engage with all aspects of school, and prepared me brilliantly for my next steps "

"My daughter attended St. Christopher's for two terms (Jan-July, 2018). We had recently moved to the area and had a bit of a hard time finding an ideal school for her. This private school was the second of the three she attended. The following consists of my opinions regarding our experiences at St. Christopher’s during her relatively short time there. St. Christopher's has many advantages. The tuition allows it to offer some things that state schools can’t, including school-owned mini-buses for day trips and classes like Design and Technology. It also has a focus on sports. My daughter had sports 3-4 days a week. The kids would do laps around the local field and had swimming classes, rugby and more. Many kids enjoy it. Mine hated it and cried 3 mornings/week before school. She likes sports but it was too much for her. I remember her bursting into tears when she saw the mouth guard she would have to use at rugby. Another positive aspect is the size of the classes. Our class had eleven kids. The only problem would have been if we had a boy, since eight or nine of the kids were girls. For our daughter, it was great. One of our problems was that may not wear trousers during the school year, even during winter. While I’m British, my daughter lived in the tropics until our move to Devon. To come here and have to wear a skirt, even with leggings, when the temp was sometimes below 0, often caused her to complain. I asked the school to make an exception but they refused. My child was twice told that the school pullover was for outdoor not indoor use though we were later told that was not the case. I often asked them about their reasoning for their policies, without getting an answer beyond “tradition”. Once, the school bursar asked me why was I complaining, stating that he also had to wear shorts in the winter during his weekend military exercises, comparing a middle-aged man to a 7-year-old girl. He told me that I shouldn’t question the school’s policies at all, since they were the experts. He also said that tradition had made England great, so why should it be changed? I also had problems with my kid’s teacher. Our first meeting showed that she didn’t seem to know my daughter well. She told me that my daughter was performing at an avg level compared to the rest of the class and smilingly asked me if I had thought she was smarter. The last straw came when on a trip to an adventure park. They went during a heatwave (29C), and, though a school letter said the kids should wear shorts, the teacher told them to wear trousers (for the water slide). My girl arrived in shorts and was told to change. I told the teacher that I wanted my daughter to go on the slide first and then change back into shorts. When I picked her up later, she was still wearing trousers and was bright red, like all of the other kids in her class. She cried, complained of a bad headache and vomited in the car. Full disclosure: my daughter attended the school for two terms, but I ended up paying for three. I told the school during the summer that we would likely move but only made it formal on the first day of the new term. The headmistress notified me that I was liable to pay for the two subsequent terms, but offered to reduce it to one. She had neglected to mention that on any of our previous talks and the 2 term fine would have been one had I notified her a day earlier. I hired a lawyer but backed down and paid as I was in the middle of other negotiations that would have been negatively affected if I were involved in a lawsuit. At one point, I was told that school was demanding that I sign a non-disclosure agreement. Again, these are my opinions based on my personal experiences with the school. If you are interested in sending your child to St. Christopher’s, I suggest you visit them and make up your own mind."