New Strategic Direction Announced

To celebrate 10 years as the preparatory school to King Edward VI Southampton, Hampshire’s leading independent day school, we are delighted to announce the next steps in Stroud School's journey.

This year we are introducing a unique admissions process for Stroud pupils to access King Edward’s at age 11, with a Head’s Recommendation replacing the traditional entrance exam. We are also moving to a cohesive structural alignment with King Edward’s from September 2023 and adopting a Nursery to Year 6 junior school model. Stroud has a strong tradition of preparing pupils to transition to the senior school that best suits them as learners at age 11. We will maintain this first-class support with an enhanced programme to prepare pupils for their next steps, throughout Year 5 and Year 6. These developments will ensure we continue to keep pace with the very best independent schools in the UK.

Neal Parker, Head of King Edward VI School, said of the strategic developments: “Stroud School is the KES preparatory school, and Stroud pupils represent our biggest intake into Year 7 each September. In recent years we have sought to build on our close relationship, benefiting both our primary and secondary pupils and teachers through mutual collaboration and sharing of best practice. We know that the teaching and learning at Stroud is exceptional, and that we can rely on the expertise of the Stroud academic staff to give a Head’s Recommendation to those pupils who will benefit from the learning environment offered by KES. We are looking forward to welcoming our first cohort of Head’s Recommendation entrants in September 2024, after the process is introduced over the next academic year. This is but one more step towards building a truly exceptional 3-18 offer for families across our region.”

Stroud remains a highly sought after preparatory school in the region. Whilst Years 3 to 6 are now full, families are encouraged to speak to the registrar about joining the waiting list as places do occasionally become available. Applications are being taken for places in Early Years and Key Stage 1, with a limited number of places remaining for Year 3 in September 2023. Our Welcome Wednesday open events and taster days run throughout the year with places offered on a first come, first served basis.