Big changes are afoot at the co-educational pre-prep Phoenix School in Hampstead. The UCS Council has decided that the school should transition to an all boys Pre‐Prep school with children aged 4‐7, with the entry point being directly into Reception via a 4+ assessment. This means that the last in‐take of girls will be September 2016 and the school will no longer offer a Nursery class from September 2017. The first boys‐only Reception cohort will therefore be in September 2018.
As part of this transition the school will change its name from The Phoenix School to UCS Pre‐Prep from September 2016. The change of name should enable parents less familiar with the school to gain a clearer understanding of the school’s role within the foundation of UCS. The changes will enable UCS Pre‐Prep to offer enhanced facilities for the children, including a research library, creative arts studio and science garden. UCS remains fully committed to providing an outstanding education for all pupils and the strong ethos and heart of the school: their commitment to supporting all pupils to develop their potential as individuals and intellectual curiosity in a small and nurturing environment will remain the same.
All children in Year 2 will continue to sit the 7+ examination when the school is all boys, but there will be an increasing expectation, as we transition, that many of these children will feed through to the UCS Junior Branch thus strengthening the school’s relationship within the Foundation.
Now that the opening of St Anthony’s Girls’ School is easing the pressure on girls’ school places, this might be very good news if you have a son, as there will now be more places available for boys at UCS Pre-Prep.
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