WHAT? WHERE?

A co-ed independent day school for ages 11 to 16, LPS Clapham is part of the London Park Schools group and the Dukes Education family. Founded in 2020, it’s intentionally small (around 105 pupils currently, with average class sizes of 13), with a refreshingly modern outlook that aims to prepare pupils for life beyond exams as much as exam success itself.

Housed in a handsome former prep school building on the edge of Clapham Common, just a few minutes from Clapham South station, LPS Clapham embraces its urban setting. Its location means pupils are never far from the capital’s theatres, galleries, businesses and sporting venues, all of which play a role in school life.

FACILITIES

LPS Clapham is deliberately compact, and the intimate feel is immediately apparent. With just over 100 pupils, there’s a relaxed, close-knit atmosphere where everyone seems to know everyone else – pupils greet teachers by name in the corridors and there’s little sense of the departmental silos you’d find in a larger school.

The building itself houses everything you’d expect for day-to-day learning, with light, airy classrooms alongside well-equipped science labs, an art room, design technology workshop, computer science suite and drama studio.

Beyond the school gates, the capital becomes an extension of the campus. Whether that’s working with specialist coaches, performing in professional venues or learning from local businesses, pupils benefit from opportunities that simply come with being in London, giving lessons a real-world context that’s hard to match.

SPORT

Sport at LPS Clapham is all about breadth, encouraging pupils to discover activities they’ll continue long after they’ve left school. Alongside football and netball – the school’s strongest team sports – pupils can try everything from velodrome cycling, bouldering and swimming to padel, boxing, Muay Thai fitness, skateboarding and flag football.

Rather than being confined to the school site, PE lessons make full use of London’s impressive sporting venues. Pupils might be found playing padel at Padel Yard, boxing at BuddhaBox Gym, swimming at the Queen Mother Sports Centre, tackling the Lee Valley VeloPark or scaling a local climbing wall. It’s all part of the school’s philosophy of learning beyond the classroom, with pupils coached by specialists in their fields and often inspired to continue these sports in their own time.

Being part of the London Park Schools group also means pupils from Clapham join forces with those at sister school LPS Mayfair for sports afternoons, fixtures and competitions. The result is the best of both worlds: the camaraderie and opportunities of larger squads, combined with the close-knit feel of a school where everyone knows one another. It’s a smart solution that gives pupils access to bigger teams without sacrificing the benefits of a small school.

CREATIVE ARTS (DRAMA, ART & MUSIC)

Forget the school hall – pupils at LPS Clapham tread the boards at the nearby Omnibus Theatre, where performing under professional lights and with expert technicians offers a genuine taste of life in the theatre. It’s a brilliant opportunity for aspiring actors, but it’s not just those in the spotlight who get their moment. This year’s production of Animal Farm sees pupils designing and creating the sets, props and costumes too, making it a genuinely whole-school creative effort.

That same hands-on approach runs through the art department. London itself is treated as a giant classroom, so pupils regularly head to galleries to see the works they’re studying up close rather than on a PowerPoint. Back in school, creativity comes with a healthy dose of purpose too, whether that’s creating a playground mural from recycled plastics or transforming used tea bags and coffee pods into wearable fashion for the national Junk Kouture competition, where two Year 9 pupils reached the UK finals.

Music more than holds its own, with junior and senior bands, a choir and around a quarter of pupils learning an instrument. The annual Christmas concert, held in a local church, is one of the highlights of the school year, with performances from soloists, ensembles and whole year groups bringing the community together.

ACADEMICS

LPS Clapham is proudly non-selective, looking beyond entrance exam results to identify curious, engaged children with plenty of potential. Expectations are high, however, with pupils typically leaving with between eight and 10 GCSEs before progressing to a broad mix of leading state and independent sixth forms. Results are reassuringly strong too, with 32% of GCSE grades awarded at 9–7 and 96% at 9–4.

Here’s where the school really stands apart. While many schools are squeezing ever more GCSEs into the timetable, Head Susan Brooks has deliberately capped the number, preferring to use that precious curriculum time to develop the wider skills pupils will need long after they’ve left school. Public speaking, financial literacy, politics and critical thinking all feature alongside the traditional academic subjects – a refreshingly future-facing approach.

The curriculum itself is cleverly interconnected. Rather than treating every subject as a separate island, pupils are encouraged to make links across their learning. So, while they’re studying the Industrial Revolution in history, they’ll also be reading Dickens in English, exploring Christianity in RE and looking at modern manufacturing in geography. Romeo and Juliet doesn’t stay neatly within the English department either – it pops up in drama, giving pupils fresh perspectives on Shakespeare.

It’s all part of the school’s ‘Learn Like a Londoner’ philosophy, which sees the capital become an extension of the classroom. One week pupils might be discussing fake news, the next they’ll be at Clapham’s award-winning Pig’s Head pub exploring animal welfare and sustainability as part of a farm-to-plate project, or hopping on the Tube to study artworks in a London gallery. It’s academic, yes, but never confined to four classroom walls.

PASTORAL CARE

At the heart of LPS Clapham is a simple idea: children thrive when they’re truly known. Spend any time at the school and it’s obvious this isn’t just a slogan. Tutors see pupils every day, staff know families well and there’s a genuine sense that no child slips through the cracks.

Wellbeing is taken seriously too. Daily tutor time, regular check-ins and a focus on building resilience and confidence are woven into school life, while the school’s small, close-knit community means pupils have plenty of trusted adults to turn to. Just as importantly, children aren’t wrapped in cotton wool. Whether it’s navigating London, presenting ideas or stepping outside their comfort zone, the school believes confidence is built through real-world experiences rather than simply talked about. Pupils are encouraged to be themselves, make mistakes and learn from them, without ever feeling they’re being defined or limited by a label. Perhaps that’s why pupils seem to leave with more than just good GCSEs – they leave with confidence too.

HEAD

If LPS Clapham feels a little different, much of that comes down to Susan Brooks. Australian-born, warm, energetic and endlessly curious, she’s the driving force behind the school’s progressive outlook. Having founded LPS Clapham in 2020, during the pandemic and with just 11 pupils, she still approaches it with the energy of a founder, constantly looking for ways to refine, improve and evolve what she’s has built.

Susan is always looking outwards, whether that’s visiting other schools, exploring education systems around the world or drawing inspiration from her native Australia, where creativity, curiosity and experiential learning have long been part of the conversation. She’s refreshingly unafraid to question convention, always asking how the school could do better.

Perhaps most refreshing of all is the trust she places in her staff. Rather than prescribing exactly what great teaching should look like, she encourages teachers to experiment, share ideas and learn from one another. The result is a school where innovation isn’t a buzzword but simply part of everyday life.

QUIRKS

Head Susan Brooks with her dog at LPS Clapham

The school dog deserves a mention all of his own. Hendrix belongs to Susan but has quickly become an honorary member of the school community and is currently training to be a therapy dog. Much loved by pupils, he’s a familiar face around the building and even inspired an entire Discovery Day, when pupils had to solve the mystery of his fictional kidnapping using a mixture of science, creativity and teamwork.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Breakfast Club runs from 8am, giving early arrivals time to settle in before lessons, while after-school clubs keep pupils happily occupied until 5pm.

The co-curricular programme is as eclectic as the school itself. Alongside sport, music and drama you’ll find everything from Dungeons & Dragons and TED Talks to Warhammer, skateboarding and stained glass. Forget ticking a co-curricular box – this is the sort of programme designed to spark entirely new passions.

SEND

Support at LPS Clapham is anything but one-size-fits-all. Alongside a dedicated Learning Support department, teachers work closely together to ensure pupils receive consistent support across the school, rather than having to start from scratch with each new lesson.

The school also believes that many of its teaching methods benefit every learner. Lessons are active and interactive, with pupils encouraged to move around, discuss ideas and make connections across subjects rather than simply sitting behind a desk all day. Many schools use these kinds of strategies to support pupils with SEND; at LPS Clapham, it’s simply seen as good teaching for every child. It creates an engaging learning environment for all, while making it easier for teachers to tailor support to individual needs.

ISI REPORT

As a relatively new school, LPS Clapham is yet to have its first full ISI inspection – watch this space.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

No doomscrolling between lessons here. Pupils hand in their phones at the start of the day and collect them before heading home – a sensible compromise that means they can still use them for travelling across London, but not in the classroom.

TRANSPORT

Forget endless school runs – many LPS Clapham pupils make their own way to school by Tube, train or bus. Just a few minutes’ walk from Clapham South station, it’s well placed for families across south and central London, while its location also makes hopping across the capital for galleries, theatres and sports venues part of everyday school life.

FEES

Keeping it simple at £10,182 per term inc VAT.

WORD ON THE GROUND

LPS Clapham still feels like one of south London’s best-kept secrets. Having opened in 2020, it’s quietly building a loyal following among parents looking for something a little different from the traditional independent school model.

The families I spoke to all echoed the same themes: children who are genuinely known, a refreshingly modern approach to learning and a head who’s never afraid to challenge convention. Several described it as the school their child finally felt they fitted into – praise that feels hard-earned rather than rehearsed.

MUDDY VERDICT

Progressive, purposeful and wonderfully personal, LPS Clapham manages to pull off something rather special. Children are genuinely known here – not just academically, but as individuals – and there’s no sense they have to fit a particular mould to thrive. Instead, the school feels like a wonderfully eclectic community of young people, all encouraged to become the best version of themselves. Add an innovative curriculum and a head who’s never short of fresh ideas, and you’ve got a school that’s quietly rethinking what secondary education can be.

Good for: Families looking for a modern, forward-thinking education where children are known as individuals and encouraged to think independently, embrace creativity and make the most of London as their classroom.

Not for: Those seeking a more traditional independent school experience, complete with endless GCSEs, sprawling sports pitches and centuries-old traditions.

Dare to disagree? If you want to take a look for yourself (or get your child signed up for school years as far ahead as 2030) register your interest here.

LPS Clapham, South London

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