WHAT? WHERE?

St Olave’s is a non-selective co-educational prep school for 3-11 year olds in New Eltham, South London, with a well-won reputation for its pastoral care, academic success and creativity in approach.

Founded in 1932 the residential building has had quite the glow up since I reviewed in 2023, more of which below. Once you step through the front door, the school runs across 1.3 acres, and looks after 220 pupils, roughly 50/50 boys to girls, and split into three groups – the 3-5 year olds whose home is a purpose-built Early Years building; and the Lower School (5-7 years) and Upper School (7-11 years), both in the main buildings.

The school follows Christian values but, with the diverse ethnic and religious mix in the vicinity (70% of children come from within a ten-mile radius), St Olave’s welcomes everyone and then some. Small class sizes of 16, and a hyper-focus on kindness that is unlike anything I’ve seen before at a school, makes St Olave’s catnip to those parents looking for a school that offers oodles of care and attention.

FACILITIES

classroom with pine table and soft chairs — The revamped classrooms

/GENERAL

There’s been a concerted effort since I last reviewed the school in 2023 to create more kerb appeal – a definite success with its new windows, painted facade, and a brighter, smarter feel that follows through to the fully revamped classrooms across the whole school, each with a mix of stool seats from Year 4 up, and comfy cushioned fabric seats for all, new flooring, dimmer lights (it’s condusive to concentration and calm when the glare is gone) and plants and soft furnishings in all rooms. There are more chairs than children so that they have a choice of where to sit, including a sofa and soft furnishings in every classroom to give them a relaxed, welcoming vibe. The Early Years setting has had the most radical revamp which you can read more about below.

It’s all very impressive but the stand-out facility at St Olave’s, remains its allotment. ‘Allotment’ doesn’t really do it justice – it’s so remarkable it won the 2023 Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Award for Best Experiential Learning. The back of the school sits next to New Eltham’s allotments and up until 2019 they had a single plot to grow, produce and teach the kids about the outdoors.

Five years on, the school now has four plots, and the original instigator Nick, still tends and teaches out there though there’s now also a gardener to lighten the load. Allotment time is part of the curriculum here with one of the polytunnels acting as an outdoor classroom and each class having 45 minutes each week, plus clubs during the school holidays. The children can also come out to the allotment at lunchtime to help pick the veg or just have some quiet time in nature.

The children are involved in everything from erecting and painting building to designing, planting and growing. Remarkably it’s become a real community affair, with parents coming in during holidays with their children in two hours windows to pick the fruit, flowers and vegetables – there’s just so much of it! Until October each year, roughly 50% of the fruit and veg grown in the allotment is used in school lunches. Incredible stuff and, for those London parents who despair of their children learning about nature, here’s your answer.

Other facilities include two libraries, one of which has just had a massive overhaul into a really gorgeous, cosy space with an impressive range of books, and the second library (more picture book and story book led) underway where the old cooking room was.

children's library — The calm library space

There’s a small playground that includes a grassed area and a groovy gypsy wagon, complete with beanbag and teddy bears, that acts as an ad-hoc reading/chill out space. There’s a mud-kitchen around the side of the building and a sitting area that’s been made to look like ship for creative play.

play area treasure island themed — The Treasure Island play area

play area at st olave's school — The grass play area next to the Early Years building

/SPORTS

boy running on rugby pitch — Image by: SamPeat

A South London school on a busy high street is going to struggle for space, and much of the sport is outsourced – for example, the kids from Year 2 have weekly swimming lesson at the nearby Eric Liddell Centre, and the multi-facilities at Footscray Rugby Club are used for weekly games afternoons for Upper School pupils.

In 2019 an all-weather sports area was erected in the heart of the playground that’s used for tennis, football, netball and basketball. The children are time-tabled sport several days a week, with the main sports tag rugby, football, basketball, tennis and athletics (cross country is a particular strength). Table tennis is also offered here, no doubt aided and abetted by the teacher who previously played for England U17s.

all weather sport area at st olave's school — The all-weather sports area. Image: SamPeat

This year, St Olave’s were finalists at the London Youth Games recently in football, mixed tag rugby, and cricket.

/CREATIVE ARTS

drums in music room at st olave's prep school

Don’t expect Steinway pianos and music blocks at St Olave’s but do expect some highly engaged kids in the large music teaching room. Children here have a minimum of two music lessons per week, with all all children learning instruments including the ocarina, recorder, ukelele and tuned percussion instruments.

Peri lessons are limited to violin, guitar, piano, singing and harp so there’s no orchestra, but around 50% of children learn an instrument here, and there are various music groups including a Choir for Years 3-6 and St Olave’s Strings Ensemble, with opportunities to perform in concerts at school and externally – case in point, the choir has performed several times at the Royal Albert Hall and at the O2.

drama performance outdoors at st olave's prep — Image by: SamPeat

The main hall is used for drama, with all children being offered the opportunity to take part in speech and drama lessons once a week from Years 2-6. Plenty of children take LAMDA lessons and all passed with Distinction last year – one of the current pupils is currently performing in the West End. The annual upper school musical performance takes place at the 300-seater The Rose Bruford theatre in Sidcup.

EARLY YEARS

woman taking photo in mirror with wicker chair St Olaves school — Muddy ed-in-chief Hero strikes a pose

I’m a big fan of new purpose-built early years settings – what they lack in architectural merit they more than make up for in other ways: oodles of natural light, easy indoor-outdoor flow, fully integrated IT, modern bathrooms etc.

The building here was erected in 2019 for £1.2million, and offers views onto the all weather sports area used by all years from its large undercover outdoor play area but there’s been a total overhaul in the look and feel of the Nursery and 2 Reception classes since my previous visit and it’s really wonderful.

Nearly all the bright plastic has disappeared (so far so Montesori). So has the busyness of the walls with no thematic displays or showcasing of the children’s art beyond a single ‘frame’ space where each child chooses what they want to show of their work each week. It might sound a bit bah-humbug but actually it’s very clever – the space is calmer, attention spans and creativity have been demonstrably stronger and the teachers can see the progress (or not) of each child very clearly every time the pupils put up new pieces of work they are proud of.

bureau with patterned wallpaper behind it and pictures on top

wooden child's cooker with clock on top in early years setting

What’s more, play areas have been created to stimulate maximum curiosity using everything from antique mirrors and proper china tea sets to oversized hats for dress up. It’s been such a success that the principle will be rolled out in other areas of the school.

In terms of teaching in Early Years here, there are specialist teachers in PE, Music and French from Nursery and Computing from Reception onwards. Weekly Forest School also starts in Reception at the allotment.

ACADEMICS

kids reading in library at st olave's prep school — Image by: SamPeat

Academics are strong – no problems with next schools and scholarships here. The most common transition is via the 11+ with a punchy 75% average pass rate over the last 5 years, 86% and 90% in 2022, with 86% passing the Bexley grammar school test and 90% passing the Kent test. However, it’s also worth pointing out that as a non-selective school, academic success at St Olave’s means giving all pupils, regardless of ability, the chance to flourish academically. The SEND provision is excellent (see below) as is the extra-curricular timetable that takes in everything from pet and dance club to Japanese, cinema club and mini magicians, stretching learning into as many experiences as possible.

PASTORAL

two students in the reading caravan — The Reading Caravan. Image by: SamPeat

I’ve reviewed over a hundred schools but I’m not sure I’ve ever comes across one where pastoral care feels this central. There’s a whole board to the right of the front door dedicated to Wellbeing – how to practise Mindfulness, how to nurture a child’s mental health, Childline details for the kids, and parenting advice such as ‘10 things to say instead of “stop crying” and ‘5-day challenge to transform your parenting’. It’s refreshing to see that and a clever way to make parents reflect on how they can impact their children’s behaviour too.

For those needing time out or emotional support, there’s the Zen Den, the Reading Caravan, a Wellbeing garden (designed and planted by the kids including mint and raspberry and flowers) and various activities like Origami, Mindfulness Club and yoga. There’s also a Wellbeing Room where counselling, therapeutic games and quiet contemplation takes place. And lest the staff feel left out, they are looked after too – the school website celebrates every single staff member with photos, including the cleaners and lunch staff, and there’s also a wall adorned in the Staff Room with information about the menopause – not seen that before!

THE HEAD

Claire Holloway was appointed in January 2017 to her first headship but has been at St Olave’s for 14 years (her own children were educated here), so the school is in her DNA. It’s under her leadership that the allotment, sports area and stand-alone nursery have been built, and the kindness agenda ramped up to new heights. Warm and friendly, she’s clearly popular with the children, who chatted away to her as we walked around the school, but she’s also really ambitious for the school to be a brilliant as possible and is really driving the changes in both teaching techniques and training for the staff and the facilities upgrades – next on the list is the completion of a dedicated cookery room with integrated ovens and sinks and a second mini bus. Holloway’s daughter Grace also taught here for a year and there’s currently a school-wide game called ‘Where in the World is Grace?’ as goes on her travels which somehow adds to the family feel to the school.

SEND

There’s a fully qualified dedicated SENCo lead, with an Intervention Room used for SEND support. Roughly 5% of children come to St Olave’s with SEND, mostly for dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD, with the most recent ISI report (in 2024) found that pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points.

QUIRKS

two children learning in the allotment — Image by: SamPeat

You’re unlikely to find another prep school with an allotment of this size and scope. Aside from the learning and digging, it creates a never-ending stream of quirky gifting opportunities – 54 pots of thyme were delivered for Mother’s Day in March.

Unusually, all prospective parents are required to attend a tour of the school on a one-to-one basis before they can submit an application – the school wants parents to buy into the teaching and values here. This creates the strong parental engagement at St Olave’s – for example, there’s a once a term litter pick around New Eltham that has a huge parent and (voluntary) staff turn out.

There’s a very long list of awards for such an unassuming school – Gold Rights Respecting School Award, OPAL Platinum award, RHS 5 Star Gardening School, Eco Schools Distinction, Excellence in Pupil Development Award, National Children’s Bureau Wellbeing Award, and of course, Winner of the Muddy Stilettos Best Experiential Learning Award 2022.

ISI REPORT

The most recent ISI report is from Feb 2024, with ‘excellent’ across the board.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Children who travel to or from school independently can bring a mobile phone for the journey which is looked after by a teacher during the school day.

TRANSPORT

The school is 5 minutes’ walk from New Eltham train station (Southeastern) and public buses taking in the likes of Catford Bridge, Sidcup, Bromley and Chislehurst stop on Southwood Road (160, 162, 315). Around 70% of the children come from the surrounding areas with some travelling from slightly further afield.

WRAP-AROUND CARE

children playing at school — Image by: SamPeat

Breakfast club and drop off from £4.50 from 7.45am, there are the usual after school clubs every day (45-60 mins) and Playzone (after school care) is available until 6pm from £5-£17 per evening, including a meal.

FEES

Good value for London, perhaps reflective of the homely interiors and its location in Zone 4.

Nursery fees start at £4588 per term, moving to £5652 per term for Reception and Y1, and Years 2-6 at £6066 per term. These fees include swimming lessons, educational day trips and lunch, which is a big plus, though peri music lessons and LAMDA exams are additional charges.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

children playing in the playground — Image by: SamPeat

GOOD FOR: Any parent who puts equal importance on pastoral care as academic attainment will be happy with this option. The school’s inventive extra-curricular offering and stand-out allotment is a seductive combination for modern families. Its 100% unprocessed food policy is pretty phenomenal too.

NOT FOR: St Olave’s is smart and inventive, but parents wedded to the idea of school porticos, listed buildings and cricket pavilions should swerve now.

St Olave’s Preparatory School, 106-110 Southwood Road, New Eltham, London, SE9 3QS. Tel: 0208 294 8930.

Words: Hero Brown, Editor-in-Chief

St Olave’s Preparatory School, New Eltham

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