Falcons Pre-Preparatory

We are a forward-thinking, academically progressive pre-prep school in the heart of Chiswick for boys aged 2 – 7, including a co-educational Nursery for girls and boys aged 2 – 4.  We have the wellbeing of our students at the heart of everything we do.

We are first and foremost specialists in Early Years education and our goal is to ensure that our students are happy while learning from our challenging, engaging and broad curriculum, carefully tailored to suit this young age group.

Boys and girls join us from the age of 2 into our Nursery and we are boys only from Reception to Year 2.  Learning during Nursery is play-based and we ensure that our afternoons are dedicated to fun and stimulating activities such as cooking, art, drama, music. We teach a unique handwriting programme that introduces cursive right from the start which supports a seamless transition to Reception.

As a small school we are able to tailor our curriculum to suit the needs of our students and from Reception onwards, as a boys only school, we are able to ensure that our curriculum is full of high interest topics for boys to guarantee maximum engagement and learning.  For example, every Spring term, the Reception classroom is turned into a mini Jurassic Park with a vist from Dinogirl!

In addition to the main classroom teachers and teaching assistants, we employ specialist teachers for PE, Art, Music and French.  Music is an important part of life at the school with over 50% of students taking individual music lessons in a variety of instruments.  We recently celebrated the success of one of our Year 2 students who passed his Grade 2 violin exam with Distinction.   

Physical activity, through sport or practical lessons, is another important part of a Falcons Pre-Prep student’s everyday schedule along with weekly Forest School sessions for our Nursery and Reception children, led by our Head of EYFS who is also a qualified Forest Schools practitioner.  In addition to Forest School, we also aim to give our students exposure to many other things outside the classroom including frequent day trips to local areas such as Kew Gardens, London Wetland Centre, Chiswick House and many London museums. 

As an academically aspirational school, the boys are monitored regularly throughout each term.  Our assessment results demonstrate student progress at or above the independent standard of 110.  This high standard means that our boys regularly obtain good results at 7+ for those that follow this route, with offers gained to St Pauls, Hampton and Wetherby for September 2021 as a recent example.  Whilst we pride ourselves on our excellent academic results we are a school of choices and we realise that the 7+ entry route is not for every boy.  Many of the boys move onto our partner school in Richmond, Falcons Prep Richmond, where they may stay until the end of Year 8 (13+).

For girls leaving us at 4+, we prepare them for both selective and non-selective schools.  Our girls will gain entry into one of the many wonderful independent or state schools in the area, depending on what is the best fit for your daughter and your family.  

Our Head, Liz McLaughlin, is a firm believer that academic excellence cannot be achieved without safeguarding the mental health of the students.  We have a dedicated SENDCo who works closely with all the students, ensuring that additional support is given whenever required.  The children also have access to a School counsellor on site, along with a therapy dog named Ziggy who previously supported children at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Another strength of our school is the close partnership that we enjoy with our parent community.  The Head has an ‘open door’ policy which allows parents the freedom to reach out at any time to discuss their child’s progress or seek advice.  As a result, parents are fully involved in their child’s education, with discussions about ‘where to next’ starting at the beginning of Year 1.

There is also a very active Parents’ Association which encourages parents to become a part of their child’s school life. 

We offer wraparound care during term-time from 7.45am – 6.00pm and run Holiday Clubs during the major school holidays.  All trips (excluding a one-night residential trip in Year 2) are included in the school fees along with lunch and snacks.  Our food is freshly prepared daily onsite by our award-winning chef and her team with the school menus available to view on our website.

We are committed to ensuring that each child leaves Falcons Pre-Prep to join a school where they will be enabled to be the best version of themselves and we are immensely proud of our school environment where children begin their formal educational career.