Choosing a Prep School: What to Look for, What to Ask, and What to Notice

There’s a moment when the casual research phase ends and families begin to look closely not just at what prep schools offer, but at what they truly value.  For families who are just beginning to consider independent school, we recommend starting with our article, Thinking About Private School for the First Time, and for families still […]

A Strategic Approach to Early Independent School Decisions

For some families, independent education is neither a pivot or discovery, and has been part of the plan from the earliest days of parenthood or before. Even when the type of pathway is clear, the challenge of choosing well requires thought and attention, and that decision is far more complex than for any previous generation.  […]

Thinking About Private School for the First Time? Start with What Matters

For some families, the idea of independent school begins as a single question. Not a crisis, not a rejection of what came before, just a sense that something might be missing, that the environment isn’t quite right, or that a child who is capable, curious, or quietly struggling may need a different environment to thrive. […]

The First Steps Starter Kit

After the Crash: Supporting Recovery from Post-Exam Burnout

Why post-exam exhaustion runs deeper than many families realise, and what real recovery takes The final paper has been submitted.  The timetable has cleared. Now the waiting begins. For most families, this moment should signal release and a quiet return to normality after the intensity of revision, assessment, and pressure. But for many students, what follows […]

Summer Term Demand Planner

The Hidden Strain of Summer Term: Why Everyone’s Tired, and No One’s Talking About It

There’s a familiar rhythm to the summer term in independent schools: Heads talk about momentum, pupils are encouraged to finish well, and thecalendar is full of prize-givings, performances, house events, and final fixtures. On the surface, it looks like a celebration and a light-hearted wind-down to mark a year well spent and if you listen to the language (hype?), you […]

Support Structures Audit

When Bright Masks Burden: SEND and Mental Health in High-Performing Schools

Walk through any top independent school and the hallmarks of success are easy to find: high grades, polished pupils, Oxbridge destinations. These institutions are built to deliver excellence, and most do. But behind the performance—and often because of it—there are students whose needs are being missed. Some of them are anxious. Others are exhausted. A […]