Brentwood School

Brentwood School is one of the UK’s leading independent schools for boys and girls aged 3 – 18. Steeped in almost 500 years of history, we take our heritage seriously and it still remains the backdrop for our School today.

However, we are not slaves to tradition. We use the freedom of independence wisely to focus on what is best for our pupils. This means we will break the boundaries where we see fit – e.g. offering both GCSEs and IGCSEs; A Levels and the IB Diploma; the Diamond Model of single-sex classes for ages 11 -16 within an overall mixed gender environment; one of the biggest Combined Cadet Forces in the country… I could go on!

In terms of academic results, we are thrilled by the high standards our pupils achieve. Perhaps this is not surprising given the exceptional facilities and inspirational teaching on hand. From an early age, we encourage pupils to be dynamically intellectual, culturally creatively and develop independence, so by the time they leave Sixth Form, they are well prepared for the expected, but can also tackle the unknowns. To quote our latest ISI Inspectorate report (2013) our “pupils emerge as intellectually curious, resilient and enterprising life-long learners.”

Just as you might expect, it is not all confined to the classroom. School life is busy here and there are rich experiences in which even the smallest of pupils flourish. There is a large selection of clubs and activities to choose from, and as any pupil will tell you, the confidence they gain on the playing field, or in the music studio adds an extra dimension in the classroom.

In this way it is the whole-school experience that is transformative. Quite simply, at Brentwood we asked ourselves a very simple question – “What is a well-educated human being?”, and that question led us to introduce the International Baccalaureate Diploma as a Sixth Form course in 2007. The International Baccalaureate learner profile describes people who are intellectually curious, independent learners with a love of learning. The well-educated human being is able to analyse complex problems and communicate and listen effectively. So it follows that to get the most out of school, pupils need to feel confident and cared for – and it is in this respect that I believe Brentwood makes a difference. To quote the ISI report again, “the quality of relationships between staff and pupils, and amongst the pupils themselves is outstanding. Pupils and teachers cherish the ethos of trust which permeates school life.”

Highly pleasing though these official endorsements are, what is more gratifying to me is the individual testimony of our pupils, parents and staff. I would urge you to read more in the various sections of this website – or better still, come and see for yourself. We would be delighted to meet you.