What is a Preparatory School?
A preparatory, or prep, school is a private school that prepares younger children for entry to an independent senior school. Some prep schools accept only for day pupils, others offer boarding only accommodation, or they cater for both. Flexi-boarding and weekly boarding are other options for families who do not need a full boarding arrangement.
A prep school may be linked to one particular senior school and may even occupy part of the same campus. Most preparatory schools, however, prepare their pupils to sit the Common Entrance examination, which makes them eligible for a range of independent secondary schools or public schools.
Preparatory education may begin in a pre-prep school for children aged between 5 and 7 or 8, or even in a nursery school for children up to 5. The youngest children will attend for half a day, moving up to full days as they reach 5 years old. After attending nursery and/or pre-prep school, children go on to prep school at age 7/8 and continue there until either 11 or 13, according to the chosen stage for sitting Common Entrance.