Bruern Abbey School is the UK’s only prep school with the main goal of helping boys 8-14 years old with learning difficulties to get into mainstream independent senior schools. As of July 2021,it opened its own secondary school, to continue the existing school’s mission of educating boys diagnosed with learning difficulties.

Set in 20 acres of Oxfordshire countryside Bruern sits in a late nineteenth century manor house and feels like home to the 156 boys, two thirds of whom board weekly. Teaching is largely done away from the main mansion in a variety of boxy outbuildings, converted stables, garages and even an orangerie, giving the school a kind of eccentric charm.

Parents often come to Bruern Abbey School desperate for help and it’s an indication of its clear academic recipe for success, plus the lack of credible alternatives, that means the school is three times over-subscribed.

No class has more than 12 pupils. For 156 children there are 35 teachers. All younger classes have two teachers in English and Maths and have almost double the number of lessons in these subjects than a standard prep school. All boys use a laptop in lessons, and notes are circulated rather than written up from boards to save the boys the enormous time and effort it would take them, as dyslexics/dyscalculics to do it themselves.

The current head John Floyd has been in place, only two children have failed to move onto a mainstream independent senior school. The roll call of secondary schools includes Bloxham, Millfield, Rugby, Shiplake, Charterhouse and Gordonstoun and St Paul’s – so success is an understatement.

A major asset of Bruern is that, although enormous energy goes into helping the boys in the classroom, it recognises that to release pressure from all this effort the pupils need to immerse themselves in extra-curricular activities too.

Facilities are not perhaps the smartest, but there are rugby pitches, an indoor swimming pool, 45 BMX bikes (the kids can zoom off around the 20 acres of grounds), a lovely library, and a renovation of the old garages into a science building.

Core sports are rugby, football, cross country, athletics, swimming and cricket – there’s a real focus on getting the boys back out exercising at the moment to combat the inertia of the last year.  There are some unusual strings to the bow too – clay pigeon shooting and skiing are strong, as you might expect from an independent school but practical pursuits such as cookery, gardening and carpentry are also a big deal here. Drama is also given its due with regular performances, and music lessons are offered across the usual peripatetic range of instruments.

Interestingly drama is being given more precedence in the curriculum, post lockdown. The reason? Teachers haven noticed that, with so long at home catering to their own whims, the children need a reminder on how to live socially and with empathy, and drama – where you have put yourself in other people’s shoes – is a vehicle to redress the balance.

The Head is dyslexic himself, as is the deputy head, and the head of academic has dyscalculia, a triumvirate that results in, as he says, ‘possibly the worst school newsletter in the country’. He’s been at the helm since 2011 and has been the driving force that has seen the school massively oversubscribed, and with wildly successful results. He knows intimately the energy and ‘in it togetherness’ that it takes to help these children.

Bruern Abbey attracts children from all over the UK (nearly every southern county is currently represented), with half from London so it’s no surprise that boarding (weekly – Mon-Friday only) is a big deal here. 

Any jokes about boarding school food have no place here though. Bruern Abbey spends three times more per head on food than other prep schools, and have just won the Tatler Schools Award for their offering.