School Information
The Preparatory School is also based on the picturesque 50-acre Dean Close
site and caters for girls and boys aged 7-13, both day and boarding pupils.
The School is renowned for its family feel and warm welcoming atmosphere,
with both staff and children happily enjoying being part of the School.
There are four elegant Georgian boarding houses, one for girls, one for
boys and one mixed junior house for younger children aged 7-10, as well as a
newly refurbished flexi-boarding house. Surrounded by beautiful countryside
and close to Cheltenham Spa town, there is plenty for boarders to do. An
active weekend programme keeps them busy with visits to the zoo, activity
centres, picnics and much more.
Excellent facilities support pupils on their educational journey. In 2013 a
brand new £4.5 million building housing a 330-seat theatre, 12 individual
practice rooms, classrooms and IT suite was completed. The Prep School also
regularly makes good use of the excellent Senior School facilities.
School life is very busy with great importance placed on pastoral care,
academic achievement and extracurricular experience. From the youngest pupil
who joins aged 7 to those aged 13 there is an emphasis on the right combination
of supervision, encouragement and initiative. Children excel within the broad
curriculum and are able to move towards reaching their potential, whether in
theclassroom, the music school, on the games field or on the stage.
With a Prep School population of 310, the sense of family-like community
is developed in such a way that it is possible for every child to know
each other and to be individually known, valued and cared about. The
school offers a range of scholarships for pupils joining in Year 7. These are
foundation, academic, sports, music, art and drama and also educates the
choristers of the Schola Cantorum who sing Evensong at Tewkesbury Abbey.
School Open Days
Open Mornings:
Regular Open Mornings are held throughout the year normally on a Saturday; they begin at 9.00am and finish at 11.00am, starting in the Pre-Prep Hall. Guests are taken on a tour of the Pre-Preparatory School and, if they wish, a tour of the Prep School and the Senior School. If you are interested in attending one of our Open Mornings, please register by filling in the 'Arrange a Visit' form below or contact the Admissions Office on 01242 258079.Address
Open on Google Maps- Address Lansdown Road
- Borough Cheltenham
- Zip/Postal Code GL51 6QS
- Phone: +44 (0)1242 258001
- Email: dcpsregistrar@deanclose.org.uk
- Website: www.deanclose.org.uk
News
Television presenter Angellica Bell inspires Dean Close Preparatory
Dean Close Preparatory School welcomed television presenter Angellica Bell to the school last week for its Annual Speech Day. Angellica is best known for her presenting on CBBC, The One Show and for co-presenting The Martin Lewis Money Show. She also won the 2017 series of Celebrity MasterChef. The day started with a reflective end
Dean Close Prep pupils enjoy Viking experience
Hordes of Vikings recently rampaged through Dean Close Preparatory School when pupils came dressed as Nordic warriors ready to enjoy a Viking experience day. Throughout the morning, Jarl Charlie showed pupils how to weave, make wooden shields and build a Viking longboat, whilst sharing interesting facts about the people who raided and traded from their
Dean Close Prep hosts annual science exhibition
Dean Close Prep School hosted its annual science exhibition over the Easter break. At the end of last term, pupils were invited to investigate a topic, develop an experiment or challenge a hypothesis about an area of science that inspires them. Working individually or in pairs, projects were submitted to this voluntary challenge, creating a
A roaring success at Dean Close!
Dean Close Pre-Preparatory School recently sponsored the much loved children’s story ‘The Tiger who came to Tea’ when it prowled onto the stage of Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre. Straight from the West End, the musical play was adapted and directed by David Wood based on the book by Judith Kerr. Pupils from the school and children
Dean Close Pre-Preparatory children participate in DT Day
Pupils at Dean Close Pre-Preparatory School recently enjoyed a ‘Design and Technology Wow Day’ whilst also raising money for the local charity, ‘IT Schools Africa’. Throughout the day, children trialled new forms of technology and designed and built the robots of the future. The day’s activities included programming and putting logic to the test using
Dean Close Prep pupils learn movie music techniques
Pupils from Dean Close Preparatory School recently welcomed KORG, a Japanese organisation that specialises in synthesizers for the music and film industry, into school to run a workshop. The morning started with the KORG team, Luke Edwards, Adam Whittle and Andy Pullen demonstrating the capabilities of some of their keyboards. During assembly, they recreated cinematic
Dean Close Remembers
In memory of the former pupils that died during World War 1, Dean Close organised a programme of events and activities that spanned six months that included pupils from age 2 to 18. The youngest pupils in the School initiated the programme by planting poppies in the April, which was then followed by a well-attended
Dean Close pupil named ‘Young Chorister of the Year’
A pupil from Dean Close Preparatory School has won BBC Radio Two’s Young Chorister of the Year competition. Cassian Pichler-Roca won the boys’ category of the competition, coming through two recorded auditions and competing in the finals alongside three other young singers. The final was hosted by Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya at the BBC
Dean Close pupils meet Sir Chris Hoy
Pupils from Dean Close Pre-Preparatory School recently met the Olympic cyclist Sir Christopher Hoy MBE at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The gold medallist was at the festival with co-author Joanna Nadin and illustrator Clare Elsom promoting their Flying Fergus books, an event that the school was sponsoring. During the talk the children learnt that all
International pianist visits Dean Close Preparatory
Dean Close Preparatory School recently welcomed international pianist Irina Krasotina for a performance and mini-masterclasses. Irina graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory, where she is now an Associate Professor. She opened her recital alongside the Carducci Quartet; together they played Piano Quintet in Eb major (1stMovement). This was one of Schumann’s most inspired works. In the Allegro
Dean Close hosts CyberFirst event
Dean Close Preparatory School recently hosted a CyberFirst Adventurers Day. Nearly 100 parents and pupils from the school and local area attended the event aiming to educate people about computer science jobs. They were then split into groups and learned about the influence of computer science in the sports industry, along with how to identify
Dean Close pupil achieves distinction in piano diploma
A pupil from Dean Close Preparatory School has achieved a distinction grade in piano for the ABRSM diploma exam. Michael Lei performed a 30 minute recital of difficult pieces to a high standard, including Bach’s Prelude and Fuge in C Minor. He said: “I was delighted to achieve a distinction, I have been playing the
Dean Close students participate in Healthy Living Day
Dean Close Preparatory School students recently spent the day participating in ‘Healthy Living Day’. The day involved various challenges and workshops and was part of an ongoing Preparatory School Wellbeing Programme to promote personal wellbeing and to equip pupils with key life skills. The children demonstrated communication and teamwork to succeed in various challenges down
Magical day at Dean Close
Dean Close Preparatory School pupils were treated to a magical day last week when they were visited by a professional magician. Richard Parson, a member of the Magic Circle, spent the day impressing pupils with sleight of hand tricks including turning red balls into lemons and limes, bending cutlery and making cards disappear. “My favourite
Dean Close Prep School dare to be different with their Christmas production of Honk! The Musical
Thursday 6th December, pupils from Dean Close Preparatory School deliver an outstanding performance of the challenging musical by Stiles and Drew, Honk! Based on the story of the Ugly Duckling this fun-filled, action packed production featured a singing bullfrog, a sly pussy cat, four very naughty ducklings and the very endearing Ugly Duckling. Staged beautifully,
Dean Close Pupils Enjoy ‘Tudors Alive’ experience
Monday 25th September 2017, Dean Close Preparatory School pupils were thrilled when their History lesson meant a trip to Mary Arden’s House for the ‘Tudors Alive’ experience. They spent an entire day dressing-up, baking, cleaning, singing and dancing; just as the Tudors would have done 500 year ago. Firstly they changed into clothes that were
Get Healthy, Stay healthy, Feel Great! Dean Close Pupils Share a Healthy Living Day.
Pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School spent the day developing their leadership skills, cycling proficiency, cookery skills and discussing relationships as part of their ‘Healthy Living Day’. Healthy Living Day is part of an ongoing Preparatory School Wellbeing Programme to promote personal wellbeing and to equip pupils with key life skills. Throughout the day groups
Speech Day
Broadcaster, marine biologist, naturalist, travel writer and formal Royal Marine, Monty Halls, is the guest speaker at Dean Close Preparatory School Speech Day. Saturday 1st July: Dean Close Preparatory School was delighted to welcome Mr Monty Halls as guest speaker to the annual school Speech Day, marking the end of the school year. Monty
Summer Bake Off
Thursday 24th June, pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School take on the Bake Off challenge. Baking in the Dean Close Cookery School, in pairs, their brief was to create 12 beautiful cupcakes, decorate them and a presentation box around the theme of summer time. Pupils were first given an introductory workshop where they were shown how to
A Summer Extravaganza by Dean Close Preparatory School
30th June 2017, pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School celebrated the end of term with their annual extravaganza of dance, music and singing. The opening number was a lively rendition of Walking on sunshine, sung by the Senior Choir, which had the audience singing, clapping and joining in with the actions. This was followed by
Dean Close pupil aged 10 receives distinction for Piano exam
In tune for a distinction 7th February 2017, Dean Close Preparatory School pupil Michael Lei, aged ten, was recently awarded a Distinction in his Grade Eight piano exam. Michael achieved a score of 135 out of a possible 150, playing pieces such as Bach Prelude and Fugue, Mozart Sonata 1st Movement and September in the
Is there anybody out there?
9th March 2017, pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School enjoyed a fascinating morning of space discovery, when they welcomed David Buttery and his planetarium into School for the morning. Surrounded by stars and planets, pupils learnt about the solar system, how it was formed and where it is positioned in space. They learnt about different
Nationally acclaimed children’s poet Brian Moses spends a day with pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School.
Monday 6th February 2017, pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School were thrilled to welcome children’s poet, writer and percussionist, Brian Moses to school to perform some of his poetry and to teach a poetry workshop. The morning started with a fabulous poetry recital as Brian played percussion instruments such as the Thunder drum and the
Year of the Rooster
This is the Year of the Rooster, the tenth animal in the cycle. People born in the Year of the Rooster are characterised as honest, energetic, intelligent, flexible and confident with famous people born under the rooster sign including Rudyard Kipling, Prince Philip, Dolly Parton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Eric Clapton and Yoko
All is well! Dean Close Pupils share a Healthy Living Day.
Tuesday 17th January, pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School spent the day developing their camping, leadership and First Aid skills as part of a ‘Healthy Living Day’. Healthy Living Day is part of an ongoing whole school well-being program to promote personal well-being and to equip pupils with key life skills. Throughout the day groups
In the jungle, the mighty jungle…Dean Close Prep School spent a day exploring the rainforest.
24th January 2017, Dean Close Preparatory School was alive with explorers, crocodiles, spiders and giant butterflies as pupils dressed in their best rainforest costumes to welcome rainforest expert and explorer, Paul Carpenter for the day. Pupils were transfixed as Paul demonstrated the different levels that make up the rainforest with living creepy crawlies. Starting at
Oliver meets Oliver! As Mark Lester visits Dean Close Prep School
Pupils spent an inspirational afternoon with Mr Lester Thursday 24th November, pupils at Dean Close Preparatory School were thrilled to welcome Mark Lester, the original Oliver from the 1968 film, who came to talk to the cast of this year’s Christmas performance, Oliver! The Musical. experiences of playing Oliver as well as some top acting
Musical painting!
Wednesday 9th November, pupils from Dean Close Preparatory School welcomed children’s author and illustrator, James Mayhew to school. Famous for creating characters such as Ella Bella Ballerina and the Katie series, Mr Mayhew spent several days at the School telling the pupils wonderful stories and painting to music. James Mayhew specialises in painting pictures inspired
Life on Mars! Pupils from Dean Close Preparatory School enjoy a Science Space Day with the European Space Education Resource Office. (ESERO).
7th November 2016, pupils from Dean Close Preparatory School warmly welcomed Emma Wride from ESERO for a Science Space Day. Pupils aged nine and ten spent an entire day learning what’s involved in becoming an astronaut and exploring some of the experiments scientists use to test whether there has ever been or might be, life
