Oakhyrst Grange School Joins the Award-Winning Caterham Family of Schools
Thriving and much-loved Surrey preparatory school, Oakhyrst Grange School, has announced that it will be joining the multi award-winning Caterham Family of Schools, marking an exciting new chapter in the school’s 75-year history.
Set within five and a half acres of beautiful Surrey Hills lawns and woodland, Oakhyrst Grange School is renowned for its nurturing ethos, strong academic foundations and exceptional pastoral care. Combining traditional values with innovative learning opportunities, the school provides an inspiring environment where children are encouraged to grow in confidence, develop a love of learning and achieve their full potential.
The partnership brings together two schools that have enjoyed a close relationship for decades and share a commitment to educational excellence, pupil wellbeing and innovation. Oakhyrst and Caterham already share many families and alumni, and both schools are united by a belief in providing outstanding opportunities for every child.
Oakhyrst Grange is proud of its exceptional facilities, including a heated indoor swimming pool, sports hall, Multi-Use Games Area and dedicated Forest School provision, all of which support a broad and ambitious curriculum. The school was also recently recognised nationally with a Pearson National Teaching Award Bronze Award for Early Years Team of the Year, celebrating the outstanding quality of its Early Years provision.
Gemma Mitchell, Headteacher of Oakhyrst Grange School, said:
“Joining the Caterham Family of Schools is a hugely exciting opportunity for Oakhyrst Grange and comes from a position of strength. This partnership builds upon a long-standing and successful relationship between our schools and reflects our shared commitment to educational excellence, innovation and pupil wellbeing.”
“Oakhyrst will retain its unique identity, values and close-knit community, which are so important to our families. We are incredibly proud of the warm, supportive environment we provide and remain ambitious for every child in our care. This partnership will enable us to build on our many strengths whilst creating even greater opportunities for our pupils, staff and wider school community.”
“Most importantly, families can be confident that their children will continue to enjoy the exceptional education, pastoral care and breadth of opportunity that define an Oakhyrst education. We will continue to prepare and support pupils for a wide range of senior school destinations, whilst also providing a smoother pathway to Caterham School for those families who choose that route.”
Ceri Jones, Headmaster of Caterham School, commented:
“Both schools have given their wholehearted support to this partnership, which reflects a shared educational vision, common values and a commitment to excellence. We are delighted to welcome Oakhyrst Grange into the Caterham Family of Schools and look forward to working together to enhance opportunities for pupils, families and staff alike.”
The Caterham Family of Schools includes Caterham School, Caterham Prep School, Copthorne Prep School and The Hawthorns School. The family is recognised for academic excellence, exceptional pastoral care, innovation and sector-leading approaches to digital learning and wellbeing.
Caterham School was named the Times Educational Supplement’s Independent Senior School of the Year and is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading co-educational schools. It is also the founding school of the East Surrey Learning Partnership, which brings together independent and state schools to enhance educational opportunity for young people across the region.
This partnership marks an exciting future for Oakhyrst Grange School, ensuring that its distinctive ethos, strong sense of community and commitment to educational excellence continue to flourish for generations to come.
School Council Elections – Thursday 22nd September
On Wednesday 21st September 2022, ten Year 6 pupils presented their election speeches to the whole school in our weekly assembly in their hope to become the new President or Vice-President of our School Council Team. The standard of the speeches was brilliant and each one was interesting to listen to. It was fantastic to hear all of the wonderful ideas that the children had and we hope to see many of these evolving throughout the year. All the Year 6 candidates made posters that are now up on display outside the School Office for all to see.
Yesterday, Thursday 22nd September 2022, all pupils in classes Year 1 to Year 6 were involved in voting for two school council representatives from their own class along with their votes for the Year 6 President and Vice-President positions. This is a very important part of our school life as it provides all of the children an opportunity to share their ideas with their peers across a variety of school matters and make their own personal votes in relation to the School Council team.
This year’s school council team consists of:
Year 1 – Shray and Anna, Year 2 – Pareesa and Paige, Year 3 – Bonnie and Jaimin, Year 4 – Noah and Amaaya, Year 5 – Vincent and Surina. The two Vice-Presidents from Year 6 are Jai and Shreya. The President of the School Council team this year is Emily.
We look forward to holding regular School Council meetings and feeding back to the school on all of our ideas and projects throughout the terms.
Well done to everyone who has been involved in this year’s School Council Election process.
Miss Faye Dance
Deputy Head and Year 5 Teacher
Come to Our Next Open Day – see the school in action
Friday 8th and Saturday 9th Of May
10.00 am to 3.00pm Prospective Parent slots will be allocated once interest expressed below.
