Matron

Bilton Grange is a wonderful Prep School situated just south of Rugby; we currently have over 380 pupils, the largest the School has ever been, and we recently opened Little Grange Nursery (August 2022) to provide an outstanding provision for a further 80 children aged from six months.  The Pre-Prep, housed in its own Edwardian buildings, caters for day children from age 3 (in ‘The Nest’) to Year 3 inclusive; Year 4 upwards are in the Prep and are a combination of day, boarding and flexi-boarding pupils. Presently, we have in the region of 65 full and weekly boarders, with another 35 flexi-boarding on a regular basis. It is possible, although uncommon, for children to commence boarding, whether flexi or fully, in Year 3.

The pupils benefit hugely from the awe and wonder of the buildings and interiors, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, and the 90 acres of outdoor space, a parkland of nationally designated beauty. Our children depart at 13 for a range of senior schools, both boarding and day, as confident, engaged and well-mannered young men and women, committed to learning and exploring the world around them. A number win scholarships to senior schools in a variety of disciplines: academic, music, sport, art, design technology, drama and, for some, all-round excellence.

The most recent and significant development in the School’s history is the merger with Rugby School which took effect from January 2020. The synergies and opportunities to further strengthen the pupil experience have been a roaring success and the future is very bright. Bilton Grange remains a separately managed and registered school and parents still have a wide choice of senior schools to which their children can progress: there is no automatic progression to Rugby School nor an expectation that all would do so, though the majority do. The staff of both schools work closely together, both in pupil-facing roles and in the operational and administrative spheres.

Bilton Grange has always offered strong academic teaching as part of a broad education that few other schools can match and encourages the highest aspirations in pupils within a friendly environment. Our website www.biltongrange.co.uk provides a further window into our world.  Recent ISI inspection reports can be found on this site including the successful Compliance Inspection from March 2022.

Bilton Grange is fortunate in having excellent facilities for specialist teaching whether in the academics, the performing and creative arts, or sport. In just the last year, we have fully refurbished the whole Pre-Prep, all classrooms in the Prep, designed a new Stem lab and Art room and we’re currently putting the finishing touches to the permanent new Nursery building. Along with our full-size, floodlit astroturf, inside Pugin’s walled garden, our 25m indoor swimming pool, our sports hall, our extended Music Facility (opened in January 2019) and improved boarding accommodation, these newer facilities provide the school with the means to educate the pupils in as rounded a way as possible. Next on the list is to further develop the boarding as well as the outdoor learning spaces which play a big part in our curriculum.

The facilities are important but they are nothing without the energy of the staff and pupils who use them. Bilton Grange is determined to be The Best and in order to reach this lofty goal, it needs to attract quality staff. Our staff work hard but enjoy the challenges of being in a busy and fulfilling learning community. They are dedicated to the children in their care who in turn feel secure and happy. Relatively small class sizes ensure each child can receive the appropriate amount of individual attention. Specialist teachers carry out almost all teaching from Year 5 upwards across a very wide curriculum, but specialist teaching begins earlier than this, even in the Pre-Prep. Academic staff contribute enthusiastically to the life of the School, offering games coaching and other activities to the children according to their skills and interests, and a number are involved in boarding. Nearly all teachers have a pastoral role as tutors, which in the Middle School (Years 5 and 6) involves a Form of around 15 and in the Upper School (Years 7 & 8) a smaller group of between 6 and 8 pupils, in order to enhance the pastoral and academic support and oversight in these critical years.

Bilton Grange is accessible from the M1, M6 and M45, and enjoys a central location in the country with good links by both road and rail in all directions.