Great Walstead School

Great Walstead School is a Christian day and weekly boarding school for girls and boys between the ages of 2 ½ and 13 years. It has some 450 children overall and they are educated in the school's Nursery, Pre-Prep and Main School departments. Academic, music, sports and drama scholarships are available. The school is a member of the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools.

The school is set in 269 acres of grounds just a mile and a half from the picturesque village of Lindfield, West Sussex. The school is less than ten minutes drive from Haywards Heath mainline station, with its fast services to London and Brighton, and, for those arriving from further afield, is only some thirty minutes drive from Gatwick Airport.

The School is situated in the Sussex countryside and has extensive playing fields and woodlands that are used regularly.

The teaching facilities consist of 19 well equipped classrooms with use of new Interactive whiteboard technology. There is also a well stocked science lab which is used to teach the combined sciences.

Students in both the Pre-Prep and the Prep school have access to separate libraries that are well stocked and contain books suitable for all ages.

There is also a professional extensive Learning support unit which helps pupils that have learning difficulties.

Chapel

The Chapel is the spiritual heart of the school, where daily assemblies are held. It is also where music, concerts and drama take place - performances which are a regular feature of Great Walstead life. On any normal morning, our service will consist of some singing, of a short talk based on the Bible, and a prayer. The seniors have a rota of chapel readers who read a Bible passage each morning. Many staff will use drama as a way of conveying the theme they have chosen. Others will use visual aids.

Creativity

Recently the school invested in the construction of a new performing arts centre. This has aided with the teaching of Drama and the Arts at the school. Every year, there is a drama production put together by year groups 5 to 8. This allows many people to showcase their dramatic abilities.

Musically, the school has a large music school which has a "Keyboard Lab" a large room containing 12 electronic keyboards all connected to the teachers central computer allowing music to be recorded and listened to by the whole class.

Also, there are regular concerts which allow the children to perform musical instruments.

There are also four workshops designed for Arts, Home Economics, Pottery and Design Technology.

Activities and traditions

The school provides many activities which include drama (including the opportunity to take part in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art examinations) , fencing, golf, archery, and games in the woods.

Every summer the school has fun and games in the woods.

In the heart of the campus, there was a very large ropes course consisting of large swings, bridges and ladders built by the well-known teacher, Mr. Crips. However this has been replaced with a ground level "Challenge course"

The campus also features an outdoor pool, but an indoor facility is commonly used off-site.

The campus is surrounded by a large oak forest, and it is common for activities and day trips to be held in the woods.

The Juniors (Years 3 & 4) take part in Mudlarks. This is when they spend the whole day in teams out in the woods cooking food, playing games and competing for first place.

The Middles (Years 5 & 6) take part in M Day. They spend the term building camps out in the woods and have a similar format to the Juniors on M Day.

The Seniors (Years 7 & 8) take part in Q Day. Throughout the term they build camps in teams in preparation for Q Day. Q Day begins at 9:00 p.m. one summer evening when all Seniors venture into the woods and spend the night in their camps. The following day they cook food and take part in all sorts of activities including Mountain Biking, First Aid, a treasure hunt and a walk on the South Downs. One of the most exciting parts of Q Day happens during the nighttime when the students take part in the Banger Operation. This is a competition in which some members from each team must defend their camps whilst other teams try and gain a "flag" They are then allowed to let off a party popper in the other team's camp.

Sports

Great Walstead has opportunities for all to excel in sport. The school has a large sports fields in which all sports are played. There is also an "All Weather Pitch" on which hockey is played and tennis courts where netball and tennis take place.

The sports that take place are

History

Founded by Robert James Mowll (the last Baron Mowll of the Cinq Ports b.1895 d.1963) in post WW2, succeeded by Gordon Parke circa 1962. Long-running headmaster Hugh Lowries left in 2006 and was replaced by Rev. Jeremy Sykes.