WHAT / WHERE?

RGS Dodderhill is a prep school with nursery provision for boys and girls aged 2 to 11, and a senior school for girls aged 11 to 16. Nestling in a lush little pocket of seven acres, it is just a few minutes walk from the centre of Droitwich Spa. Dodderhill prides itself on a small, family-like atmosphere and parents buy into the school partly for this bespoke environment with 195 pupils on role, and classes carefully monitored to remain around 15 (with full year cohorts of 30).

Historically the school was girls-only but it has been busy embracing some seismic changes recently. In April 2019, Dodderhill Independent Girls School merged with RGSW (The Royal Grammar School Worcester) and became known as RGS Dodderhill and since 2021 the prep has been co-ed, although there are no plans for the senior school to accept boys, due to its size and existing facilities.

The backbone of this non-selective school is Christian but it is a non-denominational school that celebrates all faiths. Pupils comes from a wide variety of feeder schools, typically Droitwich, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and South Birmingham, with the last two years seeing an uptick of applications from pupils from surrounding, larger independents, perhaps attracted by the recent changes.

Head Sarah Atkinson’s main goal has been to bring back breadth of opportunity, which has been lacking in past years. Some areas of the school had fallen into disuse, such as the Cookery Room, but it’s now back strongly as a GCSE, accompanied by three others for 2022 also; Religious Studies, Drama and Business Studies. A brand new uniform has also replaced the old heavy woollen one – a smart new RGS tartan to modernise things further.

The school is up against some competitive free education in the area, but it is hyper aware of this fact. Its response? Small class sizes, the fact every child gets to read one-to-one with staff every day and specialist teaching in Art, History, Music, French and Modern Foreign Languages. Being a prep school with a senior school on site also gives pupils extra resources which is a big plus. ‘Small but Mighty’ is RGS Dodderhill’s strapline and it’s an ethos the school proudly aspires to.

FACILITIES

Not super modern, but the school makes its combo of listed and newish buildings work as hard as possible for pupils. The old gym which was converted to a performing arts centre The Atrium in 2013, lets creative arts flourish here. The Maths and Science classrooms are the oldest part of the school but there are plans to update them with a Grand Designs-esque revamp, although no timeframe is available currently for when this will happen.

Art and Textiles are housed in the main house and are a popular choice for pupils as is Cookery with the spacious, well kitted out food tech room. The canteen is big and bright and has an in-house catering team that works across the four schools, using as much locally sourced produce as possible in the food.

MUSIC / DRAMA / THE ARTS

Musically, there is good provision with a range of instruments taught (from bassoon to drums and beyond) and the department features two soundproofed peripatetic rooms, with pupils as young as Year 1 able to have lessons, as well as an inclusive orchestra from Year 8 upwards.

The school also has its own Pop & Folk group made up of five teachers and around 20 pupils, what started out as just some lunchtime jamming has become so good they now they perform locally including the Hanbury Country Show recently – impressive stuff. Art is strong too with talented aspiring artists being offered an extra course in Fine Art from Year 10, as well as Graphic Design and Textiles. The school feels like a really colourful place, there’s a big emphasis on practical work here and ex-pupils come in to run workshops sometimes.

Drama is clearly an area the school has earmarked for development. Until now the subject hasn’t been offered as a GCSE, but any aspiring actors can be reassured that this is changing on the syllabus from 2023. Currently classes take place in a classroom, but work is solidly in progress to develop it further into a more impressive studio facility.

SPORT

Plenty going on here for the sporty-minded. There is an impressive, fully equipped and full-size sports hall – quite unusual for a school of this size – along with a good-sized playing field and a netball court. There is a small Astroturf but this is due for an upgrade soon as it’s not in the finest fettle right now, however pupils aren’t disadvantaged as they are able to use the hockey centre in Fernhill Heath on a regular basis. Also in the pipeline is a small new multi gym which the pupils will really benefit from, a facility which the active PTA here has been funding.

Dodderhill belongs to the ISA (Independent Schools Association) which means pupils can take part in national competitions, so there’s plenty to get stuck into if they are the competitive type. A recent under-15s cohort of cricketers for example travelled to the Olympic Stadium in London to play in a tournament (winning Bronze).

LITTLIES

The Nursery is where the biggest changes at RGS Dodderhill have been seen recently. It only re-opened in January 2020, having been completely closed for two years, and is housed in the self-contained Goodman Building. When Sarah inherited Dodderhill it had recently merged with RGS and she admits there was a lot of work to do. Previous Heads had taken a senior school-centric view of the education, meaning numbers in the lower school and nursery had been left to diminish, culminating in the nursery closing down. But since Sarah took the reins all that has changed dramatically. Early Years now seems to be getting the TLC it deserves here and rather than being an afterthought younger pupils here have got a strong identity at the school.

There are currently 26 children in the Nursery with a capacity of up to 30, and children benefit from expert teaching staff coming in to teach with a curriculum-based approach so the children have more structure to their day. For example, they have a PE lesson once a week, a Forest School session, French lesson and Spanish lesson. This continues through to Reception where daily nursery phonics sessions are introduced.

Last year RGS Dodderhill saw its first reception class as the feed-through continues. Although it’s not at waiting list-levels quite yet, the school is investing in the future by hosting parent and toddler groups in the community so there is an increasing stream of parents discovering the school and joining up.

Bear Grylls would give this place the thumbs up too, with a large expanse of woodland given over to Forest School in the grounds, filled with dens, firepits and a camping area, with outdoor sessions regularly enjoyed by Nursery up to Year 4.

ACADEMICS

Although non-selective lower down the school, if you’re applying for Year 4 entry or above pupils sit an assessment (in Maths, English and Verbal Reasoning) and are then offered to stay for a taster afternoon before a place is offered.

The school did well above average in recent GCSE examinations, 44% achieving grades 9-7 and 92% bagging grades 9-4 in 2019, and in 2021 (teacher assessed grades) hit 48% and 100% respectively.

Historically, many pupils would drift away post GCSE, but since the merger there has been a groundshift. This year more than half of the cohort took up places at nearby RGS Worcester Sixth Form – now in the RGS stable – so there is a strong sense of continuity here if moving on with friends is on your tick list.

Means-tested bursaries are offered here (there are lots of applications every year, be warned, it’s competitive!) and up to 90% of fees are paid in some cases. Academic and Music Scholarships are available for pupils going into Year 7 and 9. However the school is looking to expand the provision further to include Sport and Art scholarships in the near future.

During my visit I also learnt that ten Ukrainian refugee children have been taken in over the last year across the four RGS schools, including one pupil at Dodderhill.

PASTORAL CARE

Mental health and monitoring pupils is taken seriously and thorough provision is in place to make sure no one slips through the net. The school currently has three full time counsellors with different areas of expertise, a SENDCO, a Head of Pastoral and a full-time school nurse.

The size of the school lends itself well to the pastoral offering too, due to its small size and family-feel pupils rarely feel alone or isolated. There is a dedicated relaxation room and also relaxation areas in both the Prep and Senior libraries where pupils can retreat to. Walking around the corridors several children proudly showed me their lapels adorned with the special house badges given out for exceptionally good work, behaviour or kindness. The school is also a member of the GSA.

SEN POLICY & PROVISION

Strong. There are 15 members of staff who are mental health trained and every child goes through a mentoring session every term with those that need weekly mentoring help given it.

Due to being under the RGS umbrella, the school has the extra resource of a resident Director of Learning Development who oversees the provision across all four schools with Dodderhill offering full screening for all pupils and one-to-one provision for pupils with specific needs.

THE HEAD

There’s a brand new pair of hands at the helm in the shape of Tom Banyard. Taking over in September 2023, his arrival injects a fresh sense of energy. Previously Head of King’s College International School Bangkok (part of the KCS Wimbledon group of schools) he comes with his three daughters: Edith, 6, Nina, 5, and Ada, and wife Rachel who grew up in Droitwich and is a primary teacher.

There was big competition for the post, a field of over 50 applicants, and Gloucestershire born and bred Tom was a unanimous choice from both governors and a panel of 6th formers, which bodes well for him. He has high hopes to build upon the achievements of previous Head Sarah Atkinson doubling the original 135 pupils in just three years.

QUIRKS

Frankie the dog. Having a school pooch has almost gone mainstream these days it’s so popular, and at RGS Dodderhill the Head’s pooch is a big hit. He’s regularly brought along to situations to help calm and assist anxious, upset or stressed children.

RGS Dodderhill Bake Off. Step aside Paul Hollywood. Every year each year group takes part in this fantastic, fiercely fought over themed Bake Off contest, where one pupil gets to walk away with the coveted Star Baker apron. We hear it’s hotly contested!

WRAPAROUND CARE

Good standard offering, a breakfast club drop off from 7.45am then collection up to 6pm, is included in the fees. Pupils also have the options of either homework club or after-school clubs which rotate on a termly basis and are mostly free.

MOBILE / TECH

Mobile phones are not allowed to be used during the school day, but pupils can use them after school in homework club or for travel home.

All pupils from Year 4 can bring in an iPad for school use, which are then set up with school apps, and for the younger years class sets are available for use for everyone.

TRANSPORT

The RGS family of schools offer transport before and after school, including between the family of schools. There are various drop-off and collection points available.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents mention the fact their children have a really positive ‘nurturing experience’ here, the fact it’s a small and friendly setting but with the outlook and opportunities of a much larger school is a big plus for many families.

FEES

From September 2024 fees per term are: Reception £3,418; Year 1 £3,690; Year 2; £3,836; Year 3 £4,046; Year 4 £5,218; Year 5 £5,578; Year 6 £5,860; Year 7 to 11 £6,108

For Nursery the full time termly charge is £4,244 and those not attending full-time the daily charge is £79.00 (8.00am – 6.00pm) or half day £59.00 (8.00am – 1.00pm including lunch). We offer 15 and 30 hours through the Government Funding scheme from the term following your child’s 3^rd birthday until they reach 5 years of age. This is subject to attending a minimum of 3 sessions per week. From April 2024 all working parents of children aged 2 years may also access 15 funded hours per week which will rise to 30 funded hours for 2 year olds from September 2025.

REPORT

Find it here.

MUDDY VERDICT

Good for:

Anyone after the benefits of an intimate setting but still with a focus on the academic side of things. Anyone seeking a smaller setting in which they can shine will love it here – think big fish in a little pond vibe.

Not for:

Anyone wanting Grand Designs-style facilities, Dodderhill probably won’t provide that, although the sports hall is special for a small school. RGS Dodderhill encourages everyone to step outside their comfort zone so children prepared to step up for that will be fine.

Want to judge for yourself? Drop the admissions team a line here, and go along to an Open Day from 7 – 10 May 2024.

RGS Dodderhill, RGS Dodderhill, Dodderhill Road, Droitwich Spa
Worcestershire, WR9 0BE.

RGS Dodderhill, Worcester

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