WHAT / WHERE?

The Elms is a cosy, co-ed Prep for ages 3 – 13 set in 40 acres of lush grounds handily straddling two counties – firm Herefordshire roots with a Worcs postcode. A non-selective school, there are 160 pupils on register, class sizes hover at a bijou 10 to 15, and there’s one-form entry up to Year 5 – The Elms prides itself on small proportions and a family feel.

Nestled on the western slopes of the Malvern Hills, the co-ed is a boarding school with one of the most lustworthy rural settings in the UK, complete with a working farm and equestrian centre – Bear Grylls eat your heart out, it’s as outdoorsy as schools come.

A C of E school at its core, and dating all the way back to 1614, The Elms claims to be the oldest Prep school in the UK still on its original site – historical kudos points a-plenty.

The Elms is a big fan of muddy knees and worn-in wellies, and the ethos here is all about championing the very best bits of childhood – playing, climbing, exploring – skills which are valued as highly as academia here. All pupils have a Rural Studies lesson from the age of three and along with riding, climbing, growing veg and raising show-worthy animals, it’s a strong box-ticker for any mini eco-warriors.

FACILITIES

Small it may be, but The Elms packs a mighty old punch for facilities. There’s everything here that an active pupil could desire. The main house contains the boarding house, dining hall, a charming old chapel, library and Early Years, there are also two dedicated science labs and an impressive theatre building.

There’s a bright and spacious art room, where artists come in to host workshops – and an impressive DT department. The school itself is a homely-looking collection of easy-on-the-eye, low rise buildings, some prettily ivy-clad, set out on an easily navigable campus site.

SPORT

A top choice if you’ve got a sporty shorty. There are four rugby pitches, three cricket, football and rounders pitches, tennis courts, a floodlit AstroTurf, a huge indoor sports hall and an indoor air rifle range. There is also a large swimming pool – one of the only indoor pools for miles.

One of the things that makes The Elms extra special is the top notch Equestrian Centre. Tucked away behind the school buildings, it’s a registered Pony Club Centre and pupils can bring their own ponies, or use one of the school ponies for lessons. There is stabling for 20+ horses, a riding arena, paddocks and a cross-country course.

I saw children eagerly throwing on jumpers over jodhpurs, and getting stuck in – from mucking out to riding – understandably not a glum face in sight.

Pupils don’t have to be naturally gifted at sport at The Elms because there is excellent coaching, across all age groups. All pupils from the age of 7 have daily Games lessons, and every child gets the chance to represent the school at major sport events.

What also stood out to me was the focus I saw being taught on learning the ‘manners of sport’ – being gracious in defeat, magnanimous in victory, and team spirited.

The school smashed the U13 Worcestershire County Cricket Champions this year, and several pupils play hockey and cricket at county level, so the approach has good results. There’s also been a refurb of the Sports Pavillion, improving facilities further.

The extra-curricular activities are what you’d expect from a Prep, with the addition of quirky additions like Showing Club where pupils learn how to show and handle animals.

MUSIC / DRAMA / THE ARTS

There’s a strong have-a-go attitude in the drama department, whether they want to be the Mariah Carey of the production, or the one flicking the switches in sound and lighting, there are plenty of opportunities.

There’s a spacious, dedicated theatre, and pupils win silverware regularly at local festivals. Elms pupils also have a good track record of winning scholarships to top senior schools in music, drama and art.

Pupils have music lessons up to twice a week and amongst the instruments I hear that electric guitar and drums are popular with both boys and girls. They can opt for LAMDA tuition and private coaching in Musical Theatre. The year here is jam-packed, from ElmsFest to Artist-in-Residence Week, Parents in Art Week, concerts galore and the highly competitive and popular House Music.

ACADEMICS

Non-selective, children are assessed instead on previous school reports, an informal interview with the Head, and a taster day.

A greenhouse, not a hothouse – this is how the school describes its approach and Head Ed Lyddon puts great emphasis on it. The focus is on learning in a breadth of areas (aka Rural Studies, United Nations lesson, Classical Civilisation) and small class sizes allow the school to continuously monitor each child’s progress.

This relatively unpressured environment really produces results however, and an impressive number of children go on to their senior schools with a scholarship or award. Destinations of leavers in recent years are diverse (and distinguished), last year up to 15 different schools were headed for, from Malvern College and Cheltenham College to Ampleforth, Marlborough and Radley.

It’s proudly independent of any senior school too, giving it believes parents the widest possible choice when finding the ideal next step for individual talents and characteristics.

In terms of Common Entrance figures, this year 100% of pupils got their first choice of onward senior school and 15 scholarships and awards were earned by the cohort of 21 leavers.

The Elms is also not afraid to re-evaluate the way they do things, with the Common Entrance exam currently being reviewed, possibly to move to a hybrid model, or pupils earning their own diploma, but a final decision on this is to be made over the next 12 months.

Saturday school is alive and well here for Years 5 – 8 (Years 3 & 4 have optional activities in Humphrey’s Club (named after the founding father of the school Humphrey Walwyn), with the school week wrapping up after Games on a Saturday afternoon.

LITTLES

Early Years is located in the main building and takes children from the age of three in a fully accredited Montessori setting. It felt like a genuinely joyful place to be, ringing with happy squeals and little hands curiously exploring all manner of interesting puzzles and creative corners.

I saw baskets full of hands-on activities (tiny wooden kitchens, trays of colourful beads, sandpaper letters) everywhere, it’s a style of education that the school passionately believes creates a ‘can-do’ attitude in pupils further up the school.

Pre-Prep kiddies are taught by a number of specialist teachers from the Prep school, including Music, French, Drama and Sport. In addition, littles here get stuck into swimming and yoga classes, along with tending to the vegetable garden, counting eggs or tadpoles or hatching and caring for chicks.

FOREST SCHOOL

Forty acres of grounds mean that The Elms has an extensive and dedicated Forest School area. It’s a fantastically engaging area filled with fire pits, dens, bug homes, mud kitchens and paths snaking there way up to the stunning Malvern Hills, for orienteering practice.

Children enjoy weekly lessons in the Outdoor Area from age three upwards too, Woodland Challenge for the youngest, Forest School for the juniors, and then Outdoor Education for the older children. The common factor? Plenty of marshmallow toasting and stick whittling, whatever the weather.

HEAD TEACHER

Headteacher Ed Lyddon took the hot seat in April 2023, and brings with him platinum experience from the highly-regarded Sandroyd in Salisbury where he was Deputy Head, amongst other Preps. Calmly spoken with an easy warmth about him, he comes across as a strong, steadying force at the school.

He’s a big champion of maintaining the traditions and quirkiness of the school – I spotted proudly displayed photos on his shelves of pupils showing their prize animals. But alongside this he is also unapologetically ambitious for the school, pointing out that the school is way ahead of the 5-year plan he put into action when he arrived.

One of these was bringing in the school’s new motto – Endeavour, Perseverance and Compassion – along with strengthening the Pastoral system and the Senior Leadership team, to make the school cogs run better.

Lyddon admits he hasn’t needed to change a lot, but that his tenure is very much about giving the school stability. His mantra? Every child should strive to be the best version of themselves, whether that’s academically, on the sports pitch, or just by being a good citizen.

Living on site with his wife and family, he has one child in Year 7 at The Elms and two others at university. In his spare time you’ll find him in the rugby stands, he’s a fervent fan, or coastal walking – when we met he was preparing to take on a coast-to-coast trek from Cumbria to Yorkshire over the summer. Impressive stuff!

BOARDING

Boarding options start from the age of seven, and there are currently 25 full time boarders, 132 day boarders, and lots choosing flexi boarding (there are around 50 pupils some nights – so it must be pretty fun).

Boarders are made up mainly from UK families, including military families, with a few coming from Europe, China and Japan.

The boarding house is located a short skip up the stairs in the main school building – and whilst there’s nothing particularly flashy about them – they have a very cosy and lived-in feel and they are in the process of being refurbed on an ongoing roll-out. Being so centrally placed means pupils will rarely feel isolated or lonely.

A recent appointment of a new head of boarding has also upped the offering as the activities and weekly structure have been improved. There are all kinds of cool sounding things to do on the week night rota, from quiz nights and fun swims to rounders.

On Saturday evenings the themed suppers sound super fun, and Sundays start with a relaxing brunch before the boarding family heads off for an adventure. This could be anything from a safari park, water park or go-karting to ice skating, orienteering on the hills, crafting and assault courses in the grounds. Boarders also enjoy an extra pony hack at the weekends.

Parents will love that it’s very relaxed and they can visit as often as they wish. They are made extremely welcome at the equestrian centre and farm too, where you can volunteer to help with the animals if you like.

PASTORAL

There is an excellent pastoral care system in place, and new changes brought in recently have only strengthened this further. This includes a Tutor System, from Years 5 – 8, where pupils have a dedicated tutor, and STEER tracking – an award-winning tool which measures, tracks and improves self-regulation and mental health.

Pupils are encouraged to mix between year groups throughout the school day and beyond, to avoid cliques forming, and daily staff meetings are used to tackle any issues, along with ‘My Concern’ to flag any issues however small, so that problems are addressed early. The recent addition of a school counsellor who comes in once a week has also upped the offering.

The big project for 2025 has been the addition of a popular Wellbeing Garden. Funded by a recent grant from The Grocers Company (The Elms founders), an old and underused area is currently being transformed into a wonderful, tranquil space where pupils and staff can relax, read and restore.

SEND

Many parents make the assumption that The Elms is a SEND specialist school, due to the extensive farm provision here, but this isn’t the case. Instead, The Elms only considers a handful of SEND admissions each year.

As of March 2025 there were 28 SEND pupils on register. The school provides additional TAs, lots of small class teaching, and several teachers with additional qualifications for dyslexia. There is some additional 1:1 support for dyslexia and dyscalculia available for those who may need it.

QUIRKS

The working farm here is really phenomenal! And when we say it’s a real farm, we mean it – The Elm’s farm is home to Herefordshire cattle, Gloucester Old Spot pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and donkeys – it’s an absolute rural idyll.

The farm adds a wonderfully wholesome dimension to the school, as well as being a healthy decompressor from a day of study, I imagine. Pupils get involved in all aspects of their care, from the economic business of farming and animal welfare to sustainable farming.

There aren’t many schools where you can see children walking pigs, or saying “sorry I’m late sir, we were just rounding up a couple of pigs that had escaped onto the rugby pitch”!

The highlight of the school year is the annual Elms Show – their own version of a country agricultural show. This takes place every Autumn and every child in the school gets involved, and they seem to love it. A mini version of the Three Counties Show, it’s an event that makes The Elms really unique.

From Year 3 and above pupils show an animal – from chickens to pigs and horses – and compete for rosettes and best in show. Younger children submit entries for the creative area, anything from the best farm animal made out of vegetables to wild flower arrangements, leaf rubbings, or poetry. The school also takes pupils to show their animals at regional shows such as the prestigious Devon Show.

MOBILE PHONES

No phones are allowed on site as a general rule. Full boarders may bring a phone, which is kept locked in the boarding office and signed out for a phone call home and then signed straight back in again. No mobile phones are permitted for day children or for flexiboarders.

TECH

Good provision. There is a suite of desktop computers in the IT room, used to teach weekly IT lessons from Nursery upwards. There are laptops in classrooms for Years 3 and 4 for occasional use, and in Year 5+ children are issued with their own personal device – these are kept in charging stations and only used when a teacher requires them for this lesson.

TRAVEL

Most pupils hail from within an hour’s drive of Colwall, places such as Malvern, Worcester and Hereford. There is a comprehensive minibus service around the local area, covering Leominster, Hereford and beyond, Evesham, Tewkesbury and Gloucester and almost as far out as Abergavenny.

ISI REPORT

The latest ISI update report was conducted in March 2025 – read it here.

FEES

Fees are pretty much average, with parents getting particular value higher up the school. Fees start at £3,088 per term in Nursery, £6,130 in Year 3, and stepping up to £9,485 per term in Year 8 (£13,055 per term for Full Boarders).

They also include an early drop-off option from 7.30am with breakfast included for Year 3 and above, lunches and snacks, and Saturdays for Year 4 and above and Year 3 boarders. There are means tested bursaries available, and a 10% discount for Forces families.

WRAPAROUND CARE

From Year 1 and above pupils can come in for breakfast from 7.30am. Younger children (Year 2 and below) can stay until 6pm, and older children can extend to stay for upper until 6.30pm.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Testimonials from parents and pupils are glowing with love. Lots of parents really buy into its USP of ‘preserving childhood’ . One mum praised The Elms for it’s “highly nurturing environment” and holistic development, saying her hesitant son had ‘come of of his shell’ within weeks of starting.

A recent Year 5 pupil enthusiastically declares “The Elms is definitely, 100% the best school in the world,” with the riding, clubs and farm coming in for special mention. And, the Headmaster of Malvern College has put on record that Elms pupils are among their “best citizens, demonstrating fairness, passion, and collaboration”.

MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Kids who want to stay kids – with 40 acres of fields, a working farm, and a proper equestrian centre, it’s an outdoorsy utopia where mucking out pigs, and learning to care for the environment, is just as much a part of the school day as times tables. Perfect for families after a small, nurturing vibe, where every child is known and supported. Academics are treated seriously here, but it’s far more of a gentle greenhouse experience, than a hothouse.

Not for: Parents who want an ultra-selective or rigidly structured Prep. This is a shabby-chic school that values character, curiosity, and childhood as much as exam results. It’s deeply rural, so anyone wanting the convenience of a city centre Prep, this isn’t it. If you prefer to wrap them up in cotton wool look away, The Elms values the importance of failure in order to become a truly resilient human.

Dare to disagree?

Don’t take my word for it – go to the next Open Morning on Sat 11 Oct 10am – 12pm. Individual visits are also very welcome at any time during the year.

The Elms School, Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire WR13 6EF, Tel: 01684 540344 , www.elmsschool.co.uk

The Elms, Colwall

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