A Personalised Approach To Learning

The Hampshire School Chelsea is a co-ed school located across two sites. Its early years provision is in Wetherby Place and its pre-prep and prep school is located in the stunning Grade II listed former Chelsea library just off Kings Road.

“It is a traditional prep with a global outlook reflected in its diverse pupil base, rooted in the local community,” says Headmistress, Dr Pamela Edmonds.

The school lives up to its artistic roots having been established in 1928 as a school for music and dance. Today, under the leadership of Dr Edmonds who joined in August 2018, the school continues its legacy coupled with strong academic rigour and a growth mindset preparing children for life in a rapidly-changing global society.

The growth mindset approach encourages pupils to build confidence to succeed. Mistakes are seen as learning opportunities rather than stumbling blocks and critical thinking is part of the curriculum. Dr Edmonds explains that this personalised approach to learning inspires a strong work ethic among the children. She has a mantra with the children which is, “There is no such thing as I can’t do it, just I can’t do it yet!”

Since Dr Edmonds joined a year ago, she has widened pupil participation in all areas of school life. The children take an active role in the success of their school through the Student Council where over 50 members meet regularly and work with staff on projects such as fundraising for a local homelessness charity, inviting external speakers to a Green Day and holding a wellbeing week.

She has also introduced ‘Inspire Maths’, the Singaporean method of teaching maths, and implemented regular school audits and student attitudinal surveys to track academic progress and pupils’ happiness.

Dr Edmonds’ philosophy is to inspire all children to achieve their best, discover their own unique abilities, interests and aspirations and to strive for high academic achievement, which is why the school is non-selective.

For the early years, children are invited in for a ‘play date’. “It’s all about the right fit for the child and for the school,” says Dr Edmonds. In the prep school, children visit the school for the day where they are assessed in maths and English, although the focus on the right fit rings true further up the school too.

Understanding the daily pressures of family life, the school offers a bus service to school and back and there is wraparound care from 8am to 6pm.

There are also over 60 extracurricular clubs to chose from ranging from jiu jitsu, fencing and ballet (taught by the Chelsea Ballet School) to garage band music, LAMDA, Chelsea Young Writers, problem- solving and debating.

Outdoor activities are plentiful as PE lessons take place just a short walk away in Battersea Park and children are taken on regular trips to local parks and swimming pools. Indeed, one of the school’s prized assets is its generous outdoor space coupled with its adventure playground climbing frame.

The Hampshire School Chelsea is part of the Independent Association of Prep Schools and the Independent Schools Association, sharing standards in excellence and organising inter-school sports tournaments and competitions. Its small classes and specialist teachers thoroughly prepare the children for 11+ and 13+ entrance exams with last year’s leavers going to top day and boarding schools such as St Paul’s School, Queen’s Gate, Harrow, Dulwich College, City of London, Moor House, Brighton College, Emanuel, Ibstock Place and Francis Holland.