An all-round education, from start to finish – Thomas’s

From the outset, founders Joanna and David Thomas were determined to create a school environment that achieved three key aims: high academic standards; an emphasis on the arts and plenty of sport, reflecting both their personal and professional interests; and a strong set of values. While this vision remains, the schools have moved with the times. These days, they offer a forward-thinking, outward-looking education.

With kindness at the core, the schools’ aim is for pupils to achieve academic success through a broad curriculum and a four-dimensional approach to education which develops knowledge, skills, character and metacognition. The schools’ vision is clear: that every pupil leaves Thomas’s with core values and a strong sense of social responsibility; inner strength and positive physical and mental health; academic success and a wide range of skills, interests and attributes; curiosity about the world and a love of learning. Ten values form the foundation of a Thomas’s education: kindness; courtesy; honesty; respect; perseverance; independence; confidence; leadership; humility and being givers, not takers.

The schools’ aim is for pupils to achieve academic success through a broad curriculum

This ambitious approach runs through and extends beyond the classroom. An extensive co-curricular programme includes a wide range of sports, from team games to golf, gymnastics and padel. For culture vultures, there’s a play every year for each year group and film, art and pottery clubs. Thomas’s Daheim (‘at home’) is a former hotel refurbished in 2016 as a bespoke Thomas’s outdoor centre, located at 1400m in the Austrian ski area of Wurzeralm near the Kalkalpen National Park. It allows every pupil the chance to experience the truly outstanding beauty of the mountains and offers an unrivalled opportunity to spend time in a spectacular location, with trips in both summer and winter from Year 5.

All school sites are in central London – Thomas’s Kindergarten, based in Battersea, welcomes children from two years old, Thomas’s Battersea and Thomas’s Clapham from four to 13, and Thomas’s Fulham and Thomas’s Kensington from four to 11. Opening in September 2025, Thomas’s College in Richmond, will take pupils from 11 to 18. While all prep school pupils will continue to receive excellent preparation for entry to a wide range of outstanding senior schools at 11+ and 13+, current Thomas’s pupils will be given preference over external candidates and eventually the plan is to offer day, flexible boarding and weekly boarding places.