Frequently Asked Questions

As early as possible. Siblings are given priority but after that places are offered according to the date of registration. Applications for the Nursery are best made soon after birth.

By completing and submitting by email, fax, or through the post the registration form found in the Further Information section.

The registration fee of £195 is payable upon registration. There is a deposit of approximately one term's fees - currently £4750 which is needed in order to secure the place when offered out to you. The acceptance deposit will be repaid during the first week of the term after the pupil leaves Abercorn.  This deposit should not be taken to be payment in advance of school fees.  Please refer to our Terms and Conditions section C) 13.

A year before your child is due to enter we will contact you to confirm whether or not you would like a place. If so, we will send you an offer subject to availability. If you do not hear from us, please contact the admissions secretary by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Call us on 020 7286 4785 for a tour of the Pre-Prep building or 020 7723 8700 for a tour of the Prep buildings.

Yes for our existing pupils whose parents may be in need.

No because we feel it is only fair to treat all parents equally.

The cost of educating a child is roughly the same whatever the age. Obviously there is always the need for a classroom with the appropriate furniture, light, and heat etc. Younger children require a higher staff to pupil ratio which is compensated by the extra costs incurred in supplying the older pupils with the appropriate specialist textbooks and equipment.

The Senior Leadership Team consists of the High Mistress, the Head of the the Preparatory School, the Head of the Infant Department, the Deputy Head of the Middle School, and the Directors of Study for the Preparatory and Infant School. This team meets at least weekly to discuss matters relating to the smooth operation of the school as well as questions of future strategy.

Yes there is. There is a non-executive Chairman, Mr. Walter Balmford. The rest of the Board consists of members of the Greystoke family, including two Solicitors, two MBAs, and two directors who are also involved in the management of our sister school in New York. The Senior Leadership Team reports to the Board of Directors.

The curriculum is based loosely on the expectations of the National Curriculum, but is also aware of the needs of the senior schools. Hence we aim to have children who are attaining significantly ahead of the national targets, as well as offering subjects not required by the government – e.g., Latin. The curriculum is also heavily influenced by the International Primary Years Programme, which aims to develop enquiring learners with a global outlook in a cross-curricular teaching environment.

Most are British, but there are representatives from around the world, including Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand

Our maximum number of pupils is 20 per class.

The staff-pupil ratio through the school as a whole is 1:9. Obviously it will be higher than that in the early years and lower at the more senior end.

Yes there is a wide variety. Depending on pupil’s ages, there are clubs in chess, drama, cooking, extra sport, choir, Taekwondo—to name a few. There is also a Homework Club and a Late Room.

It depends upon the nature of the needs, and each case is considered carefully. Due to the listed and historical nature of our buildings we have been unable to make many adjustments to the access. Therefore the premises would not be suitable for many of the physically disabled although we have had some who have thrived with us. When considering the cases of children with specific learning difficulties, our criteria are the answers to the following: will the child flourish in our school and will the child impede the learning of the others in the class? For more information request our special needs policy.

Our children are mainly from the areas within a three mile radius of the school.

The number varies a bit from year to year but is usually in the region of 350.

Contact details of other pupils in the class are given, and parents are encouraged to arrange play dates as soon as possible. We arrange for the new pupil to visit the school before starting to meet the class teacher, and if school is in session, the children. The first few days we assign a “buddy” to mentor the new comer. Meanwhile the Friends of Abercorn class representative will be in contact with the parents to welcome them as well. Everyone usually settles in very quickly!

Approximately 60% of our pupils are British, although in some cases it is only one parent that is British, the other having some other nationality. The rest are from varying parts of the world, with approximately 20% from North America.

Not from home, although we can provide an introduction to a bus service that provides door to door service. There is, however, an Abercorn internal bus service that operates from St. John’s Wood to Marylebone in the morning and does the return trip at the end of the school day.

Every parent is automatically a member of the Friends of Abercorn. This organisation is very active in the school, providing many social events for parents and pupils as well as assisting with school activities such as sports days and plays. It also interacts actively with the local community. Individual parents are welcome to come on class trips and are invited to come into the classroom if there is something they wish to share with the class: something unique to the family’s culture or perhaps a description of a profession.