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British preparatory schools vary widely in the facilities which they offer the children. Some small schools offer only the most rudimentary facilities. Some larger schools have extensive well-equipped classrooms, laboratories, fine arts facilities, gyms, swimming pools, playgrounds, and games fields. The common public perception that private school children are pampered in luxurious surroundings is unfair and for the most part inaccurate. Until recently, it was probably fair to stay that state schools with their purpose-built buildings generally had facilities superior to most prep schools. Government funding for education, however, has declined in recent years. With the closing of some of the worst prep schools and the financial success of the better ones this situation has probably changed. In general there has been a major upgrading at many schools since the 1970s with the addition of new facilities and amenities. Many prep schools over the past few years have added modern classroom blocks and many amenities such as well-kept games fields, tennis courts, libraries, sports halls, swimming pools (often indoor for rear-round use), squash courts, science laboratories, computer rooms, etc. The stately old houses now generally serve as the center of the school, surrounded by many purpose-built buildings. As a result, the average prep school now probably does have facilities superior to most state primary schools. Some prep schools in fact seem almost like summer camps, offering a wide variety of non-academic activities to the children, including sailing, orienteering, tennis, golf, dance, musical instruments, etc. The advent of reasonably priced electronic equipment, especially video equipment and computers has had a major impact on prep school life. We were often given a tour of the schools how to conduct themselves on such tours and do a comendable job. Often we were more impressed with the usually confident, articulate guide than the buildings. Often they are quite proud of their school and enjoy the chance to miss a lesson or two and show off their school. Understandably they almost always turn to the impressive building or newly-built facilities.
Few prep schools are situated in buildings originally designed as schools. They have generally acquired the country estates of wealthy families which could not afford the steep British taxes as well as the upkeep and the staff needed to run a large house. In some cases the buildings are of historical value, some even dating to the 15th and 16th century. A typical such school is Ashfold in Buckinghamshire. The main school building is Dorton House, "the beautiful many-gabled manor house" described in many guide books. It was the ancestral home of the Aubrey-Fletcher family and was built in 1626. It is interesting to note the imagination used to covert such homes to school use. The stables has been converted into rooms for dramatics, art, music, and carpentry. Other schools use ballrooms for dance classes and other group activities. It is fascinating see children nonchalantly studying away in buildings that in America would be major tourist attraction. Many buildings have richly-paneled rooms or ceilings with elaborate moldings. Some have impressive great halls with massive fireplaces, some times used for morning assemblies. Almost all come with a wealth of histories, replete with the obligatory school ghost which range from Tudor traitors or Civil War cavaliers to love-sick Edwardian school mistresses.
Prep schools had a wide range of classrooms. Some look to come right out of the turn of the 20th century while others are very modern. There were obvious differences in the classrooms for younger and older children. There were also significant differences depending on the school buildings. Many prep schools were not purpose-built schools. Schools using old manor houses had to adapt rooms in the house for classrooms or dormitoriy use. This thus gave the classrooms a very different look and feel than classrooms in purpose-built schools. Some of the classes in these old buildings were quite cramped almost filled with desks. Other prep schools were purpose-built schools. Many were a comination including both a manor house or other large stately home to which purpose-built school buildings have been added. Most of the prep schools we saw were arranged very traditionally with desks arranged towrd the front where the teacher had his or her dress.
One of the most far reaching changes occuring at most schools during the 1980s was the appearance of comuters. The initinal introduction to computing was tentaive
as few staff members had the experience to use them. The first computers purchased in the early 1980s were quite expensive and had rather limited capabilites. Only a small number of educational applications were initially available. Most schools. strictly limited access, often reserving them for the senior boys. Schools in the 1980s were still adjusting to the computer. Most schools now have specialized computing rooms, equipped with increasingly powerful personal computers. Most provide weekly computers classes so that the leavers are computer literate. Initially the computer at many schools was looked on as a kind of toy. Now most schools 'recognize that basic computer skills are esential both in school and the work place. For some children, the computer room has become the focus of their leisure activities. The children are intially drawn to the computers by the games which can be played, but soon discover the power and uses to which they can be put.
Many prep schools certainly are set in beautifully landscaped, spacious grounds. It is not unusual for a country boarding school to have grounds comprising 25 acres or more, some have grounds exceeding 100 acres. Often the schools have taken over spacious country homes and the grounds that individuals can no longer afford to maintain. Highfield in Hampshire, for example, is situated on about 170 acres of woodlands and fields. Many schools even have lovely ponds (such as Felsted, Old Buckenham Hall, Streete Court, ?????, and Walhampton) that the children can use for boating practice, fishing, nature study, and other activities. Wide expanses of verdant green grass provide graceful settings for cricket and other sports pitches bordered by impressive stands of stately trees. One wonders about the impact of stately manor houses and beautiful grounds on the children. One Gloucestershire headmaster insists that such soroundings "cannot fail to have a beneficial influence on a young boy." The younger prep school children seem to take such suroundings for granted, probably assuming that they are nothing out of the ordinary. While the children generally have little to say about the suroundings, one can't help but think that an impact. It would be nice to think that exposure to beautiful grounds and architecture may help develop the child's asetic sence.
Older prep schools tended to convert a large room in the old homes that became prep schools into a gymnasium. The rooms tended to have limited gym facilities and old creeky wooden floors. There were limitations on just what althetics activities could be conducted in these gyms. They were used as multi-purpose roooms for assemblies, dance, lectures, music, theater, and oither activities, depending on the size of the school and other available facilities. Thus therecwas often items in these older gyms like pianos that had had noting to do with gymnastics and athletics. And can get in the way of athletic and sports activities. These older gyms were beng replaced by schools with the financial ability to do so. But some schools were limited both by space and finance.
Many successful schools in recent years have had the money to build stand-alone gyms. These are modern facilities with improved surfaces. The primary purpose of these facilities are athletics and sports in inclement weaher as well as a play area for the children during the winter when it gets dark early. The new gyms are stan alone facilities and thus much more spacious than the older facilities which tnded to be large rooms in the old homes that were converted into prep schools.
Science was not one of the major activities in prep schools until very recently. Schools have had to add labortories as sciene has become a more important part of the curiculum. Here there are significant variations from dschool to school as to the available laboratory facilities.
One facility which rather surprisingly varies widely from school to school is an adequate library. Some schools do have well-sticked, modern libraries. Most schools, however, usually have only a small room with a lmited number of reference books. A relatively small number of schools have what most educators would deem adequate for a modern school. The authors found this surprising, especially in schools that are generally regarded such effective schools. Even more so in that schools generally give such great priority to encouraging the children to read. A school inspector told one headmaster that the libraries at many prep schools he had inspected, "look like like something straight out of the worst of the last century. " Some of the better libraries are maintained by Malsis, Moor Park, and ???. Some schools supplement their limited number of volumes with visits or book borrowing arrangements with the local country library. This is especially important for children working on. individual research projects. Most schools make inexpensise paper backs available at bookstands, tuck, and rest period selection that the children can purchase and exchange with each other.
Many schools have the same hard surface play areas that state schools commonly have. This tends to be the focus of morning break where the boys commonly have a go at cricket batting, but normally use a tennis ball. A range of other games are also popular and vary seasinally and from school to school. The girls less commonly participate in these active games. A few schools have impressive adventure play grounds or even assault courses for the older children. The adventure play grounds are very popular with the younger children. Some like the one at Walhampton are quite impressive strutures and in constant use. The older children, are often quite proud of masteriung their assault courses, such as the one at Brambletye in Sussex, Hordle House in Hampshire, Moor Park in Oxfordshire, and St. Richard's in Herefordshire enjoy demonstating their facility to visitors. Moor Park describes its assault course: "Finally, we have built an "army style" assault course in the woods next to the school. The local T.A. have been to try it out, advise on improvements and make sure it is safe. The children swing across streams on ropes, fall in, cross oozing mud on logs, fall in, climb in and out over various obstacles and fall in again: as one 8 year old put it, 'Super, you know, like Tarzan!'" Usually the schools with elaborate outdoor. gym facilities will require the children to go through a saftey orientation before using the more elaborate facilties. Even so, some schools report difficulties obtaining insurance at reasonable cost for some of these facilities.
