• The school is warm, ambitious and life ready, and aims to help each child realise their potential through academic achievement and broad activity.

• Will suit families wanting a family-feel prep with lots going on and a clear line of sight to the next school.

Admissions at The Hawthorns School should appeal to families seeking a warm Surrey prep with a genuine nursery-to-13+ journey and a clear family atmosphere. The school should suit parents who want a traditional day prep with lots of activity, visible care and strong preparation for later senior-school moves.

Scholarships matter more at the point of senior-school transfer than as a big internal prep-school headline, so families should ask directly about any current support or award routes. The more obvious attraction is the school’s family-feel prep environment and the breadth of opportunities available before the next stage.

The overall picture is warm, outdoorsy and confidence building, with the school foregrounding academic achievement, breadth of activity and a family atmosphere in equal measure. Parents should still visit because the key question is whether the tone feels sufficiently ambitious and suitably nurturing for their child.

Assessment at The Hawthorns is regular, encouraging and steadily demanding, with staff monitoring academic progress carefully while also building confidence, resilience and independence. Families should expect a prep that takes 11+ and 13+ preparation seriously without reducing children to a constant cycle of formal testing.