WELCOME!!!

At Mount House Preparatory School, set in its own grounds overlooking the market town of Tavistock in Devon, we aim to provide your children with a modern education, which teaches them enduring values. Although The School has occupied its present site for over 50 years, continuous development has ensured that it has all the up-to-date equipment and learning aids essential for providing a top-class independent preparatory education.

Mount House has first class academic, cultural and sporting facilities, and a dedicated team of highly qualified staff. We firmly believe that the fundamental attributes: kindness, curiosity, good manners, selfreliance, independence of thought and purposefulness are the real building blocks for later life. A child’s happiness and sense of security make up the plinth upon which all of these can stand.

Most children enter the main part of The School in September following their seventh birthday, joining the First Form (Year 3), and leave at thirteen (end of Year 8). The overall academic aim in the early years is to cover a broad syllabus which exceeds the demands of the national Curriculum and provides a firm foundation for achievement in the Fifth and Sixth Forms (Years 7 and 8). During these two final years, the syllabus is driven by the requirements of the Common Entrance and scholarship examinations to senior independent schools.

From the time they enter The School, all children study English, Mathematics, French, Science, History, Geography, Religious Studies, Computing, Music, Art, Design and Technology and Physical Education, with Latin studied from Year 5. Classes are small (16 is the norm) and pupils are streamed from Year 5.

All the children take part in Physical Education as part of the curriculum from the time they first enter the School. Outside lesson time the children have five games sessions per week each lasting around 1 hour 15 minutes.

Sport at Mount House is designed not simply to improve fitness, but also to develop the qualities of teamwork and leadership. There are regular cricket, rugby, football, hockey, rounders, netball, athletics, cross country, and squash fixtures with local and leading national prep schools. Home fixtures are usually followed by a post-match dinner, where children from both teams dine together to encourage a mature attitude to winning and losing, and towards their fellow sportsmen and sportswomen.

The School has first-class facilities, including an Astroturf pitch, eight grass pitches for rugby, football, cricket and rounders, indoor and outdoor cricket nets, a cross-country course, two netball courts, a nine-hole golf course and a heated outdoor swimming pool. The indoor sports facilities enable all-weather participation in hockey, tennis, squash, basketball, volleyball, netball, football and climbing. Fly-fishing is available on the lake or occasionally on the School’s stretch of the River Tavy.

At Mount House, children can board from the age of seven onwards. In addition to taking part in the full range of school activities, boarders develop independence and self-reliance, and learn the vital skills of living together with their peers – an excellent grounding for subsequent phases of their education, and for future life.

There are four houses, known as "Sets" for academic, conduct and sporting competition, and each set has four members of staff attached to it.

The School offers full modern and comfortable boarding facilities. The boys sleep in dormitories in the main building, supervised by the Houseparents, Matron and resident staff. The girls are accommodated in a separate house in the grounds, overseen by the resident Houseparents and Matron.

Prefects are given certain responsibilities to help in the day-to-day running of the School. There is always plenty for the children to do outside as well as inside the classroom, with a wide range of activities and clubs on offer. We are dedicated to helping the children enjoy every aspect of their time at Mount House.

We provide a happy, secure and stimulating environment for children just starting their school careers. The atmosphere is friendly, intimate and family-orientated. We have four classes, with a teacher and classroom assistant in each. Our staff/pupil ratio is 1:8.

We share Mount House’s superb facilities, and have access to the sports hall, playing fields, music school, theatre, swimming pool, all-weather sports pitch, adventure playground and IT room.

The staff have specialist knowledge of this age group. They present the Foundation Curriculum and later the National Curriculum in the most colourful way. We place great emphasis on acquiring sound skills at a rate suitable to the child, always mindful that they are young and entitled to an enriching time at school rather than being constantly forced through inappropriate hoops. Academic standards are high and we offer a broad range of activities including a variety of sports, drama, computing, music and healthy outdoor pursuits.