Upton House School, Windsor | Fees, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

This is a really special school, surprised to read a few negative reviews below as we have three children at the school and the overwhelming feeling amongst our friends is that our children are so lucky to be there! The teachers are incredibly supportive and no stone is left unturned to find ways to make learning enjoyable. Classes are small and nurturing but we love that the school is ambitious and everyone is encouraged to have a go at everything. The preparation for senior school is particularly impressive, our eldest has just left the school with her choice of senior schools and scholarships. It’s a very happy place, I would recommend to anyone without reservation.

I have two girls and a boy at Upton and have nothing but praise for the school. The children started in pre-nursery through to year six they literally run into the school gates every day with a huge smile on their faces. They love the teachers and and there is such a warm and happy feeling when you walk around the school, with kids chattering and laughing and skipping down the corridors. We live quite close to the school and I particularly love to hear this from the playground at lunchtimes and games hours.

Upton is a prep school and therefore an academically focused school so work ethics is very important, but they understand that kids come in all shapes and sizes and they help with any issues along the way – extra help is given for those that need it. They aim to bring out the best in each individual child and focus on each child”s best qualities.

Children are encouraged to do homework from their first year in pre-prep (reading and spellings at first, through to maths in the last term) and this builds up considerably in the later years. I personally think this is great preparation for their senior school years and for a good work ethic in general.

Music and drama are very much a focus at the school with so many children playing an instrument. The school play at the end of the year is always so professionally done and the talent from the kids is wonderful to watch- I think the fact that the kids perform to parents each term in an assembly (and music soirees etc) prepares even the quietest children for these moments. It’s so lovely to see the confidence bloom over time.

The after school clubs are often updated each term ranging from most sports including football, rugby, tennis, cricket, netball, hockey lacrosse through to media studies, art, cooking, languages, ballet, acro, jazz (Heidi Rhodes dance teachers), judo and fencing.

The school now uses the York Club in the Windsor Great Park for the larger games lessons (football, rugby, hockey etc) and it’s such a stunning place for the kids to have these lessons and for parents to watch fixtures – the Upton match teas are a huge hit with the kids, and the parents!

We were so lucky to have the school help us during lock down. They put together ‘Upton at home’ in a very short period and so the kids were able to have some kind of normality and structure during that time -they had a full term of lessons. The children had daily timetable and live teaching using ‘Microsoft teams’ – they even learnt to upload their own work for the teachers to see. They were even encouraged to wear their school uniform every morning to make the school day feel as normal as possible. A live assembly started the day for all the children, and the older children enjoyed lessons until late afternoon . The little ones had small group chats and learning with their teachers and classmates and had pre-prepared lessons for them to enjoy at anytime of the day. I know from family and friends that many of the independent schools in the area and Country did not do this- most were just given daily work to print out (like these other schools Upton had also reduced the fees during this period).

As for the deposit for the school – this is the same that applies for all independent schools in the area and the same for the senior schools – if it was refundable then there would be no point in having one.

Rhian Thornton is a wonderful headteacher – I never see her without a smile for children and parents. My children comment on how kind she is to them and particularly how Mrs Thornton never gets cross (pointed out to me when I got cross with them one day:) ). She works extremely hard to make sure any problem is fixed and never forgets to follow up on them. She keeps the school up to date and is very forward thinking. The happiness of the children are her main priority.

My children are always sad at the end of each term and excited at the start of a new one. We have friends at other schools in the area and we know we have made the correct choice for our family.

Both my boys have been to Upton. My elder son did well at the school but largely due to his own excellent work ethic and private tutor. My son did not develop much confidence at the school as the school has little idea how to develop confidence in quiet children. A lot of very loud and boisterous children at the school therefore the quiet ones are not given the opportunity to speak and simply hidden in the crowd. My younger son simply failed to thrive at the school. Most days came home crying particularly in Transition, initially the teacher showed little empathy and academically we felt he had fallen behind. We found the curriculum to be very simple and it was worrying us hugely that our son was learning so little and other Independent schools had much more rigorous curriculums which challenged children. Hence my wife home schooled him for a year with private tuition and since then he has thrived in every subject. When applying to any school it is crucial you are not swayed by Ofsted/ISI reports as they are meaningless if the school is not right for your child. We always felt that some of the staff were not genuine or caring and many times we experienced a few teachers who wouldn’t even greet you in the mornings or would rudely look the other way! Towards the end we were genuinely disappointed with the school for many reasons.

More interested in obtaining the non refundable registration fee from you than anything else! Was told there is a available place for my child soo followed their each step through to the taster day, which I must add there was zero feedback given on, only to be told they no longer have a available space!! On our first visit around the school the teaching staff generally seemed very nice and accommodating. I’m afraid I cannot say the same about the head teacher Mrs Rhiannon. It all seemed very rushed. When I questioned the head teacher she was not even sure when I had sent the admission form in and was insisting I sent it in later than I had even though I had a online receipt from the school hence why they had given the place to someone else. The admissions lady is just appalling and only responds when suits her! I must add I was spoken to in very rude and obnoxious manner by the headteacher when I challenged her about why all of a sudden there was no place available for my child after they had recieved the NON REFUNDABLE registration fee. Any how it was clear to me that this school is obviously very selective in who they accept and I made the decision that I will not be sending my child to this school and was refunded my NON REFUNDABLE FEE which seemed very strange in its self. All very questionable! Please do go through everything thoroughly as the feeling I got from this place was its not a school or place of comfort for your child, instead a through and through business!!

I left a negative review here about the prejudice/racism and disrespect I experienced as a black mother of a special needs child in this school and it got taken down.