WHAT/ WHERE?

St Gabriel's School Seniors outside the main building

St Gabriel’s in Newbury is an all-through school and nursery (ages 6 months – 18 years), set in 54 acres of Grade II listed Capability Brown parkland. It’s family focused, big on pastoral care and has a wholesome feel that allows children to be children, while developing independence at their own pace.

This year, the Senior School started to make the move to co-ed, welcoming boys into Y7 and Y8 for the first time in the school’s history. The transition will be gradual, with a second entry point for boys in Y9 and Y12 in September 2024 and fully co-ed by 2026.

St Gabriel's NEWBURY PERIOD WINDOWS AND LAVENDER

The Grade I listed building dates back to the 12th Century when it was known as Sandleford Priory. St Gabriel’s, founded in Mill Hill in London, moved here in 1948. Since then it has expanded dramatically, adding a Junior School and Nursery to the offering. Each class is a maximum of 20 and there are just 500-ish pupils across all ages groups. For an all-through school, that’s small.

FACILITIES

St Gabriel’s is not a place that spends money here there and everywhere, just for the sake of it. They are respectful of the building and wear its period past like a badge of honour. It’s actually what makes the place feel very homely. That said, there’s plenty of cool kit and refurbished spaces to ooh and ahh over, not least the science labs, DT and art studios, as well as ‘Gabbies’ – a cool café used by the whole school, but Y11 and Sixth Form privileges mean only they can use it at break.

SPORT

With 54 acres to play, there’s a good offering. A large sports hall with new changing rooms, an outdoor pool, hard courts for netball and tennis, football, tag rugby and hockey pitches, climbing wall and a cross country course that stretches up to Greenham Common. With the introduction of boys in Y7, St Gabriel’s has forged links with Newbury Rugby Club and Falkland Cricket Club. Yoga, trampolining and body balance are also an option for older seniors.

Lots of matches and sports tours to enjoy and teams are selected based on attendance to training as well as ability. Co-curricular clubs and regular house matches give everyone the opportunity to experience the emotional rollercoaster of winning and losing. It’s worth noting the quality of the sports teachers and coaching staff is excellent. A great asset, especially for talented/ elite young athletes.

SENIOR SPORT AT ST GABRIEL'S SCHOOL NEWBURY BOYS PLAYING CRICKET WITH COACH

Boys sport is the obvious concern when a school goes from single sex girls to co-ed. But the planning has been meticulous. For instance, Falkland Cricket Club provides a home pitch for the Seniors and new indoor cricket nets have also been added to the sports hall.

An all-weather pitch is on the development plan, but when you’re caretaking Grade II listed grounds, there are many hoops to jump through before it gets signed off by the local planning department.

PERFORMING ARTS

The show-stopping space for me is the restored Oval Room. It’s an elegant space made for music lessons and concert recitals. Music plays a big part in St Gabriel’s life. I love that they cover everything from classical and 12-bar blues to Latin American dance rhythms and rock. Composing their own material is encouraged and the awesome teachers are on hand to nurture that enthusiasm.

BUGSY MALONE PRODUCTION ST GABRIEL'S SCHOOL NEWBURY BERKShIRE

If your child has been practicing their awards speech since birth, the black box theatre with tiered seating is a super space for drama fans and there is a specialist dance studio to perfect their arabesques. Pupils can also learn to use the lighting desk and the art of stage lighting for productions if there’re more excited about the backstage techy stuff.

WHAT ELSE?

Girl using machinery in DT St Gabriels' School Newbury Berkshire

Art and design technology studios are also very good, boasting a kiln, photographic dark room and plenty of space to get creative with textiles, canvas or mixed media. Very inspiring and pretty tidy as Art Rooms go.

The DT studio looks like the R&D lab of The Conran Shop. Seriously impressive product design going on in there, making full use of the power tools, 3D printer, laser cutter and 10 computer workstations.

SIXTH FORM

SIXTH FORM PUPILS IN CLASSROOM AT ST GABRIEL'S SCHOOL NEWBURY BERKSHIRE

The ethos is the same, but there’s a shift in focus as these older teens look at life beyond school. Sixth Form centres around the farmhouse. It’s a separate building away from the main school which is used for tutorials, lessons, coffee and catch up in the kitchen, study or hanging out.

A Level subjects available to study are relatively traditional, with the exception of photography and lens-based media, DT and graphics. The EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is compulsory with many unis loving the dissertation style skills developed. It also boosts your UCAS points, too.

St Gabriel’s Sixth Form is homely, but gives students more independence. Lots of extracurricular activities based on practical skills they’ll need – future med students can have practical sessions in suturing and preparing for tests. There’s lots of support to find the right uni courses and ensure they nail the application. World Challenge, Gold Duke of Edinburgh, the cookery course, safe driving, business challenges and debating are all popular.

ACADEMICS

St Gabriel's NewburySENIOR SCHOOL PUPIL SCIENCE

There’s one word you hear a lot at St Gabriel’s – BALANCE! Although selective, it’s not aggressively selective to clamber to the top of the league tables. Expectations are high, but it’s the polar opposite of an academic hothouse creating a galaxy of A*. The exam results have improved a lot over the years, but the emphasis is still very much on being well-rounded, discovering individual passions and helping them achieve their career goals – be it a shoe designer, doctor, lawyer, crime investigator, politician or cheese farmer. Success comes in all shapes and sizes.

Marking was back to pre-Covid levels, but the haul was still impressive. At GCSE 36% achieved grade 9-7 (A*-A), with 11% bringing home top marks. At A level 71% got A-B, 42% A*-A and they smashed the hot right now EPQ with 69% scooping up A*-A. Destination unis include big names like Exeter, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Cardiff and Loughborough as well as more modern campuses like Southampton, Swansea, Aberdeen and UAL.

PASTORAL CARE

BOY WORKING IN SENIOR SCHOOL CLASSROOM ST GABRIEL'S SCHOOL NEWBURY BERKSHIRE

One of its standout strengths. Pastoral care and wellbeing are not ‘nice to haves’ here, but integral to St Gabriel’s success. Happy, well-rounded children do well in the classroom. FACT. There’s a warmth that emanates throughout the school, children are free to be children. All ages climb trees and play outside – white markers gently reminding them how far they can go.

Outdoor education is trending in UK schools and St Gabriel’s is no exception. Making the most of the stonking grounds and mental health benefits, outdoor learning now a curriculum subject – and for the Seniors comes under the heading, ‘Sustainability’. The Director of Outdoor Education appointed to ensure the kids are banking those softer skills like collaboration, communication, problem solving and team building, but for the older pupils looking more critically and academically at the environment, climate change and eco initiatives.

An orienteering course has been created and Years 7 and 8 can now do a mini Duke of Edinburgh, before graduating to do their bronze, silver and gold. The school is mindful of the pressures that teens and tweens are under, being outside as much as possible to let off steam, gives them that all important balance and opportunity to decompress.

THE HEAD

Head ricki with students at St gabriel's School Newbury Berkshire

Principal Ricki Smith arrived at St Gabriel’s in 2016. He’s an English teacher by profession (Harper Lee’s To Kill The Mockingbird is his must-read), with a love for the dramatic. Ricki’s often roped into help bring subjects alive. Most recently playing the role of King Polydectes in a classics lesson, wearing a crown at his desk, speaking lines (although he would have liked more).

He has overseen the transition to co-ed, but wanted to ensure the school was ready to take the leap. He did a huge amount of research, speaking to other schools to find out what worked and what didn’t so they didn’t make any avoidable mistakes. This meant from the facilities and academics to the communication of the plan, everything was plotted to create a positive atmosphere of change.

SCIENCE AT ST GABRIEL'S SCHOOL NEWBURY BERKSHIRE

He’s very mindful of the Y7 and Y8 ‘pioneers’ being the first, and welcomes feedback from parents and pupils. Planning was meticulous but he’s confident a small school means that problems are spotted and solved swiftly. Sport was an obvious concern for parents of boys joining the Senior School, but they forged strong links with Newbury Rugby Club and Falkland Cricket Club to get the boys off to a flying start – and the girls benefit too. In fact, the Senior School home cricket pitch is based at Falkland CC to avoid any costly sixes when a cricket ball goes through one of the heritage windows.

He’s also introduced blended learning, with each child using their own device to support their learning in class. Textbooks are now online, cool apps can be incorporated in lessons and feedback is speedy. No kids are complaining, the lighter school bags will save them a fortune with the osteopath later in life. Ricki is witty, engaging and mindfully ambitious. He’s got a great team around him and is always keen to give his teaching staff credit for St Gabriel’s success. Humility and humour – it’s a killer combination.

The only school to have Dame Betty Day. It’s the name given to a day off on the last Friday of November. This was a gift from the late Dame Betty Ridley – a school governor and quiet trailblazer who spent her life campaigning for the ordination of women priests in the Church of England. Everyone downs tools to spend the day doing something or nothing. Nail the Christmas shopping, write Christmas cards, enjoy a movie marathon, go to the theatre… you decide. But it really is the gift that keeps on giving and there was not a single person I spoke to who didn’t say it was their favourite day. No school/work is the kind of joy we love. Well done, Dame Betty.

QUIRKS

Not many schools boast Capability Brown gardens, but St Gabriel’s has the honour. In fact, the parkland here is Grade II listed and the old priory building is Grade I listed. This could be a nightmare for schools trying to adapt period houses so that they are fit for purpose. But there’s a real sense of the St Gabriel’s working with the building rather than fighting against it. The payback for the pupils is the unique and special classrooms.

FEES

PUPIL PLAYING DRUMS AT ST GABRIEL'S SCHOOL NEWBURY BERKSHIRE

Blissfully straightforward. Y7-Y9 is £6,778 per term and Y10-Y13 £7,026 – including lunch. Expect to pay extra for individual music and drama lessons and public exams. In Sixth Form, there’s an additional termly charge of £72 to cover the many additional activities and events.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Frazzled working parents, there is hope. St Gabriel’s runs a Breakfast Club from 7.30am to 8.15am (£5 per day) and supervised prep sessions from 4pm to 6.30pm which won’t cost you a penny more than you’re already paying. There’s also an excellent network of mini buses which head out to the surrounding villages scooping up kids from Ramsbury, Lambourn, Hermitage, Pangbourne, Basingstoke, Overton, and Andover, plus a shuttle from Newbury train station.

PUPIL IN LIBRARY AT ST GABRIEL'S SCHOOL NEWBURY BERKSHIRE

ISI REPORT

Rated Excellent & Outstanding in its most recent 2019 inspection report.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Very positive. St Gabriel’s is the antidote to those hot-housing schools that talk happiness and all-round ability but have a gimlet eye on silverware at every turn. Parents love the nurturing, family atmosphere and the teachers work very hard to ensure individuals thrive rather than survive. Although very happy with the sport provision, a few commented that they’re not exactly feared and revered on the pitch.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Those looking for a homely, inclusive school that puts pastoral care and happiness at the top of the agenda, expecting achievement to follow from that. The academic results show it’s working.

Not for: St Gabriel’s is not flash, but that is part of its charm. If you’re looking for all bells and whistles, move on!

Dare to disagree?! Be my guest! The next Whole School Open Morning is: Sat 28 Sept 2024. Individuals tours are by appointment only.

Read the St Gabriel’s Junior School review here.

St Gabriel’s, Sandleford Priory, Newtown Rd, Newtown, Greenham, Newbury RG20 9BD. Tel 01635 555680

St Gabriel’s (Senior School), Newbury

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