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Taunton School gets glowing review from top schools guide

Posted: 27th March 2017

Taunton School is delighted to have been described by a top UK school guide as, ambitious, kind, terrific fun and a school ‘for every boy and girl’.

The independent school, which has 530 pupils in its Senior School and Sixth Form, received particular praise for its pastoral care with the review panel observing “this is a school you quickly feel at home in.”

The school was recently reviewed by the independent Good Schools Guide – the number one trusted guide to schools in the UK aimed at helping parents in every aspect of choosing the best education for their children.

The review stated: “Of all the school’s greatest hits, pastoral care stands at #1. It’s an inclusive sort of place; a parent told us ‘You’d struggle not to fit in’.”

It went on to say: “Another parent remarked: ‘This is a school which is far more interested in the welfare of every one of its children than it is in looking good to the outside world’.”

It highlighted the Schools broad co-curricular offering and said: “‘This is a school that really values breadth,’ a parent told us. Another: ‘Taunton students ‘have absolutely no understanding of boredom’. All parents agree that when lessons are over there’s masses to do.”

It highlighted sport in particular: “This is a sporting hotspot that takes a characteristically professional approach to maxing out the talents of all students.”

The review said that the School was especially popular with hardworking local entrepreneurs, business people and professionals for a number of whom this is their first experience of private education – a higher proportion than you’ll find at many independent schools.

It praised the School’s results particularly in light of its non-selective approach and a number of subjects were highlighted as strong with well-equipped classrooms. In particular the reviewer wrote: “Design technology blinking brilliant, masses of kit – oscillating spindle sander, inverted trend router, Wizard CNC PLASMAWIZ 44 CNC plasma cutter, you name it.”

It continued: “The music offer is multifarious, everything from chamber music ensembles to big musicals – in recent years, Phantom, Evita, Cats. There are choirs, overseas tours – in short, around 40 public performances a year” and it praised the busy drama department which offers productions for which anyone can audition.

The School’s outstanding guidance in choosing sixth form options, A Level, IB or BTEC, the right subjects and thereafter making university and careers choices also stood out.

Also highlighted is that children can be educated from 0-18 and that the three most senior managers in the Senior School are state educated.

The review stated that the integration with the international school, feeding around 45 different nationalities into the school, makes Taunton “fundamentally different in spirit from schools that look abroad opportunistically to top up ad hoc. ‘The friendships my daughter has made,’ said one parent, ‘have made the world a smaller place.’”

It concluded: “But what makes the school so likeable, so agreeable, is its individuality: kind, hardworking, ambitious, terrific fun, very much its own person – a good fit for everyboy and everygirl.”

Headmaster Lee Glaser said: “We are delighted to get such a rave review from the expert panel at the Good Schools Guide who scrutinise schools up and down the country. It reassuringly confirms that all the aspects of education that we strive to offer are clearly evident in our everyday activities. Knowing our pupils really well and tailoring our teaching and learning to each individual is at the centre of what we do.” 

Read the full review here or visit the Good Schools Guide website.

 

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