“Once through the iron gates, you are transported to another world.”

Published by Lockers Park School on Thursday 15th of December 2022

Lockers Park School has once again been selected for a review in The Tatler Schools Guide 2023.

Tatler magazine carries out a year-round programme of research, including in-person visits and in-depth parental questionnaires, to choose the best 250 independent senior and prep schools in the UK for inclusion in its Guide.

The latest review for Lockers Park highlights the school’s new focus on metacognition, the strength of its pastoral support, as well as the beautiful 23-acre grounds.

Tori Cadogan, Education Editor for Tatler, writes: “To earn an entry in the Tatler School’s Guide, [schools] must offer the whole package: holistic pastoral care; a focus on character-forming as much as pure academics; and the ability to accommodate and nurture all their pupils so that they leave as well-educated and, most importantly, happy young people.”

The latest Lockers Park review is as follows:

‘Once through the iron gates, you are transported to another world,’ says one parent of arriving at this purposefully small boys’ prep, perched on a 23-acre green oasis in Hemel Hempstead. Pupils love being outside and are ‘mad’ about the shubbery, where they build camps and trade in fir cones and conkers. Gavin Taylor took up the headship in July 2021; he is described by one parent as ‘steady, approachable and present’. A new focus on ‘metacognition’ teaching methods has been introduced, whereby boys are taught to think reflectively, critically and creatively. The ‘student listener’ scheme is an excellent example of peer-to-peer support. Boys move to the likes of Eton, Harrow and Bedford. 

The Tatler Schools Guide 2023 was published at the start of September.