What’s it like being a pupil at Sompting Abbotts Prep School?
Discover what life's like for pupils at Sompting Abbotts in their own words. Thank you to the children for taking part in these candid video interviews.
Sports are a passion for Ellie in Year 8 and she has achieved a Sports Scholarship to Lancing College. She tells us what she loves about the school. Sompting Abbotts is "a magical place", she says, adding that the small class sizes and dedicated teachers helped her win her prestigious scholarship.
Annabelle, Year 8, won the Ken Shearwood All Rounder Scholarship Award to Lancing College. She feels that she benefitted from the small class sizes at Sompting Abbotts and her "inspiring and supportive" teachers.
Toby in Year 8 looks back at his education at Sompting Abbotts. What has he appreciated most? The teachers, he says, who “make him feel really involved” in his lessons and the school's expansive grounds.
Rosalind, Year 8, looks back at her 10 years at the school. She's won a Drama Scholarship to Lancing College. She says she has "so many wonderful memories of the school".
Why do smaller class sizes improve academic outcomes?
The link between class size and attainment at primary school stage has now been acknowledged by the UK Department of Education.
The best results, evidence shows, are seen when classes drop below 20 pupils.
Smaller classes mean no child gets ‘lost in the middle’ or ‘forgotten in the crowd’ if they’re struggling.
They’ve also been proven to be better for both less able children and the more academically able children.
What child doesn’t love to collect handfuls of glossy brown conkers? At Sompting Abbotts, they don't just fill their pockets — even socks become makeshift pouches. And so, at this time of the year, we send the children out into our school grounds to look for shiny conkers (not that they need any persuading).