As a boy, Ben Thompson was a fidgety pupil. He recalls exasperating teachers at Sompting Abbotts Prep School with his incessant tapping on his desk. Today, he’s still tapping! He's now a drummer with chart-topping Indie band Two Door Cinema Club and in-demand session performer. Ben talked to us about his life and career.
Read MoreWhat is the Common Entrance exam? Stuart Douch, Headmaster of West Sussex private school Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School, has the answers to all your questions. Firstly, it’s unique and not that 'common'. It's a series of examinations taken by children in the Summer term of Year 8. These prepare children superbly for GCSE.
Read MoreDon’t think you have to take your child to the Open Day. But, if your child is mature enough to come along, then definitely take them with you. Don’t rely on the school inspection report. They tell you little about the school’s ethos. Don’t turn down a school tour from a pupil. Don’t rely on the marketing materials. To get behind the gloss, there’s nothing like actually visiting a school.
Read MoreCelebrated novelist Alex Preston recalls his memories of his Worthing independent school Sompting Abbotts: "I saw the school, fell in love with it, and begged to be sent there. It was all of my Jennings/Malory Towers fantasies rolled into one gothic dream of a building."
Read MoreSompting Abbotts Preparatory School is an independent school in Sussex that owes its existence today to two families and their descendants. Those families were the Rutherfords and the Sinclairs. We're lucky enough to be able to travel back in time through their memoirs.
Read MoreHere's Pre-Prep Co-Head Mrs Carrington's top 10 books for pre-schoolers. She says: "I always try to match books to children’s interests but there’s a few ‘secret sauce’ ingredients the best books have to show to really grab the attention of children in the age 2 – 4 year group."
Read MoreOld Abbottonian Nicholas (Nick) Linfield was awarded an OBE for his Services to Defence in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List. It’s 50 years since Nick began his education at West Sussex independent school Sompting Abbotts. We invited him to talk about his education and career – and to reveal why he’s proud to be the only former pupil on the school’s scholarship Honours’ Boards whose son and daughter feature there too …
Read MoreShould you send your child to a prep school? Is prep school the best way to invest in your child’s future? Or should you save your money for senior school? Or even just for the sixth-form years? It’s a fair question. Here's some good advice if you're mulling it over …
Read MoreNed Mortimer, lead singer of the talented band August and After, has revealed that the lyrics to his successful track, The Orchard, from the album Embers, was inspired by his time as a child at West Sussex independent school Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School. Here he talks about his life today and just how he came to write that special song …
Read MoreThere’s a sport out there that every child (even the non-sporty types!) will love, says former Sompting Abbotts pupil Matt Richbell. Now Director of Sports at leading independent school Trinity in Croydon, he believes the life lessons sports teach children go far beyond the physical benefits. They will make your child more successful academically too.
Read MoreInternational best-selling author Alex Preston wrote this short story based on Sompting Abbotts. It was included in the nation's favourite annual guide to the short story: Best British Short Stories in 2016. "It was 100% Sompting Abbotts that I was imagining in the story," said Alex Preston, a former pupil of the West Sussex independent school. Set after World War 1, it is about a boy who buys his prep school. The story has been illustrated with archive photographs and drawings produced by Year 8 pupils from Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School.
Read MoreHow much screen time is healthy for your child? Scientists have predicted that use of the Internet exposure may change the way children think. So are we in the middle of an unstoppable experiment with our children? So just what is the impact of screen-based technologies and social media on our children's well-being, attention spans, learning and creative abilities? And how do we balance the recognition that digital skills will be essential to our children’s futures in the workplace?
Read MoreThe unearthing of a letter from 1939 at Sompting Abbotts' Preparatory School has connected an Australian man to his British family during WW2. The letter was found under the floorboards of an old dormitory. Now, the school, intrigued by the letter’s discovery, has succeeded in tracing the identity of ‘Jim’ across continents to his son, Craig, in Australia.
Read MoreWhat's the difference between a feeder and non-feeder school in the independent schools sector? And how do you choose the right school for your child when not all children have the same needs, interests and abilities? Headmaster Stuart Douch explains Sompting Abbotts is a non-feeder school because he believes no single school will suit all children equally.
Read MoreCBeebies’ new popular programme, Olobob Top, features the voice of Veronica Painter, a pupil at West Sussex independent school Sompting Abbotts. It was the debut voiceover performance for the 10-year-old who plays the character of an endearing squirrel called Crunch. So was it fun? And what’s involved with bringing a script off the page for an audience who can’t see you?
Read MoreIt's over 35 years since the Great Storm of 1987 which tore through the South East of England, ripping great trees from their roots, damaging properties and causing loss of life. West Sussex independent school Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School, located high on its hilltop overlooking the south coast, would take the brunt, as the winds turned south-westerly and smashed straight into its path.
Read MoreI bet you never thought of music as a STEM skill? STEM is a buzzword you'll probably have heard a lot if you follow the education world as we do here. STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and maths – needed to fill the jobs of today. Yet music is a subject that's being cut
Read MoreThe transition from nursery to ‘big school’ or Reception can seem huge – both to you as parent and to your child! But with the right preparation, your pre-schooler will be just as able to meet the challenge as the little mouse who took on the Gruffalo. Read on to discover how your little one get ‘big school-ready’ and how to say goodbye on that first day so it’s a happy one your child – and you!
Read MoreThere's a guilty thrill that comes with reading other people's letters, and doubly so, when that letter opens a window into the past. A well-thumbed hand-written letter, dated 1939, to a pupil at Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School, a private school near Worthing, was discovered under the floorboards of an old dorm. It's a fascinating glimpse into the past.
Read MoreHoping your child might win a prized academic scholarship? Independent schools have a strong record of honouring talented and hardworking pupils with scholarships. Scholarships are not only awarded for academic potential, but also for success and potential in sports, music, drama and art. Scholarships usually mean prestige and financial help.
Read MoreFollowing our earlier announcement in July of the shortlisted entries for the Independent Schools of the Year 2023 awards, we're delighted Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School has been selected as a Finalist in the Independent School of the Year for Environmental Achievement category.
Sompting Abbotts warmly welcomes Mr Chris Gunn as Headmaster, taking the mantle from Mr Stuart Douch who served from 2013-2023. We're grateful that Mr Douch will continue to enrich our community as Head of English and History. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for his excellent past leadership.
At Sompting Abbotts, we adopt a school-wide ethos that embodies our commitment to the environment. Its principles – 'Embrace Nature; Embrace Learning; Embrace Childhood' – are threaded through our teaching, influencing every child's journey from Pre-Prep to Upper Prep. Our 30-acre grounds and woodland in the South Downs National Park are at its roots.
Sompting Abbotts’ annual Speech Cup of Poetry and Performance saw every child from Years 3 - 8 learn and recite a poem by heart! The best performances were chosen at a special competition in front of an audience of their peers and their parents. It was judged by an external expert adjudicator.
Pupils have been working as dissection detectives in the science lab at Sompting Abbotts Prep School. They have been investigating Barn Owl pellets found in the school grounds.
© Sompting Abbotts School Ltd. Companies House registration number 417499: Registered office: Sompting Abbotts School Ltd, Church Lane, Sompting, West Sussex, BN15 0AZ. Tel: 01903 235960. Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School is an independent school in West Sussex, located near Worthing, Steyning and Brighton. It is a member of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools. Bursaries /financial assistance may occasionally be awarded to suitable applicants in cases of genuine demonstrated financial need. Contact: The Principal, Patricia Sinclair, Church Lane, Sompting, West Sussex, BN15 0AZ. Email: office@somptingabbotts.com Website Privacy Notice. Terms & Conditions. Cookies. Website concept, design, videography, photography and copywriting by www.connectedcopy.co.uk
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).