Downsend School
Description of Downsend School
- Location: Laserhead, Ashstead, Epsom, Surrey, UK
- Students age: 2 to 18 years old
- Language of instruction: English
- Type of study: full time, half board.
Downsend Prep School is a modern, innovative and progressive private school located in the UK. The educational institution is a part of the international educational network Cognita, which has up to 70 points in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
The school has three campuses: in the city of Leatherhead, the settlement of Ashstad and in the town of Epsom. Downsend School offers students from the UK and other countries full-time education and is one of the leading schools in countries where children and adolescents can receive high-quality secondary education.
In 2019, Downsend Prep School entered the short list of the best participants in the competition "Independent Schools of the Year 2019".
Programs and prices, tuition fees in Downsend School
Preschool Learning (Little Downsend Teaching)
- Age: 2-6 years old
- Dates: September-July
- Duration: from 1 year.
The youngest students of Downed school can start studying here from 2 years old. Preschool education includes several stages in which children gradually come to the format of education as in a classical high school. The curriculum for young students is based on a game format that combines lessons both indoors and outdoors.
From the first year, children follow a key phase of the national curriculum. With the transition to a new level, the course becomes more structured. Up to 6 years, children develop concentration, listening, speech in the language, hand motility, physical coordination, and also receive the first skills in reading, writing and comprehending concepts such as time, color, number, shape, size.
Starting from 2 years old, students begin to study French, music, art, technology, physical education and dancing - all in a simple game format. In 3-4 years, the educational schedule becomes more structured, practical classes continue with useful skills. From 5-6 years old, students are already entering the first stage of the national educational program (1st grade), which includes the following disciplines:
- English
- Mathematics
- The science
- Religious education
- Personal, social and medical education
- Computational
- Geography
- History
- Art, painting and design
- Design and Technology
- Music
- Physical education
- Dance and drama
- French.
Junior School
- Age: 6-11 years old
- Dates: September-July
- Duration: 5 years.
The founders of Downsend Prep School believe that lessons should be creative and fun - teachers also adhere to this concept in relation to elementary school students. Here, students gain all the knowledge through practical experience: they study fractions using the example of chocolate bars, stage uprisings in history, etc. Classes are small - 10-12 people each, which enables teachers to work separately with each student to help him discover his academic potential.
Children learn under the guidance of a teacher. Depending on the year of study, the students study different disciplines: first it is French, technology, sports, music and religious studies, then spelling and language are added, and then - basic academic subjects (mathematics, natural sciences, English and others). In the 6th year of schooling, students fall into the transition to middle classes.
The following disciplines are available for study in high school:
- Art
- Computer Science and Computing
- Drama
- English language
- Geography
- History
- Foreign languages
- Mathematics
- Music
- PSHE
- Logics
- Religious Studies
- The science
- Sport
- Design Technology (Design & Technology).
Middle classes
- Age: 11-13 years old
- Dates: September-July
- Duration: 3 years.
At the first stage of high school, students are already becoming independent: Downed offers middle-school students a balanced and vibrant curriculum based on ISEB principles. The Downsend secondary education diploma was developed by the school in conjunction with high school, as an innovative game that includes an academic foundation (the best ISEB programs in conjunction with IB) and a development program with the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Disciplines available for study:
- Art
- Computational English
- Geography
- History
- Foreign languages
- Mathematics
- Music
- PSHE
- Argumentation
- Religious Studies
- The science
- Sport
- Design technology.
High school
- Age: 14-16 years old
- Dates: September-July
- Duration: 3 years.
Here, students are offered a 3-year GCSE program that provides the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the subject area, improving understanding of the program. At the same time, students will definitely have time to engage in enriching the inner world or participating in extracurricular activities. High school students from grades 9 to 11 learn what it means to be independent, to be able to solve problems, will gain self-confidence, and in the end they will be able to apply the listed skills in the subjects studied.
The British National High School Program includes:
Main subjects:
- English language
- Mathematics
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics.
Four combinations of additional disciplines:
- Geography, history, RS;
- French, Spanish, German;
- Art and design, drama, music;
- Calculation, state of emergency, advanced mathematics.
In addition, several extracurricular programs are available for high school students: a special STRETCH course, sports, creativity, other GCSE and PSHE options.
Accommodation, meals, prices
There is no accommodation for Downsend Prep School students, however, for the convenience of working parents, the school offers an extended school day for students of all ages.
A standard day starts at 8 a.m. and lasts until 4-17 p.m., after which an extended (up to 6 p.m.) takes place, during which students can get a snack: tea and sandwiches. The cost of an additional two hours is 10 pounds. You can also start your morning with Bird Club early - from 7.30. The daily cost of staying at school ranges from 4.5 to 8.5 pounds, including tea.
During the day, children are offered balanced meals in the dining room on the school campus, which includes breakfast, lunch and snacks in extra time. Schedules at different Ashtead, Epsom, Leatherhead campuses can vary by half an hour or an hour.
Activities Downsend School
The Downed School offers students a busy leisure program outside the classroom. In total, for the interesting spending of free time, students are offered more than 70 different clubs, which are divided according to age.
Preschool education:
- Ball skills
- Technology club
- Forest school
- Cookery
- Drama
- Music.
Junior and high school:
- Architecture (drawing, creating models and Lego)
- Baking and desserts (making meringues, chocolate and fondant figures)
- Chess (participation in British competitions)
- Computer programming
- Maths Challenge (Problem Solving Skills)
- Military history (familiarity with the main battles of all time)
- Nature Club (outdoor crafts)
- Electronics (creating simple models)
- Ceramics (manufacture of products from air-dried clay)
- Public speaking (practice presentation skills)
- Puzzle Challenge
- Python Coding (creating games and websites)
- Languages
- Sport
- Creation
- Duke of Edinburgh Award (high school students only).
For students, an excursion program is provided with visits to the main cultural places and attractions of the UK.
Facilities and equipment at Downsend School
The full infrastructure of Downsend Prep School includes three campuses that are located in different locations in Britain - the cities of Ashtead, Epsom and Leatherhead. Regardless of which campus a student chooses to study, everywhere has its own characteristics and amenities. All departments of the school have equipped and spacious classrooms, equipped with modern interactive equipment for interesting classes.
For students of Little Downsend (2-6 years), these are soft surfaces, play areas, outdoor areas with a rain roof, quiet places to relax, and even a garden to grow your fruits or vegetables. In total, according to the latest Downsand reconstruction plan, about 8 million pounds will be spent on the project: this will include new research laboratories, technological rooms, art studios, food technology zones, canteens and information and communication technologies.
The list of sports facilities at Downsend School includes:
- 25 meter heated indoor pool
- 3 football fields
- Rugby Fields
- 6 non-illumination playgrounds with lighting
- 100 meter Astro-Turf with lighting
- Indoor gym
- Sports Pavilion
- "Forest School".
The school’s project also plans to create a Center for Creativity, where several functional rooms will appear: a concert hall, new classrooms, special rooms for theater and music.
Admission dates and extra charges
The academic year at Downsend Prep School is divided into three trimesters:
- Autumn - September 4-December 13
- Spring - January 7 - April 2
- Summer - April 21-July 10.
The course price includes:
- Curriculum (from 15 hours per week)
- Food
- Participation in sections and club
- Excursion program.
Additionally paid:
- Registration fee - 100 £
- Deposit on admission - £ 750
- Extended day (from 10 £).
Entry requirements, how to apply, what is required to enrol
Most Downsend students begin school at the age of 2-3 under the First Steps program, after which they are transferred further. However, you can go to school at any time, depending on the availability of places.
For those who have been studying at Downsend Prep School since childhood, the admission process includes several steps:
- Contact the school. You can do this throughout the school year to get introductory information and ask questions of interest.
- Visit school campuses. To have a real idea of the conditions of study, it is recommended that all potential students visit the Downsend - for this, private study tours are held here for the semester
- Register the child in place. After visiting the school and making a final decision about the school, parents must fill out the registration form on the school website and visit the admissions office with the registration fee
- Visit the familiarization day for the child. This is a series of activities for children, taking into account age, to see how the child adapts to the new environment. The days of “Assessment and Experience” are held separately for primary school (from 2 to 6 grade), high school (only 7 grade) and high school (from 8th grade and older)
- Receive an invitation. After a full-time evaluation of each candidate for admission to school, parents need to wait for a response from the admissions committee of the school with a proposal of a place. If for some reason there are no empty seats, the child is placed on the waiting list
- Fill in the paper and pay the deposit. To confirm the reservation of a place for a child, parents need to fill out and send the necessary documents + make a deposit payment (£ 750).
Institution on the map
Residence permits, citizenship and other services
- Guardianship services during the studies
- Student supervision
Review about Downsend School
Recommendations on when to apply
| Language courses, schools and children's language camps | Primary and secondary education - private schools | Preparation programmes for entering universities - higher education | Higher education (after completing accredited programs A-level, IB, High School) - Bachelor, Master, MBA |
| - we recommend to apply 6-9 months before the start of the course (some camps and schools offer discounts for early booking or for lengthy study programs) - there are some very popular and high demand children's camps, where the applications need to be submitted 1 year in advance (in particular Switzerland , Great Britain , USA , Canada , Austria) | - we recommend to apply one year before the start of the training program, - some schools have a specific time frame (September-November - please specify an individual school) - some schools require tests in several stages (UKISET, internal tests of the school: English, mathematics, logics, subjects, interview, some require a personal visit) | - we recommend to apply one year before the start of the program, - for Foundation and Pathway programs, IELTS and TOEFL certificates are usually required, respectively | - recommended submission one year before the start of the program, - the deadline normally closes in January, for TOP HEIs and, as a rule, in March in other universities - for a bachelor, a Foundation or Pathway preparatory program a completed A-level, IB, High School + IELTS / TOEFL are required - for Masters you need a graduated higher education, in some cases you need a pre-Masters program - MBA requires completed higher education, work experience preferably at least 2-3 years, etc. |
