WELCOME TO
CLARENCE HOUSE
FOR 7-11 YRS
Welcome to Clarence House Preparatory School, an independent school for girls aged 7-11. We are the sister school of Jack & Jill and Nightingale House.
The Papirnik family opened the school in September 2016 alongside the current Headteacher, Mr. Hitchen. By 2020, girls were winning places to the most academic Senior Schools in London; at the time of writing, independently-verified maths and English data suggests we’re one of the top schools in the U.K. for English, maths and science.
How? Quite simply, we’ve taken what you’d expect of an academic independent school and married it to innovations taken from the very best schools in the world.
Ninety percent of what we’ll see at Clarence House Preparatory School (C.H.P.S.) is similar to other high-performing local preps. C.H.P.S. prioritises English, maths and reasoning, in preparation for independent and grammar school 11+ exams.
We provide rich experiences in sport, music, art and drama with lessons taught by dedicated subject specialist teachers, just like the girls will experience at secondary school.
But C.H.P.S. is different, too. We stand out from the pack in several important ways.
First, we are a small school. Attending C.H.P.S. is a little like the difference between a holiday in a cool boutique hotel and staying in a Marriot! Of course, the big hotel will probably have a grand pool, but it can be quite an impersonal experience. You’re one of hundreds. At C.H.P.S., every girl is seen. Every girl is in the football team. Every girl has a meaty role in the Year Three and Four play. Every girl plays her instrument to the parent body at our Afternoons of Poetry, Music and Dance. Every girl shares her work at our Exhibition of Beautiful Work and gives a five-minute Grit Presentation to her parents during Parents’ Evening. And every girl gets the time, the attention from teachers, that she needs to thrive.
Second, C.H.P.S. is a S.T.E.M. school. We have a dedicated lab and makerspace, where the girls learn to love science and engineering.
But most important of all is the third key difference: C.H.P.S. teaches girls how to learn. From day one, we teach pupils cognitive science: the science of learning. We’re the only prep school in London to play retrieval practice – the most powerful learning tool – at the heart of our lessons and homework. And we’re the only prep school in London give you and your daughter the fine detail of exactly what she needs to know and remember. Visit, and you’ll take away one of our unique Knowledge Books. A quick read will make clear why our girls go on to top sets at Senior School.
Do get in contact to arrange to a visit. We’d love to give you a 1:1 tour of the site – and the opportunity to meet our amazing girls.”
– Mr. Nick Hitchen, Headteacher
“It’s so nice and helpful to know that there is personalised plan to help [my daughter] to catch up her studies, and also care of her confidence on studies due to previous learning in the old school, plus those friendly, kind and helpful girls in her class. [She] feels so comfortable and really enjoys the life and studies in Jack and Jill – she specially commended this last week. We feel so happy for her too. Thanks so much again for the effort made by all teachers and school to let girls having wonderful time in Jack and Jill.”
Year 6 Parent
HISTORY
"The only way to educate young children properly is
within a homely atmosphere, so I am going to start my
own school here and now." Molly Papirnik, Founder, 1951
ACHIEVEMENTS
Our research-based teaching techniques and small classes are the ideal learning environment for all children. The students’ achievements both in and out of the classroom are testament to this.
Ofsted 'Outstanding' 3 times in a row:
November 2014
September 2017
February 2020
50%
of pupils awarded an academic scholarship at 11+ in 2024
90%
Pupils in Year 6 reading at ‘greater depth’:
National Average 29%
C.H.P.S. 93%
Class size averages:
State Schools: 25-30
Other Independent
Schools: 15-25
Jack & Jill School: 10-18
Clarence House
One of the few remaining family-owned-and-run schools in the country.
“Clarence House provides such amazing opportunities for [my daughter], from lessons that dig deep, exploring the greater depth of the subject, through to incredible sporting opportunities. [She] still talks with so much pride about the day she was made captain of the football team.” Year 3 parent, May 2024
Family of Schools Minibus Service
Our school transport offering is in keeping with our founder, Molly Papirnik’s, dedication to her students’ education – she spent many years collecting and dropping off pupils in her car, which she nicknamed Mildred, at the beginning and end of the school day. Today, our service is far more refined! We offer a comprehensive and flexible transport network through a fleet of minibuses operated by the Family of Schools.
There are two options when booking minibus transport for your child – our inter-school routes and our external routes:
External Routes:
Parents can book for transport to and from school on any of our external routes serving Hounslow/Isleworth, East Sheen/Richmond and Kingston/New Malden. The fee for our minibus service is covered under all breakfast club and after school club bookings.
All children – including those in our nursery – can use this service and are accompanied on their journey by qualified minibus escorts employed by the school. Return routes operate to all locations with staggered pick up times so that the older pupils can access the full range of after school clubs and complete their homework prior to leaving for home.
Inter-School Routes:
There is no charge for our inter-school minibus service which operates everyday between the three schools. This is a great option for siblings attending school across the different sites or students who live closer to one of the schools they are not attending. Parents can drop the children to their closest site and the Inter-school bus will take them the rest of the journey to school.