About Us

A very warm welcome to Parkgate House.  We are an Outstanding co-educational preparatory school and nursery for children aged 2 ½ – 11 in Clapham, London, located opposite the greenery of Clapham Common. We are independently owned, family-run and non-denominational, welcoming families of all faiths and none. 

Here, you will find passionate, dedicated and highly qualified teachers whose priority each and every day is to ensure that your child’s learning adventure is fun, rewarding and highly successful. Our community prides itself on valuing the joy of childhood, whilst never compromising on the pursuit of excellence in every area of school life.  Your child’s teachers will be highly ambitious for your child, whilst nurturing their happiness and encouraging their development in every sense of the word. This is underpinned by our whole school Virtues Programme which helps children to develop key attributes such as resilience, independence, confidence, integrity and individuality. Combined with specialist teaching and a plethora of trips and workshops, enrichment activities, drama productions, concerts, sports activities and clubs, we provide a wealth of opportunities for every child to shine.

Rated “Outstanding” in every category by Ofsted in 2022, the report states: “Pupils are safe and happy at Parkgate House School… Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils. Learning is not limited, and every pupil is supported to achieve well. Pupils enjoy the wide range of subjects and opportunities on offer… Leaders have designed an ambitious, broad and rich curriculum… Every subject is taught securely and consistently across the school, including the early years”.  The full Ofsted report is available here.   

Frequently, new parents comment on their surprise in seeing the ease with which their child settles in, and the incredible progress their child makes in their first few weeks at Parkgate.  One parent felt that this could only be attributed to “Parkgate magic”!  In reality, the magic ingredient is your child’s teacher, who has been carefully selected to fulfil a bespoke set of Parkgate criteria to enable your child to flourish, both personally and academically.  Our class teachers and our specialists love what they do, and we believe in investing in our staff.  Our programme of continuing professional development ensures that teaching and learning is always evolving to reflect innovative research-led practices, whilst also building on a wealth of traditional approaches with a proven track record of success, at every stage of the journey from age 2 to 11.   

Everyone here knows you – it’s like we are all one big family

Prep 5 pupil 

Our ethos is inclusive and children join Parkgate House at a broad range of starting points.  There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach here.  With purposefully small class sizes, your child’s teacher will get to know you and your child very quickly, tailoring the learning experience to your child and enabling them to excel, whilst also enjoying the learning process.  Our bespoke learning programmes such as Power Maths and Power Reading provide a boost in each child’s academic attainment which is backed up by standardised assessment data.  This quantitative evidence is used alongside teachers’ qualitative assessments, and together these are powerful tools to inform the ways in which we unlock your child’s potential. 

By Prep 6, every child is thoroughly prepared for senior school entrance examinations, in which they excel.  Your child will become adept at navigating new challenges and unfamiliar scenarios, tackling high level debates with their peers and taking part in individual interviews with senior members of staff.  Most Parkgate families choose top London day schools for the next stage of the journey, although we are highly experienced in supporting children and families with a wide variety of entrance examinations and interviews.  Many Parkgate pupils are offered prestigious senior school scholarships in a range of fields, at schools such as Alleyn’s, Dulwich College, JAGS, Emanuel, King’s and Wimbledon High.  Our 11+ results can be found here. 

At the end of Prep 6, every child stands on the stage at Cadogan Hall and gives an individual, creative and heartfelt presentation to their parents and their peers, to reflect on their time at Parkgate House and to look ahead to their time at senior school.  The confidence, humility, resilience and sense of humour on display is a true testament to both the families that join our community, and the strengths of a Parkgate education. 

We strongly believe that a happy community which is both highly ambitious and unfailingly supportive enables children to thrive; not only academically, but also in terms of developing their self-confidence, their creativity, their teamwork skills, their resilience and their sense of individuality – whilst also being part of ‘something special’ at Parkgate. 

Do come and experience the special Parkgate spirit in person – you will receive a warm welcome. 

#BeginYourAdventure – click here to contact us