Somerhill is a warm, caring environment where boys and girls can make friends, learn to communicate, be creative and active, explore and take risks.

In providing a co-educational community and single-sex schooling in one setting, Somerhill is rare among prep schools, and presents a refreshing education model that offers the best of both worlds.

Our view, from many years of experience, is that boys and girls of prep school age, 7 to 13, benefit from being separate for some aspects of their learning and together for others. With boys and girls learning and developing differently at this age, a classroom setting in which they can be uninhibited, and where the teaching is tailored to them, is of huge educational and personal value.

At the same time, we know it is valuable and enjoyable for children’s social development, and their families, to be part of a mixed school community. So outside lesson times, our girls and boys share breaktimes, assemblies and co-curricular activities, and there is a thriving community of friends across all sections.

Naturally, children develop a strong sense of pride in their section (particularly when one of their sports teams wins a match!), but with so many opportunities to cross paths during the day, we find they feel part of the whole school community, too.