WHAT? WHERE

First impressions count and Langley School certainly has this covered! Nestled within 110 acres of manicured parkland designed by landscape gardener Capability Brown, Langley Senior School is based in rural Loddon in the south of the county, within easy reach (20 mins) of Norwich. The school’s centrepiece is an elegant Grade I-Listed Palladian Hall designed and built in 1737 in the style of nearby Holkham Hall. There’s no skimping on period features with neck-achingly ornate ceilings, wooden panelling, impressive staircases and fireplaces galore.

Coeducational with a 60/40 split between boys and girls, Langley Senior School takes kids from age 10 up to 18 years. The Prep School, in Taverham, with its own 100-acre parkland, takes children from just six months to age 13. There are Years 6-8 at both sites, with full, weekly and flexi boarding available at the Senior School.

With just 412 pupils, this is a small school in spacious grounds and there is an impression of a pleasantly unhurried pace of life. Class sizes are kept small with 16 per class the norm and 8-12 in the sixth form.

FACILITIES

Lessons are held in a village of assorted buildings, each one dedicated to a subject department. Highlights include a mind-boggling 9 science labs, 4 art studios, a large and well-equipped design technology centre and – the jewel in the crown – a state-of-the-art theatre. There’s also a purpose-built cookery and nutrition room for budding MasterChefs.

/SPORT

Langley has long had a reputation for being a massively sporty school, but being athletic or competitive is by no means a prerequisite. Football is an especially strong suit, though the core sports of hockey, rugby, cricket and netball are all well represented. On my visit they were setting up marquees for an independent schools rugby festival, the U14 County Cup, which Langley duly won.

Facilities-wise there is plenty to shout about and you can’t miss the vast sports fields flanking the approach to the school. There are 4 football pitches, 6 rugby pitches, 3 netball courts, 1 floodlit astroturf and 3 cricket squares. The sports hall boasts a bouldering wall and large strength and conditioning gym including 9 ergs and, rather usually, a SkiErg (to get a jump on ski season!).

Two sports sessions are on the timetable each week for all year groups, plus regular fixtures. Options widen in Year 11 to include the likes of Pilates, dance, badminton and gym.

Parents I spoke to considered Langley to be a strong sporting option for girls as well as boys. Indeed, the school is running its first ever fully girls football teams at U14, U15 and U16 (future Lionesses alert!), plus there are plans in the pipeline to introduce girls rugby next term.

Those who want more can pick from a variety of options on the Enrichment programme built into the school day. This takes place in the final lesson on four days per week and choices include archery, tennis, football, indoor curling and kayaking at nearby Whitlingham Lake. More about the non-sporty options below.

Langley Football Academy (LFA)

Gifted football players from the UK and beyond will want the Langley Football Academy (LFA) on their radar. Headed up by ex-Norwich City player Grant Holt, it is the Official Education partner for NCFC and counts current Ipswich Town player Matt Ward among its graduates. Other notable alumni include Tyreece Simpson, who has a professional contract with Huddersfield Town, and George Tong, captain of the Hong Kong under 20s national team. Just 9% of current pupils are on this tailored programme which gives you some idea of the level of talent/potential required to be selected. Also, it’s not cheap – from £1,250 to £2,500 in addition to the usual school fees.

Open to boys and girls aged 10-18 years, LFA runs alongside academic studies to offer what sounds like a very comprehensive programme including training with former professionals, expert football, strength and conditioning coaching, psychology sessions with a personal mentor, nutritional advice and post-game analysis. The number of sessions per week ranges from four sessions a fortnight in Years 6-8, eight sessions in Year 9-10, ten sessions in Year 11 and 12 sessions in Sixth Form.

/CREATIVE ARTS

At one point, Langley’s sporting prowess appeared to overshadow everything else, but the new(ish) Head is working hard to redress this balance.

There’s lots going on away from the playing fields – to the relief of my sixth form tour guides who confessed to being decidedly non-sporty. Langley School was one of the first schools in the country to receive the Design Mark for its excellence in design teaching.

/DRAMA

The drama and music departments stage full-scale musicals in the large school auditorium with tiered seating and capacity for around 500 people. It is fully teched up with lighting rigs and sound system. Recent productions have included Matilda JR The Musical and they are working on Six: The Musical. Taught in the drama building housed separately from the theatre, drama is on the timetable for Years 6 to 8 and an option from Year 9, and is offered at GCSE and A Level. LAMDA lessons are available to all pupils.

/MUSIC

On my visit pupils were abuzz about the annual House Music event taking place later that day, with soloists from each year group and a chance to perform on stage for all. Other performance opportunities include the carol service, cabaret evening and termly soirées. Expect two choirs, an orchestra, Dixie band, function band, brass band, school production band, various student-led rock bands, and a variety of instrumental lessons.

/ART

Creative types have their pick of four inviting art studios. There’s two large spaces for fine art, a pottery room with wheel and two kilns, and a photography studio with dark room. Fine Art is taught from Year 6 and it is possible to take GCSE and A levels in Fine Art and Photography. Striking sixth form art work is displayed on the outside of many of the wood-clad buildings.

/GENERAL

The stunning ballroom and old library at the mansion house are used for year-group assemblies and some wellbeing sessions, with the rest of the space for boarding and offices.

Held in the purpose-built, fully equipped centre, Food Preparation and Nutrition are taught from Year 6 and are available as a GCSE. ‘Cooking for uni’ classes help students as they prepare to leave home for the first time.

With both a fiction and reference room, the library is an inviting space, staffed by an infectiously enthusiastic, full-time librarian. It opens at break time and the Reading Café is a gentle Enrichment activity with hot chocolate and cookies (yup, you had me at cookies).

A fortnightly service for each House is held in the private 17th-century chapel set in the woodland.

ACADEMICS

Langley School is nonselective and proudly mixed ability. There is an obvious passion for individual learning and finding out what makes each child tick, whether through the curriculum or built-in Enrichment programme.

Down to the nitty gritty, the 2022 GCSE results showed 92% of pupils achieving grades 9-4 (A*-C) and 30% achieving 9-7 (A* or A). At A level: 31% of students achieved A*-A and 61% A*-B. In BTEC 100% of students achieving distinction to merit grades.

This year, pupils went on to a range of universities including Architecture at Cambridge, Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough University, Zoology at Exeter, Medicine at the American University of Medicine in Antigua, International Law and Globalisation at Birmingham University, Law at the University of York, Musical Theatre and Acting for Film at Chichester University, and Geography at Swansea University. In addition, one student accepted a professional football contract and another won a full scholarship from the English Speaking Union to attend Culver Academy, USA.

Year 9 pupils study the full set of sciences and up to three languages (French, Spanish and Mandarin taught by a native Chinese teacher). Year 10 and 11 pupils take up to ten GCSE subjects, including Food Preparation and Nutrition, Fine Art and Photography.

The one-to-one tech provision is trailblazing in Norfolk. Introduced in January 2022, pupils from Year 3 upwards are provided with a personal device (a rather whizzy Microsoft Surface: a neat combo of a laptop and tablet with stylus). Pre-loaded with the software needed for lessons, the device is used in lessons and taken home to continue access to learning materials during prep.

Integrated into the school day, the Enrichment activities programme takes place during the final lesson, from Monday to Thursday (at no extra charge). Pupils can fuel their passions by selecting from 40+ options, which change termly. Activities range from gardening, sign language, debate and robotic club to DofE award, CCF and Model United Nations.

Established pre-World War I, Langley’s CCF is run by ex-service personnel and teachers, in conjunction with DofE. A popular activity, it is part of the curriculum for Year 9s and with about 50% of pupils opting to continue thereafter. There are twice-weekly parades in school, termly weekends at a British Army training centre, regimental dinners and annual UK-wide camps. A particular highlight is the Okehampton adventure training week, with an exhaustive (and no doubt exhausting!) list of outdoor activities, including gorge scrambling, abseiling and mountain biking.

SIXTH FORM

A dedicated Sixth Form area, the Alston Centre (above), was opened in 2014. It is a grown-up space with its own ICT suite, newly refurbished café The Green Room, resource and seminar rooms, and a variety of work areas.

There are two fully funded scholarship options available: the Nelson Scholarship, which aims to develop leaders of the future, and the Arthur Anthony Coward Scholarship, based on academic ability and socioeconomic need. Classes sizes are kept between 8 and 12, and sixth formers can choose from A levels or a choice of three BTECs: Food Science and Nutrition, Sport, and Agriculture.

Those wanting to stretch themselves even further academically can take an AS level in Sociology, an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), and/or Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) in Mandarin.

A personalised Futures programme, designed to support and empower pupils to find their own path after Langley (whether apprenticeship, university or directly into a career), includes workshops, guest speakers and mentoring with alumni.

PASTORAL CARE

One of the school’s major calling cards is its pastoral care for which it has received the nationally recognised Wellbeing Award (for both the Prep and Senior School). The whole-school wellbeing curriculum includes age-appropriate focuses, workshops and activities.

A small school with small classes means all children are known and recognised very quickly. The majority of teaching staff are trained mental health first aiders, and there’s a programme in place to train all staff, not just teachers.

There are medical professionals available all day and a large centrally placed Learning Support department with a sizeable team providing pastoral support (see SEND section). Heads of Year and Tutors support with day to day concerns and issues raised by the pupils or parents/staff.

A school counsellor visits weekly and there is a ‘Time to Talk’ service, coordinated by the school nurses, which is run by the pastoral team during lunchtimes and Enrichment. The Lawrence Room in the mansion house makes a lovely dedicated well-being space, kitted out with brightly coloured mats and beanbags, where teachers take tutor groups for mindfulness activities. There’s also a LGBTQ+ group and regular lunchtime mindfulness walks through the grounds at both Prep and Senior School sites, with wellbeing dogs in tow.

BOARDING

Around 9% of children currently board either full-time or weekly, and flexi-boarding is also available. It is a multicultural community with 38% of boarders from overseas and a large number of different nationalities are represented, including Antigua, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Spain and China.

Within the mansion house, there is capacity for two single-sex boarding houses. Decorated in sophisticated, neutral colours, the shared bedrooms I viewed had a grown-up, uni-digs vibe, with glorious views of the grounds. The period features in the boys’ common room are simply stunning but no doubt their eyes are firmly on the table football, table tennis and pool table.

There’s no formal Saturday school, but an optional weekend activities programme is available for boarders, who are also able to visit Loddon, Norwich and Beccles under their own steam, with permission.

HEAD

Bringing a new perspective to the school, Jon Perriss has been the headmaster since September 2019. He was previously deputy head at Christ’s Hospital School, Horsham, and his teaching career has included positions at Tonbridge School and Norwich School.

Inheriting a heavily sports-focussed school, Perriss has recognised that a large part of his role is about changing minds. His message is that the school is academically aspirational as well as being inclusive and nurturing. It is still a big hitter in the sporting department, but not exclusively so. Local intel is that he is making inroads and overcoming preconceived ideas about what Langley stands for.

He regards the slower, gentler pace to be a USP of the school, enhanced by small pupil numbers and all that green space. He is proud of the warm, friendly and supportive community at the school, where his own daughter is a pupil, and the wide-ranging opportunities for children.

QUIRKS

It’s not an especially quirky place, but how many schools can say they have a takeaway hatch outside the dining hall, where pupils can get their lunch to go? Picnic benches with endless green views are dotted about the site which is a lovely touch.

WRAPAROUND CARE

The school day starts at 8.40am and ends 4.40pm (there is no facility for early drop off). The school day is on the shorter side which may be a practical consideration for some parents, but does demonstrate a lack of hothousing, giving kids time to be kids.

A bespoke wraparound-care package can arranged based on families’ individual needs (including an optional tea).

SEND

The Learning Support (LS) department has a strong reputation and sits at the centre of the site in a large dedicated building, with seven teaching rooms of various sizes. Led by the fulltime SENDco, the team of 11 Learning Support Assistants (LSAs), the department currently supports 47 pupils with a variety of diverse needs, mainly dyslexia and difficulties in line with the dyslexic profile, as well as dyscalculia.

Children with autistic spectrum conditions, ADHD and sensory/physical needs are supported through reasonable adjustments in class, and the pastoral and medical team also have a large input.

The LSAs offer a mixture of 1:1 in-class support and 1:1 and small group intervention within the department. There are a maximum of three pupils to one LSA, who also liaise with teaching staff over subject specific intervention and support with organisation, revision, study skills and in a pastoral role.

All support is charged at an additional cost (£25.20 per hour currently) and costs are split equally for pair or small group lessons. In Years 6 to 8, pupils can either drop a language or attend in the Enrichment sessions. In Years 9 to 11, pupils can choose LS instead of a GCSE option or attend 1 or 2 of the Enrichment sessions each week depending on level of need. In Sixth Form, students attend during private study sessions between two and four times per fortnight.

There are also two English as an Additional Language programs, supporting 19 pupils: IELTS (International English Language Testing System) helping sixth formers get an English qualification that will allow university admission, and CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) supporting pupils with their academic studies at the school.

ISI REPORT

The most recent report is from 2017 (before current Head), plus you can access more recent compliance reports. A progress monitoring report from April 2022 shows that the school has met all the stipulated requirements.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Mobile phones are not allowed during the school day (policed by staff) but can be used for travelling to and from school. Sixth Formers can use them in the Alston Centre. Internet access via firewall is allowed via pupil’s 1:2:1 device provided by the school.

TRANSPORT

A fleet of more than 22 minibuses, covering 22 routes throughout Norfolk and Suffolk, is used by more than 60% of pupils from as far afield as Southwold, Lowestoft and Halesworth.

Transport links for international students are also good with an international airport (30 minutes by road from Langley) which flies direct to the transport hub of Schiphol airport (40 minute flight from Norwich). Langley also has good road and rail links (from Norwich train station) to Stansted and London airports.

FEES

Competitive. Day pupils £5,960 per term (which includes lunch); Flexi boarding (2-3 nights a week) £7,600-8,445 per term; Weekly boarding £10,080 per term; Full boarding £11,820 per term. International boarding £11,820 per term.

There is (means-tested) financial assistance available and scholarships in Academic Excellence, Music, Sport, Art, Technology and Drama offers 15% off fees. There are two 100% scholarships into sixth form.

WORD ON THE GROUND

The current parents I spoke to consider Langley to be inclusive, unpretentious and to have strong SEND and pastoral provision. Pleased to have Perriss at the helm, parents comment on his proactivity, drive and long-term vision for the school. The general feel is that school will deliver what is required – academic children can flourish here, whilst those that need the extra support will be nurtured. Prospective parents comment that they are pleasantly surprised after visiting and come away considering Langley as a serious contender to its local alternatives.

My pupil tour guide spontaneously volunteered that the pastoral/learning support here is “brilliant” and that “they get you sorted with organisation and you can confidently talk about any issues”. Mrs Greenwood was especially mentioned for knowing everyone’s name and being a great listening ear. School lunches and Mr Felton’s“Cake Fridays” also get a thumbs up!

MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: An all-round education, with a choice of four BTECs in addition to A levels to engage all children, plus the wider opportunity available in the Enrichment programme included within the school day. Lionel Messi wannabes will have their heads turned by the integrated football academy. Those in need of extra support might like that the department isn’t discreetly tucked away but a central part of school life.

Not for: No provision for an earlier start to the school day may make the school impractical for some working parents.

Dare to disagree: Be my guest! Click here for to book your place on the Senior & Sixth Form Open Day on Sat 16 March 2024. You can also read our review of Langley Prep here.

Langley Senior School, Loddon

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