History and Situation
The Old School owes its existence to a small group of parents who felt that there was a real need for a co-educational day preparatory school within easy reach of the main centres of population of north-east Suffolk. They met, pooled their ideas and enthusiasms and, in September 1979, the school opened its doors to its first intake of twenty-three pupils. This number grew rapidly and its present total is close to one hundred and thirty children.
The title "The Old School" was chosen because the location for this new and exciting venture was the redundant village school at Henstead which had been closed some years previously as a result of Local Education Authority re-organisation. Henstead is a small village about one mile inland from the main A12 where the roads from Beccles (5.5 miles), Oulton Broad (6.5 miles), Lowestoft (6.5 miles) and Southwold (7 miles) converge. Halesworth is only 11 miles away. The school is therefore readily accessible from all these towns as well as the myriad of surrounding villages.

The Old School Educational Trust
The Old School is an educational trust whose members include parents and friends of the school. It is a non-profit making company and a registered charity (no. 279265). Any surplus of income over expenditure is re-invested for the improvement of the facilities for the school. The school is governed by a Council of Management which is elected from trust members at the Annual General Meeting. The Headmaster is directly responsible to the Council. The School, through its Headmaster is a member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA) and also the Friends of Independent Schools (FIS). The school is regularly inspected by OFSTED for its early years provision and the Independent Schools' Inspectorate (ISI). It is accredited by the Independent School's Council (ISC).

Buildings and Facilities
All the classrooms provide warm and comfortable surroundings in which the children can work and play. The school also has facilities for science, art, music, pottery, information and communication technology, plus a reference library and French room. There is a large playing field adjacent to the school and a floodlit netball/tennis court.
The original school hall is used for school lunches, indoor PE, morning assembly, music and drama presentations. It provides an ideal space for display of children's work

Personnel   
The Headmaster, Ian Griffin, has many years experience of teaching in prep schools, ranging from day to full boarding. A graduate in music and education, Mr Griffin  has spent his career teaching general subjects, maths and games. He is passionate about small schools where the children rapidly acquire that special sense of belonging which he believes is an essential factor in education. He is also an ISI inspector. He is supported by a well-qualified, experienced and professional staff, many of  whom have educated their own children at Henstead. The average class size is fourteen and this excellent ratio of children to teachers means that the latter soon get to know their charges very well indeed.

Ethos
At the old school, our aim is to provide a complete education to meet the needs of all our pupils with a strong emphasis on a good standard of literacy and numeracy. Children who experience difficulty with reading, spelling or basic mathematics have the opportunity of working in small groups with our skilled staff. Children should be happy and have a sense of real fulfillment at school and we believe that this comes about most readily when traditional values of hard work, courtesy and tolerance for other points of view are practised.

School Organisation
Entry to the school is normally in the September after a child's fourth birthday. For the first four years children are given a firm grounding in basic subjects under the watchful eye of a class teacher who is also responsible for the child's pastoral welfare. From the age of eight, we begin to teach a much wider range of subjects leading to external examinations at 11+ for senior Independent Schools, or to a good academic standard for transfer to the local state schools. Specialist teachers are used to provide a wide range of experience. Major subjects include English, Mathematics, French, the Sciences, History, Geography and RE. Information Technology also forms an integral part of the curriculum at this stage whilst the younger children have the opportunity to learn keyboard skills as well as indulge in computer- assisted learning. However, general as well as academic education is considered most important. All children learn music with a specialist teacher; singing, playing and listening as is appropriate to age and ability. Art, craft, pottery and drama are also included in the timetable. Our emphasis on performing arts has enabled the children to perform in regular concerts and there is an annual school play or musical. A number of pupils also have private instrumental tuition at school. The school values the opportunity to work in the wider community and is regularly involved in music and speech festivals where the children's successes have been noted both locally and nationally. Physical Education and games skills are taught throughout the school leading on to netball, hockey and rounders for the girls: soccer, rugby and cricket for the boys. Athletics and cross-country running also feature regularly in the PE programme. All classes have a weekly swimming lesson and the children pass tests for distance swimming and many gain ASA awards for personal survival. Regular sports fixtures are held against other schools.

 At The Old School we believe firmly in the value of educational trips and visits to places of special interest and all classes may expect to go out several times a year. Residential trips are arranged annually to France and Wales (pony trekking) whilst we also visit York every few years.

Religion
All children learn RE which is taught from a non-denominational standpoint but having a Christian philosophy as its base. Each school day begins with an assembly and the children are encouraged to take an active part in the presentation of this important part of the school day. On a number of occasions the school attends St. Mary's Church, Henstead for its own services and the senior choir occasionally join the parish for their services.

Parents', Teachers' and Friends Association
In the early days of the school when there were only a few parents, there was a tremendous feeling of involvement in the enterprise. Inevitably this was lost to some extent as the school grew larger and in an attempt to remedy this loss, a PTFA was set up in September 1982 under the chairmanship of a parent. This organisation has achieved a great deal by fostering corporate feeling amongst those who have direct contacts with the school. PTFA activities also provide very substantial and welcome funds for projects which might not ordinarily be considered out of normal income.

Uniform
There is a practical uniform which is obtained from the school uniform shop. Order forms can be obtained from the school office. It is understood that when parents accept the offer of places for their children they will undertake to ensure that the proper uniform is worn on all school occasions.

 School Fees