Rokeby is a school where every boy is known. From his first weeks in Pre-Prep to the confidence he carries into senior school at 13, he is taught by people who understand how he learns and who expect a great deal of him. You can read about admissions, or arrange a visit at any point in the year.
A broad and demanding curriculum
Boys are prepared for Common Entrance and scholarship at the leading senior schools, but the curriculum is much wider than an examination syllabus. Specialist teaching begins early in science, music, art, drama and modern languages, and every boy is taught in small enough groups for his teachers to know exactly where he is.
- Specialist teaching from Year 3 in science, languages, music, art and games.
- Scholarship preparation in the final two years, with individual mentoring.
- Weekly enrichment afternoons covering everything from robotics to fencing.
Pastoral care
Each form has its own tutor, and the school is small enough that every member of staff knows every boy by name. Tutors meet weekly to talk through how each form is getting on, so a change in a boy’s mood or work is noticed early and acted on quickly. Parents hear from us before a small worry becomes a large one, and our door is open for a conversation at any point in the term. The result is a school where boys are happy to take risks with their learning, because they know they are supported when something does not go to plan.
Learning that starts with the boy
Classes are small and teaching is specialist from the very beginning, so a boy who is ahead is stretched and a boy who needs time gets it. Form tutors, subject staff and the learning support team meet every week to talk about how each boy is getting on, and parents are part of that conversation from the first term.
Book an individual visit
Life outside the classroom
Games run four afternoons a week on our own fields, and the co-curricular programme stretches from chamber choir and robotics to fencing, chess and forest school. Boys try things they would never have picked for themselves, which is usually where they find what they are good at.
Meet the Pre-Prep team
Year of Entry Calculator for Reception
Please give your child’s month and year of birth
Here is what joining us could look like for your child:
Pre-Prep (Reception)
Joining in September
Boys join Reception in the September after their fourth birthday. Registration opens as soon as your son is born and places are offered in the autumn before entry.
Prep (Year 3)
Joining in September
A second main entry point at 7+, assessed in the January before entry. Boys joining in %year% sit the assessment in %year-1%.
Prep 13+ (Year 7)
Joining in September
A small number of places at 11+ for boys who will stay with us to Common Entrance and scholarship at 13.
Please contact our admissions team to discuss the options for joining us.
Frequently asked questions
When should I register my son?
Registration for Pre-Prep opens as soon as your son is born, and most families register well before his third birthday. For 7+ and 11+ entry we ask for registrations by the October before the assessment. If you are looking at an occasional place mid-year, talk to the admissions office – places do come up.
How big are the classes?
Classes are capped at 18 in Pre-Prep and 20 in Prep, and sets in maths and English are smaller again. Every form has a tutor who stays with the boys for the year.
Where do boys go at 13?
Boys leave us for a wide range of senior schools, and scholarships are won every year. The most frequent destinations are listed in the prospectus, and the Head talks each family through the options from Year 6 onwards.
- Common Entrance and scholarship preparation from Year 7
- Individual guidance on school choice from Year 6
- Mock interviews and practice papers in the final year
A school where boys are known
Book a visitCome and see us
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Life at Rokeby
Three ways in
Around the school
Gallery
Meet the senior team
Dr Eleanor Whitfield Head
BA (Hons), PGCE, EdD
Dr Whitfield joined the school in 2015 after fifteen years in senior leadership across the state and independent sectors. She believes every pupil deserves to be known, challenged and celebrated, and leads the school with a focus on academic ambition and pastoral care in equal measure. Away from school she is a keen fell walker…
Read more
James Okafor Deputy Head (Academic)
MA Oxon, PGCE
Mr Okafor oversees the curriculum, timetabling and assessment across the whole school. A historian by training, he still teaches GCSE History every year because, in his words, the classroom is the best part of the job. He coordinates the scholars programme and the annual academic enrichment week.
Read morePriya Sharma Head of Pre-Prep
BSc (Hons), MEd
Mrs Sharma leads the Sixth Form and its programme of supra-curricular study, university preparation and careers guidance. She teaches Biology and has run the school’s Medical Society for eight years, with leavers now studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary science at universities across the UK and abroad.
Read moreTom Bennett Director of Sport
BSc (Hons) Sports Science
Mr Bennett runs the school’s sports programme across twenty-two acres of playing fields, coordinating fixtures, tours and coaching for all age groups. A former county-level cricketer, he is passionate about sport for all – every pupil represents the school at least once a season.
Read moreHeads of department
Hannah Clarke
Mrs Clarke has led the Mathematics department since 2019 and teaches across every year group, with a particular love of A Level Further Mathematics. She runs the UKMT challenge programme and the Wednesday problem-solving club, and is a keen long-distance cyclist.
Daniel Reyes
Mr Reyes joined the school in 2017 from a London comprehensive and became Head of English in 2022. He edits the school’s literary magazine, directs the Junior Production and is currently, very slowly, writing a novel.
Dr Amara Osei
Dr Osei oversees Biology, Chemistry and Physics and teaches Chemistry to A Level. Before teaching she spent six years in pharmaceutical research, and she remains an enthusiastic champion of girls in STEM through the school’s outreach programme.
Our curriculum
Pre-Prep
Pre-Prep
Reception to Year 2 work in their own building, with a form teacher who stays with them all year and specialists for music, games, French and art from the very first term. Reading, handwriting and number sense are taught explicitly and practised every day, and the afternoons stay deliberately unhurried.
Boys move up to the Prep school knowing how to listen, how to try and how to pick themselves up.
Prep
Prep
From Year 3 every subject is taught by a specialist, and maths and English are set so that each boy works at the pace that stretches him. Science moves into the laboratories, languages begin in earnest, and the first scholarship work appears in the summer of Year 6.
Games and the arts
Games and the arts
Games run four afternoons a week on our own fields, with fixtures against local schools from Year 4. Every boy learns an instrument if he wants to, the chamber choir sings in the parish church each term, and the summer production puts the whole of Year 6 on a stage.
Term dates
| Term | Term dates | Half term |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2026 | Thursday 3 September to Friday 11 December | Monday 19 to Friday 23 October |
| Spring 2027 | Tuesday 5 January to Friday 26 March | Monday 15 to Friday 19 February |
| Summer 2027 | Tuesday 20 April to Friday 2 July | Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June |
Get in touch
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A day at Rokeby
The shape of the day changes as a boy moves through the school.
Reception to Year 2 begin at 8.30am in their own building, with a morning of phonics, number and topic work broken by outdoor play. Specialist teachers take music, games, French and art from the first term, and the day ends at 3.30pm.
From Year 3 the timetable moves to subject specialists, with setting in maths and English from Year 4. Afternoons carry games four times a week, and the first taste of scholarship work arrives in the summer of Year 6.
Years 7 and 8 work towards Common Entrance and scholarship papers, with senior school guidance from the Head throughout. Boys take on responsibility across the school and finish the day with clubs until 5pm.
Latest news
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Office hours
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- Monday to Thursday, 8am to 5pm
- Friday, 8am to 4.30pm
- Saturday, 9am to 12pm in term time
Outside these hours please email office@rokeby.org.uk.