Aldenham School

Aldenham’s story reaches back to 1597, when Richard Platt established a free grammar school and almshouses. Four centuries later it is a co-educational day and boarding school for pupils from 3 to 18, with a Prep School, Senior School and sixth form on the Elstree site. Girls joined the Sixth Form in 1987 and the 11+ in 2004, milestones in the school’s gradual move to its current model.

Academic life combines the core curriculum with a broad programme of intellectual, cultural, musical and sporting activity. The House system gives pupils a smaller community within the larger age range, while pastoral care and individual progress remain part of the everyday organisation. Moving from nursery and prep through the senior years creates continuity, but the school’s character changes as pupils reach GCSE and sixth-form choices.

Boarding has several levels rather than one fixed arrangement. Day pupils, flexi-boarders and full boarders live within the same house community, with options including two or three nights each week and full boarding from age 13. Houses provide study support and access to the theatre, library, sports hall and gym, while weekends are organised without a Saturday school timetable. That flexibility is one of Aldenham’s clearest practical distinctions.

The main entry points are 11+, 13+ and 16+, with examinations, interviews, references and recent school reports used in different combinations. Sixth-form applicants may be considered through predicted GCSE grades or an online entrance examination. Academic, sport, music, drama, art and design awards sit alongside means-tested bursary support, completing a school shaped by long history, co-education, House life and adaptable boarding.