A leading independent prep school in Somerset, offering excellence in education for 2-13 year olds
Congratulations to Peppy, Willoughby and Albert, who have all secured places at highly selective senior schools.
This September, the boys will start in Year 9; Albert and Peppy at Winchester College, and Willoughby at Eton College.
Admission to these prestigious institutions is highly competitive. Eton seeks candidates who demonstrate not only academic excellence, but also strong character and leadership potential. Winchester is similarly selective, offering just 140 places into Year 9 from over 400 applicants.
“We work closely with parents to find the right school for each child, and each year our Year 8 cohort move to a wide variety of state and independent schools,” said Headmaster Mr McCullough.
“That said, I am extremely proud of what these boys have achieved. They have all been through a rigorous selection process to gain entry to two of the finest schools in the country.”
Our ‘parents and friends’ cricket team, the Perrott Hill Plodders 114-9 (20 overs) beat The King’s Cavaliers 98-6 (20 Overs) by 16 runs.
On Tuesday, the Plodders headed to King’s Bruton, to take on the King’s Cavaliers searching for their first win of the season. After winning the toss and electing to bat, OPH’s Dan Wyatt and Charlie Binns got things off to an unusually successful start. After a flurry of boundaries the first wicket fell in the sixth over, with the score on 42. The middle order then experienced a wobble that would put the finest Panna Cotta to shame, James Salaman finally coming to the rescue with some mighty blows. Late and steady runs meant we finished with a respectable 114, from our allotted twenty overs.
In reply the Cavaliers started strongly but never got ahead of the run rate. Richard Wakely and Simon Sheldon bowled tightly, restricting their batters despite seven dropped catches by the Plodders. It was lovely to see Jamie Streatfeild practising for sports day with some energetic boundary fielding and Jules Campbell took a fine catch in the covers. A very good and hard-fought win to get the Plodders off the mark in 2025.
New players are most welcome (some might argue they are quite frankly needed) – please contact Alex at alexander@ahrichards.co.uk
Congratulations to our talented Year 7 and 8 mathematicians who achieved certificates in the 2025 UK Maths Trust (UKMT) Junior Maths Challenge. This is a national competition designed to encourage mathematical reasoning and develop precision of thought and problem-solving capabilities.
We were absolutely delighted to see 10 pupils (James R, Marco, Saba, Luca M, Etienne, Joe, Thalia, James C, Esme and Sam) receive Bronze certificates, and 4 (Max, Albert, Willoughby and Martha) receive Silver certificates. Special mention to Martha (pictured) who was the top scorer in Year 7.
Best in School (and Year 8) was Freddie (pictured) who achieved a Gold Certificate, with a score that qualifies him to enter the next round of the competition: the Junior Kangaroo.
“This is a tremendous achievement,” said Mrs Crane Head of Maths.
“I am delighted with the progress being made in Maths by children of all abilities, and especially pleased to see the hard work and commitment of these particular pupils recognised by the UKMT – a really well-regarded national competition.”
It has been an exceptional year for our current Year 8 pupils, with over 50% of them securing prestigious scholarships to top schools across the country.
Awards have been achieved across the board in academia, sport, music, art and drama to schools including Canford, Bryanston, King’s College Taunton, Blundell’s and King’s School, Bruton.
“This is talented group,” said Headmaster Mr McCullough, “who have demonstrated natural ability across a range of disciplines.”
“But as we know, talent alone is not enough. What has made this group really stand out is their sheer determination and willingness to learn and improve. In that respect they have been extremely positive role models to the pupils following in their footsteps.”
At Perrott Hill we pride ourselves on the way we prepare our children for senior school. Whilst we enjoy the security of being part of an educational group of schools (www.perrotthilleducation.com), we continue to enjoy the qualities of a genuinely independent prep school, and as part of this we are able to offer impartial advice around the best next steps to find the right fit for each child. This approach is reflected in the wide range of schools that our pupils move into in Year 9.
“This cohort have proved just what is possible, if you start with a strong foundation,” Mr McCullough added.
“We look forward to keeping in touch and seeing where their talents take them.”
Peppy has smashed through all previous reading records as he prepares to hit “30 million words read” since he joined us in Year 3. That’s 558 books read over the last five and a half years – an average of 100 books a year!!
“This is an incredible feat” explains Head of English Mrs Byrne.
“If we look at Peppy’s reading record, he has read a wide variety of genres, both children’s and young adult fiction, which ranges from Harry Potter (the complete set) and the Divergent series, to classics such as Swallows and Amazons, Hound of the Baskervilles and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
“His passion for reading and literature is also reflected in the quality of his creative writing, and fantastic use of vocabulary.
“He has certainly set the bar high for anyone coming though who wants to break the record, although younger brother Oli is hot on his heels!”
Encouraging children to read extensively and write with confidence is a core aim here at Perrott Hill, not least because reading is the thread that ties all academic learning together. We run Book Groups throughout the year; in-house creative writing events; enter numerous written word competitions and regularly invite authors to school.
In addition to our own marking, monitoring and assessments we are also supported by the ‘Accelerated Reader’ (AR) programme. This technology assesses reading abilities and levels, makes book recommendations and tests comprehension with fun, interactive quizzes.
“We have seen reading standards soar – across the board – since the introduction of AR,” said Mrs Byrne.
“Most importantly, every child here has a book on the go at all times, which they dip in to during their daily ‘reading rest’ sessions.”
So, while Peppy may be our headline-grabbing record-breaker, at Perrott Hill every pupil is on their own reading adventure. Whether it’s 30 million words or just the first chapter, we’re proud to see our pupils diving into books, growing in confidence, and discovering the joy of reading – one page at a time.
The sun’s out and the stage is set… it’s almost time for tonight’s Perrott Promenade!
Before we get going, we wanted to give a huge shout-out to two of our brilliant pupils, Joe and Tessa, who have composed and arranged music especially for this evening’s performance – no mean feat.
Tessa in Year 5 has composed a piece for La Carotte Quartet to perform, with the appropriate title, ‘A Bunch of Carrots’. Tessa is a budding violin and piano player who had success in the Grade 3-4 group of the Bryanston Strings Competition in March.
After successfully arranging ‘633 Squadron’ for the Brass Ensemble last year, Joe in Year 8 has arranged the finale for this year’s Promenade, the classic 80s hit ‘Our House’ by Madness. This has involved arranging the piece for full orchestra and choir! In addition, Joe has recently attained Grade 7 trumpet with distinction and was promoted, above his age, to become a member of the National Childrens’ Main Orchestra this year.
We are exceptionally proud of both of them.
ProCoaching are running Sports Camps at Perrott Hill over the summer for 5 to 14 year-olds.
The camps are open to all abilities:
Cricket: 28th – 30th July and 26th & 27th August
Tennis: 31st July and 1st August
Football: 28th and 29th August
Click here for more details and to book.
Insects play an incredibly important role in our natural world and it is important that we teach our children about them.
So, we invited Bugfest (and a selection of mini-beasts) to school to explain how insects support the wider environment. They play a key role in our ecosystem as they pollinate plants and crops; break down waste into fertilised soil and provide a source of food for animals and humans.
The children of course, found the insects fascinating and loved seeing them up close and personal.
“We want the children to build a connection with and respect for the natural world”, said Reception Teacher Mrs McCullough.
“This starts at an early age, by helping them to understand the role every creature plays in the world around us.”
Perrott Hill is an exceptionally happy school where children spend lots of time outside, and have plenty of opportunity to play and enjoy what we believe constitutes a ‘proper childhood’.
It is also an academic school where children are stretched and challenged so they make good progress and achieve their full potential.
As Headmaster Mr McCullough says, “I cannot overstate the importance of play, and ensuring children are happy while they are at school.”
“Children start learning to read, write and understand numeracy through play and we believe this enjoyment should continue throughout their Prep School years.
“This is why we have designed a curriculum that includes singing, dancing and performing; adventuring and exploring; creating and imagining; reading and playing – because these are all tools we actively use to make learning fun and memorable.
“In addition, our teachers work hard to make their lessons engaging and highly interactive, because if we can spark curiosity and instil a love of learning at this age, we are building positive foundations that can last a lifetime.
“So, we’ll continue to sprinkle that bit of Perrott Hill magic on all we do because we know, as experienced educators, that if we focus on the joy … success and achievement will naturally follow.”
Book a private tour to see how a Perrott Hill education could benefit your child.
Year 4 took to the stage, ably supported by a fantastic Year 3 choir, to perform ‘First Kids in Space’ to the whole school this week. They then prepared themselves for another evening show for family and friends.
With great gusto and enthusiasm, the children told the story of a group of cadets sent to space to help the resident androids. They experience a bumpy ride, but discover it’s about to get worse when the androids wreck the spacecraft, leaving the cadets wondering if they’ll ever get home again …
“Not only was this a great display of acting and singing talent,” said Headmaster Mr McCullough, “it was wonderful to hear how disciplined the children have been in learning their lines and songs.
“It is this focus and enthusiasm which has allowed the children to shine bright and really showcase their talents.
“Well done to everyone involved.”
