Summer Fields

Focus

A healthy mind in a healthy body

Day fees

$18,850–$33,300

Boarding fees

$47,800

Pupils

330

Ages

4–13

Spear’s Review

One of very few prep schools to offer full boarding, Summer Fields is as beautiful as it sounds, set in 70 acres of grounds close to central Oxford.

A traditional approach prioritises health and character as a way of encouraging academic success. The school motto is mens sana in corpore sano – a healthy mind in a healthy body – and the number of scholarships and offers from first-rate senior schools bear out the sense of the strategy. Eton is the most common destination, followed by Harrow and Radley.

Head teacher

David Faber became the 10th headmaster of Summer Fields in September 2010. An alumnus of the school, he also served as a governor for nine years. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read modern languages. After university he worked for the Conservative Party in a number of roles, and served as an MP from 1992 until 2001.

Admissions

According to the school:

Prospective Summer Fields Pre-prep and Prep pupils are asked to sit an entry assessment. Parents and guardians are encouraged to visit the school and, if possible, meet with the head before entering their child for the entry assessment; this gives families and prospective pupils the opportunity to ensure that Summer Fields is the right school for them. Individual appointments are available, and there are regular open mornings in September and May. Families can register their child for a place from birth, and prospective students need to be registered before they can sit the entry assessment.

Destination schools

Eton, Radley and Harrow.

Accessibility

Heathrow; 50 minutes

Location

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