Headmistress' Welcome

At Solefield, everyone knows everyone by name and no one is ever overlooked. Our lessons are tailored to the individual pupil and delivered by dedicated, caring, subject specialists. Our school will remain small and nurturing whilst achieving outstanding academic results. We know that happy children thrive and we work in partnership with parents with the pupils at the heart of all we do.  

Solefield School became co-ed in January 2024, following the successful establishment of our co-ed pre-school, mixed in-house holiday camps and very positive stakeholder feedback. Following on from our mixed pre-school, girls are able to take up places alongside boys in our current Reception through to Year 4 and then progress through the school in the future. 

Both boys and girls benefit from Solefield’s very small classes, a personalised curriculum and a pass rate of more than 95% at 11+ year on year as well as excellent results at 13+ and scholarships. Pupils enjoy our curriculum full of chess, sport, thinking skills, PPE, swimming, outdoor learning, debating, performing arts and STEM. All this whilst benefiting from the very best pastoral care including bespoke wellbeing lessons, talk time, Lego and art therapy and even fully trained wellbeing dogs.  

True academic success is founded on happiness and fulfilment. As a school, we were delighted to be a Finalist as well as ‘Highly Commended’ in the Muddy Stilettos Awards again. Our pupils enjoy success in all areas and all of our pupils who have taken LAMDA exams (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) to date achieved the top grade of 'Distinction’. We have many published authors amongst our student body as well and our pupils recently won a creative writing competition, selected from 9000 schools nationwide.  

Every pupil is part of a sports’ team or performs on stage; no one is ever overlooked. Our pupils have scooped up national and regional trophies in many other sports; several of our pupils have been selected to represent the UK at the Gothia Youth Football World Cup again. Over 40 clubs are available each term, most of them free and provided by our dedicated staff. 

Residential trips are a key part of the pupils’ learning experience, and our Holiday Camps are run by Solefield staff for Solefield pupils, their siblings and friends.  

We consider that lunch is part of the whole school experience; our catering team know us all by name and prepare delicious, healthy, sustainably sourced lunches here at school, making sure that all pupils enjoy them. Committees, including one for food, means that pupils’ views are heard and respected.  

The school is calm, and a culture of kindness and valuing peoples’ differences permeates everything. Solefield staff are caring and gentle; we do not shout, and we do not have loud bells punctuating the school day. Our values - ‘Value Yourself. Value Others. Value our World’ run through everything we do.  

We are one of the few schools in the country to hold the National Wellbeing Award for Schools. We also help all pupils to manage stress through our reading initiative and attentive pastoral care.  We have Wellbeing Hubs, Wellbeing Dogs, Talk Time and a School Counsellor available as well as a popular Lego Therapy Room. Pupils all have a Study Skills session ahead of exams where they discuss revision techniques and a healthy working, eating and sleeping programme.   

Pupils invariably leave us assured, empathetic, independent young adults full of integrity and a love for learning.  I am told very often that Solefield pupils are well-rounded; they are confident and comfortable talking to adults without ever being arrogant; they shake hands, make eye contact and listen well.   

75 years of excellence show that pupils thrive at Solefield and become high-achieving, kind, gentle and resilient young adults with a true love of learning. Our pupils develop from sometimes shy and uncertain 3 -year -olds to academically successful, confident, kind, world-ready young adults. I am proud of every single one of them.

I would be delighted to meet with you. Please visit us at one of our Open Mornings or contact our Registrar, Mrs Savage to arrange a visit on 01732 452 142, email [email protected]. 

Helen McClure
Headmistress