Northampton pupils who had been taught in school library move into new building

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School opened its doors two-weeks-ago to key-stage-one pupils who live within a three-mile radius from the Malcolm Arnold campus.

The school, which is the first free school to open under the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), aims to combine the best of the state and the private sector education.

The prep school was initially set up in 2014 and had an intake of 60 reception pupils who studied in Malcolm Arnold Academy library, but the new state-of-the-art building has made room for 420 students from reception to year six.

Headteacher, Marie Lally, said: “Our year two students have been able to build ethos and leadership with the younger pupils, they are our oldest students so they have set the standards. They are fantastic ambassadors and mentors for younger years."

Miss Lally, who has worked at the school for three years, added: “I have been really involved in planning the school and thinking about how it comes together.”

Pupils at Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School start the day at 8.30am and finish at 3.30pm which is typically longer than the regular school day.

Miss Lally added: “We tend to use the extra minutes in the school day to focus on the children’s reading. We run a breakfast club from 7.30am and after school clubs run until 6pm which helps parents who work late.

“At Malcolm Arnold, we have a closer relationship with parents. We also have the opportunity to get to know our staff really well as the school started as a smaller cohort. Staff and parents know that they can grow something special which they have been a part of from the beginning."

The school took 39 weeks to build from start to finish and is set to play host to its first ever open days for the new reception intake on Wednesday 4 November and Friday 6 November.

To find out more information about the open days, see link: http://www.malcolmarnoldprep.co.uk/news/open-events-september-2016-reception-intake