Swallows Campus (ages 3 – 8)

Swallows is the name of our campus for children aged from 3 to 8 years of age.  This is where children will normally begin at King Henry VIII Preparatory School and where they and their parents become part of a friendly school community. 

Children may start at Swallows when they are 3 years of age (when they join the School’s Nursery) and will transfer to the School’s Hales Campus when they are 8 years of age.   Thus children can complete over 5 years of education at Swallows. 

The main times for joining Swallows are:

1. in the term after the child turns 3 years of age;
2. in the September after a child turns 3 years of age (age 3 – 4);
3. at the start of the Reception year (age 4 – 5);
4. at the beginning of Year 3 (age 7 – 8).

However, children may join the School in other year groups if spaces are available. 

Swallows is a self-contained campus which can cater for up to 264 pupils.  It has its own Assembly Hall, Sports Hall, playgrounds and field, Early Years Centre, Astroturf, Swimming Pool, ICT Suite, Library, Art Studio, Music Studio and instrumental teaching rooms.  The 3½ acre campus is a lovely mixture of modern and old buildings which give the site great character.  Its happy atmosphere is often remarked upon. 

The Structure
Nursery (age 3 – 4)
Children may spend up to 5 terms in the School’s Nursery until the September after they turn 4 years of age.  The Nursery is situated in a superb purpose-built Early Years Centre to the rear of the Swallows site.  Accommodation comprises two main teaching studios, a kitchen, a covered playground and an adventure playground. 

Children are cared for in groups of 8 by qualified Nursery Nurses who work under the direction of a fully qualified teacher.  The School follows the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum which has six main areas of learning. The implementation of this curriculum is rooted in the ethos of the School and the experience and beliefs of its staff.  Music is taught by a specialist Music Teacher.

Reception (age 4 – 5)
Children begin their Reception year in the September after they turn 4 years of age.  There are three Reception classes, each of 16 pupils.  Each class is led by a fully qualified teacher.  Two classroom assistants also help with the Reception classes.  Reception forms a distinct unit which is adjacent to the School’s Nursery.  There are three classrooms, two very modern ones and, just across a covered courtyard, the third is situated in the old building and is known as Willow Cottage. 

The Reception curriculum covers the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum but the teaching style is traditional.  The majority of lessons are taught by the class teachers, with support from classroom assistants, but specialist teachers take Music and some aspects of Sport, such as Games and Swimming.  There are three hours of Sport within the Reception curriculum. 

Years 1 and 2 (age 5 – 7)
These two year groups comprise what is known in maintained schools as Key Stage One.  There are usually three classes in each year group (six classes in total).  The curriculum within Key Stage One is topic based, which means that many of the lessons within the curriculum for each year group are linked by a common theme; for example, one of the first topics at the start of Year 2 is ‘It’s Magic!’, within this is the study of electricity in Science; the Design Technology element comprises wind-up spiders; children hear the story of Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat; they write poems about witches; label potion bottles using ICT and prepare pumpkin soup!  We feel the topic approach allows children and teachers to be thoroughly engaged in what is being taught and builds strong and sensible links between subjects. 

Lessons are taught by class teachers in the main but an increasing number of lessons are taught by subject specialist teachers: Music, some sports, French, ICT.    In Year 2 Mathematics is ‘set’ across the year group into classes according to ability.  

Year 3 (age 7 – 8)
This usually comprises four classes situated in the Main Building.  The courses have strong cross-curricular links but are more subject based than in Year 2 and the full range of subjects taught at KHPS are followed: English, Mathematics, Science, ICT, French, History, Geography, Religious Education, PSHCE, Art and Design, Music, P.E., Swimming, Games.   English and Mathematics is ‘setted’ across the year group, according to academic ability. 

History of the Swallows Campus
The old house at the heart of the Swallows Campus was originally a 17th century cottage.  In 1720 it was rebuilt as a gentleman’s residence and became known as Styvechale Villa. 

In the summer of 1838 the house was tenanted by John Wilkinson, an officer in the 17th Lancers, and his family.  Staying with the family were Emily Bulwer Lytton and her younger brother, Robert, who later became the 1st Earl of Lytton. Later, when Robert came to write his memoirs, he recalled the memorable summer he had spent at Styvechale Villa:

‘We were all together in a lovely house, as I remember it, within walk of Coventry.  I think Emily must have been ten that summer. My association of wild roses, with her birthday, which lasts with me still as the Junes come round, dates from that time. There was a large room at the top of the house which was called ‘The Children’s Room’ where we used to spend hours and hours in the most untroubled enjoyment.’

During the summer their father, Edward Bulwer Lytton, one of the most famous writers of the age, visited Styvechale Villa. 

In 1920 Styvechale Villa was purchased by the Reverend Kenelm Swallow M.C., a war hero lately returned from the First World War.  After the horrors he experienced during fighting on the Western Front, including the loss of his own brother, Swallow wished to create a school where children would be happy and inspired.  Accordingly he founded Coventry Preparatory School which had the happiness of the individual at the heart of its ethos.

Coventry Preparatory School was purchased from John Phipps, the last owner-headmaster, in 1992 by the Coventry School Foundation.  In September 2008 Coventry Preparatory School and King Henry VIII Junior School merged to form King Henry VIII Preparatory School.