For well over a century, the British preparatory school stood in a distinctive world of its own – shaping generations of pupils, demanding discipline, and ‘preparing’ them for their public schools. Many prep schools flourished, others faded, and a few, like Northaw (later Norman Court), lived several lives across different names and settings before finally lapsing into extinction. More than the story of a single incarnation, it is that of an educational species: rare, resilient, but vulnerable to the changing social and economic climate.

Drawing on the familiar rituals of boarding prep schools – their locations and buildings, ethos and traditions, timetables and routines, music and worship, food, discipline, dormitories, games and the arts – this study illuminates what made these places at once formidable, formative and unforgettable.

Rich with anecdotes, historical insight, first-hand recollections and over 300 evocative photographs, this book traces the lives shaped within these institutions – including a post-war Labour prime minister – and remembers the 86 former pupils and teachers who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

This is a history for former prep school pupils, their families, and anyone curious about how one very British phenomenon rose, thrived and ultimately declined.