A prep that leans hard into its outdoors identity, with Early Years designed around hands on exploration and a practical, confidence-building approach to learning. Forest is an independent day school for children aged 2 to 11, with Nursery through Year 6 on one site in Timperley, close to Altrincham. Graeme Booth has been headmaster since September 2021, following a planned leadership change within the school.
The most recent regulatory inspection was an ISI material change inspection (June 2024). It recorded that all standards within the scope of that inspection were met, including safeguarding, staffing checks, and premises.
Forest presents itself as a small, family-orientated prep that puts “character education” and outdoor learning at the centre, particularly for younger pupils. Its house system begins in Reception, with four named houses that run through to Year 6, building a sense of identity and friendly competition as pupils move up the school.
In Early Years, the tone is practical and developmental: independence and routines matter, and the day is structured to support steady progress in core early literacy and numeracy alongside play-based learning. The published Early Years curriculum emphasises a broad start that includes early reading, writing, mathematics, technology, and creativity, rather than a narrow push on worksheets.
The school also signals a pastoral style built on close parent contact. Its pastoral care page describes an “open door” approach, and the wider inspection evidence shows strong systems behind that, for example electronic recording of concerns and clear referral pathways.
A small but distinctive detail is the school’s use of animals as part of school life, including tortoises, chickens, and a school dog (named on the open morning information). For many younger children, that can make the school feel less formal and more relational, especially if they respond well to calm routines and gentle responsibility.
Forest positions itself as non-selective at entry but explicitly focused on preparing pupils for a wide spread of senior school outcomes, including selective routes. The school’s own summary of destinations states that 81% of pupils have moved on to grammar schools since 2012.
Preparation is described as starting earlier than many families expect, with verbal and non-verbal reasoning and 11+ preparation referenced as beginning in Year 2. That does not mean every child is on an exam-track from age seven, but it does indicate that the school treats senior school entry as a core part of the Year 3 to Year 6 journey, not an add-on in Year 6.
The implications for families are fairly clear:
Children who enjoy structured problem solving, pattern spotting, and progressively harder tasks may find the junior years feel purposeful rather than pressured.
Children who need more time to mature academically can still do well in a prep setting like this, but families should ask how the school differentiates 11+ style work so it builds confidence rather than anxiety.
Forest highlights specialist teaching beyond the class teacher model, particularly in areas such as Art, Music, Sport and French. That matters because in a small prep, specialist teaching can be one of the most tangible differences from a typical primary setting, not because the content is radically different, but because delivery is often more consistent and skills-based.
Staffing suggests a deliberately supported classroom model. The June 2024 ISI report notes that, since the start of the academic year, every classroom has a teaching assistant, and that supervision rotas and staffing have been strengthened to support ratios and safe practice. For parents, the practical implication is that children who benefit from quick in-class prompts, quieter scaffolding, or small group consolidation can often get that help without being pulled out repeatedly.
Where additional needs are identified, the school publishes detail about its Learning Support approach, including a dedicated Learning Support Classroom and an SENCO with stated specialist training (including dyslexia specialist practitioner). This is useful for families who want clarity on how support is delivered day-to-day, and whether it is built into classroom routines rather than bolted on.
This is a prep with a strong stated 11+ culture, but it does not present itself as tied to a single senior destination. Published school communications over time reference grammar school pathways and also a spread of independent and high-performing local options, reflecting a “right fit” approach rather than one fixed route.
For parents, two sensible questions to take into any visit or conversation are:
What proportion of Year 6 leavers go down each route in the most recent year, grammar, independent, and non-selective, and how does the school support each pathway?
How does the school handle children who start 11+ preparation but then decide a different senior school route is healthier?
Admissions are direct to the school and described as non-selective overall, with the practical constraint being whether places are available in a given year group. The school also notes that vacancies can arise across the year and encourages families to enquire even outside the main September start pattern.
For September 2026 planning, the school has published an Open Morning on Saturday 07 March 2026 (10:00 to 12:00) with required registration. If you are considering entry beyond Nursery or Reception, the Open Morning page also signals that the school expects prospective families across the full age range to attend, not just those looking at the youngest years.
Because this is an independent prep, it is also worth asking about internal milestones:
When the school begins formal reasoning work by year group
How it decides who is entered for which senior school tests
What support looks like for children who are not taking a selective route
Parents comparing options should use FindMySchool’s Map Search to sanity-check travel time and daily logistics before falling in love with the ethos, because wraparound can stretch the day, but commute friction still adds up over years.
Pastoral care is presented as a whole-school responsibility with strong communication between home and school. The June 2024 ISI inspection evidence points to safeguarding systems that are structured and consistently applied, including staff training, electronic recording of concerns, and effective monitoring and filtering for online safety.
For children, wellbeing often comes down to whether there are trusted adults, predictable routines, and clear boundaries. The inspection evidence reports that pupils say they feel safe because they can access trusted adults who listen and take action, and that matters as a baseline for any learning culture.
Extracurricular life is unusually specific and well-documented, with termly club schedules and named providers. In Spring Term 2026, examples include:
Chess Club for Years 2 to 6, run by Sarah Longson (nee Hegarty), described as a former British Ladies Champion, with a pathway from basics to advanced strategy.
Mini Kickers football offering for Kindergarten and Reception, delivered by coaches linked to Altrincham Football Club, alongside a separate Football Club for Years 1 to 4.
Just B Arty Club for Reception to Year 6, plus Cooking Club for Reception to Year 2 and Culinary Club for Years 5 to 6.
LAMDA lessons for Years 1 to 6, structured in small groups and aimed at communication, performance, and confidence through graded speech and drama work.
The implication is that extracurricular is not just a list of generic clubs, it is being used to build specific skills: confidence through performance, strategic thinking through chess, fine motor and creativity through art, and independence through practical cooking.
For 2025/26, published tuition fees for Reception to Year 6 are:
Reception: £2,856 per term
Years 1 to 2: £3,026 per term
Years 3 to 6: £3,254 per term
Lunch is listed separately at £390 per term for Reception to Year 6. The school also publishes additional wraparound session fees (Breakfast Club and Late Stay) for 2025/26.
The published terms and conditions also set out a sibling discount structure, with a 10% reduction per term for a third child and a further 10% for a fourth and subsequent child, subject to the conditions described.
The school’s publicly available pages do not clearly set out a bursary or scholarship scheme for this prep, so families who need fee support should ask directly what is available, if anything, and what the application timeline looks like.
*Bursaries may be available for eligible families.
Basis: per term
The school publishes a detailed daily rhythm. Breakfast Club runs from 07:30, with registration at 08:40. For Early Years and Lower School, the main day ends at 15:10, with Late Stay and extracurricular starting after that; Upper School days run later, with the published end of day at 15:45.
Wraparound care is available up to 18:00 for children aged 2 and above, and the school also describes holiday provision, with wraparound managed by school staff.
Selective pathway culture. The school’s published destinations data points to a strong grammar school pipeline. That will suit some children, but families should probe how the school keeps preparation proportionate for children who are not heading for selective tests.
Costs beyond tuition. Lunch and wraparound are charged separately in published fee information, and those line items can materially change the annual total for working families.
Older pupils, shorter runway. If you are considering an in-year join in Years 4 to 6, ask how quickly children are integrated into the reasoning and senior school preparation sequence, and what support exists for gaps.
Financial support clarity. The public pages reviewed do not spell out bursaries or scholarships for this prep, so parents who need support should ask early to avoid late-stage surprises.
Forest School, Altrincham is best read as a modern prep with a traditional goal, strong senior school outcomes, delivered through outdoor learning, structured routines, and high adult support in classrooms. It suits families who want a small-school feel, a clear 11+ pathway, and wraparound that can cover long working days. The main trade-off is that the school’s published identity is tightly linked to selective progression, so families who want a slower academic pace should test fit carefully.
For an independent prep, the strongest public indicators are inspection compliance, staffing structure, and destinations. The June 2024 ISI inspection evidence shows required standards in its scope were met, including safeguarding and premises, and the school publishes a long-run grammar school progression figure since 2012.
For 2025/26, published tuition fees for Reception to Year 6 range from £2,856 to £3,254 per term, depending on year group. Lunch and wraparound sessions are listed separately in the published fee information.
Yes, Nursery starts from age 2. The school publishes a standard school-day rhythm with wraparound from 07:30 and provision shown up to 18:00 for children aged 2 and above, depending on the session type.
Applications are made directly to the school and the admissions approach is described as non-selective, with places depending on availability in each year group. For September 2026 planning, the school has published an Open Morning on Saturday 07 March 2026, with registration required.
The school publishes a detailed schedule. Spring Term 2026 examples include Chess Club for Years 2 to 6, Just B Arty for Reception to Year 6, Cooking and Culinary clubs, football options for multiple ages, and LAMDA lessons for Years 1 to 6.
Get in touch with the school directly
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