Stonar School

Few schools in England can stable 74 horses, and fewer still let a pupil ride one before breakfast and sit an A-level by lunch. Stonar makes that combination its signature. This co-educational independent school near Atworth, between Melksham and Bath, takes children from age 2 in the nursery through to 18 in the sixth form, with day, weekly, flexi and full boarding all available from Year 5. Founded in 1895, it sits on a country estate in rural Wiltshire and is best known across the country for an on-site equestrian centre approved by the British Horse Society. Roughly 451 pupils are on roll. The current head is Matthew Way, in post since 2019, with Aaron J G King taking over from September 2026. The school is non-selective, which shapes both its admissions and the way it talks about progress.

Stonar runs on four plainly stated principles: work hard, be kind, get involved, and shape the world. That last phrase is not accidental. The school belongs to Globeducate, an international family of more than 65 schools educating around 40,000 students across 11 countries, whose own tagline is shaping the world. That membership brings a genuinely outward-looking feel to a school set deep in the English countryside: pupils take part in a calendar of international events across the network, engage with sustainability work through partnerships with WWF and Eco-Schools, and pick up STEAM skills through coding, robotics and LEGO Education. Most pupils are British, so the global outlook sits alongside a recognisably English boarding-school core rather than replacing it. Boarders arrive from across the UK and overseas, and the day population draws from Bath, Melksham, Chippenham and the surrounding villages. The school describes the experience as the Stonar Journey, a progression that carries a child from the nursery yard to the sixth-form cafe over sixteen years.

The estate itself does a lot of the work in setting the tone. Cottles Park is a country setting of open grounds, paddocks and period buildings, and the rhythm of the place is bound up with the stables: early mornings in the yard, riders heading out on the hacking track, the cross-country field in regular use. It is an unusually active, outdoors school, and that physical, get-involved culture runs through everything from adventure training to the flying club. Children who arrive shy tend to find a niche quickly, because the sheer range of things to do leaves few without a foothold.

The ISI inspection of January 2026 captured the ethos well. Inspectors found that the school's philosophy of effort, kindness, and service to others sits at the centre of daily life, and that pupils embrace those principles consistently in their conduct and relationships. Conduct is calm and supported by a behaviour policy that pupils understand. For a school this small, the result is a close, family atmosphere where staff know children individually across all the phases, and where a prep pupil and a sixth-former can pass the same horse in the same yard. That continuity is rare, and it is one of the things parents who choose Stonar tend to value most.

Because Stonar is non-selective, its results are best read as a measure of progress from a wide range of starting points rather than as the product of an academically filtered intake. At GCSE the headline grades are respectable for an all-ability school: 22% of entries reached grade 9 or 8, and 45% reached grades 7 or above. In our proprietary FindMySchool rankings, built from official data, the school places 2nd in Wiltshire at GCSE and within the top 25% of schools in England, above the England average. That local standing is the clearer signal of how the senior school performs against its peers, and it is a strong result for a school that turns no child away on the basis of an entrance test.

At A-level the picture is more typical. Roughly 7% of grades were A*, with around 22% at grades A* to B. The sixth form ranks 2nd in Wiltshire and sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England, a solid showing that reflects the breadth of the sixth-form offer rather than a narrow academic specialism. These are proprietary FindMySchool rankings drawn from official results data. The gap between the GCSE and A-level standing is worth understanding: a mixed-ability sixth form that keeps vocational and academic routes open will not post the same A* density as a hothouse, and Stonar is open about being the former rather than the latter.

The nursery and prep phases are not separately ranked in the same way, but the inspection found that teaching across all phases is effective and that pupils make good progress in relation to their assessed starting points. Teachers were credited with high levels of subject knowledge and well-planned lessons, and the early years was singled out for high-quality learning experiences and attentive care. Parents weighing Stonar should read the academic record through that progress lens: this is a school built to move a broad ability range forward, not to chase elite headline percentages. For families who want to see where it sits against neighbouring schools at a glance, our local hub comparison tool lines the Wiltshire results up side by side.

The curriculum is deliberately broad and coherent across the whole age range, mixing academic, practical and creative subjects, with structured opportunities for pupils to build digital skills. In the senior school and sixth form that breadth becomes a real asset. Alongside more than 20 A-levels and BTECs, students can take vocational routes in equine management, business, and sports and exercise science, so a young rider with a clear career direction is not forced down a purely academic path. The early years follows the EYFS framework, with practitioners and room leaders providing a well-organised, supportive setting that the inspection found meets each child's individual needs.

Teaching is consistent and well-pitched. Inspectors found that teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge and plan lessons that support good progress, with assessment used to move pupils on from where they actually are. Class sizes are small, a direct consequence of the modest roll, and that allows for the individualised attention that a mixed-ability, all-through school depends on. Specialist learning support and pastoral support are available as additional provision, charged separately, and English as an additional language teaching is built in for international boarders, which matters in a school with a genuinely global classroom. The result is a setting where a child who needs stretching and a child who needs scaffolding can sit in the same room and both be served.

Progression within Stonar is smooth rather than competitive. Children move from the nursery into the prep school, and from the prep into the senior school, without a selective gate; the all-through structure is designed to carry a child from age 2 to 18 under one roof. Year 11 students continue into the sixth form on the basis of meeting subject-appropriate entry requirements rather than facing a hard cut-off, and the sixth form also recruits externally, including international boarders. In practice that means a child can join at any stage and slot into an established cohort, and a Stonar family rarely has to face the upheaval of an 11-plus or a 13-plus transfer elsewhere.

At 18 the destinations are encouraging. According to the school, around 95% of leavers secure a place at their first-choice university, and around half go on to Russell Group institutions, a strong outcome for a non-selective intake. Careers guidance is individualised, with the inspection praising an effective careers programme covering both higher-education and vocational next steps. Oxbridge entry is occasional rather than routine, as you would expect at a school of this size and profile, with the school reaching Cambridge in recent cycles. The vocational equine pathway also feeds directly into careers in the horse industry, from yard management to competition and coaching, so not every Stonar leaver is heading to a lecture theatre, and the school treats that as a strength rather than a shortfall.

Stonar is non-selective and admits at every stage, so families are not facing a high-stakes entrance exam. The main entry points are the nursery at age 2, Reception at age 4, Year 7 at age 11, and Year 12 at 16, with in-year places available subject to space. Entry typically involves a taster day, a look at school reports and a conversation rather than competitive testing, and the school assesses fit and readiness rather than ranking applicants. There is a non-refundable application fee of £120 per child, and an acceptance deposit that is held and returned as a credit at the end of a pupil's final term.

Boarding opens up from Year 5, with UK and international options, and day pupils can convert to flexi or occasional boarding nights as family life requires. Because the school is independent and recruits directly, there is no Local Authority coordinated process and no published catchment distance; proximity is not a factor in offers, which removes the postcode anxiety that shapes admissions at popular state schools. For families comparing options, our map search and saved-schools shortlist make it easy to weigh Stonar against nearby alternatives on travel time and provision.

Sixth-form entry depends on appropriate GCSE results for the chosen subjects, and the school is open about welcoming students from outside as well as its own Year 11 cohort. International applications are well established, supported by English language provision and visa administration handled by the school. Scholarships are offered at Years 7, 9 and the sixth form, so a talented young rider, musician or academic can apply for support at the point of entry, which is worth factoring into the timing of an application.

Pastoral care is a clear strength, and for a boarding school it has to be. The inspection found that leaders provide well-structured support for pupils' emotional wellbeing and mental health, with PSHE programmes that help children build self-esteem and make positive choices. In a small school, individual children are visible to staff in a way larger institutions struggle to match, and the all-through structure means a child's history is known to the people teaching them rather than handed over at each transition.

Boarders in particular are well looked after. The boarding houses offer warm, well-maintained accommodation where new boarders receive structured support during their transition into residential life, which counts for a great deal when a child is settling in away from home, sometimes from another country. Safeguarding was judged effective, with comprehensive staff training that covers radicalisation and extremism, suitable internet filtering and monitoring, and rigorous oversight from the school's directors. Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe, online and off. For families sending a child to board, that combination of close supervision and a homely setting is the reassurance that matters most.

Boarding sits at the centre of Stonar life and is available from Year 5 right through to the upper sixth, on full, weekly, flexi and occasional bases. The school runs three boarding houses, Hart, Ganbrook and York, each with its own community and staff, and day pupils sit alongside boarders so the two populations are fully integrated rather than running on parallel tracks. That integration matters: a day child does not feel like a visitor in a boarding school, and a boarder is not cut off from local family life.

The flexibility is a genuine selling point. A day family can add boarding nights when work or fixtures demand it, with occasional boarding charged at a per-night rate, and weekly boarders go home at weekends while full boarders enjoy a structured weekend programme. The international intake gives the houses a multinational character, supported by built-in English language teaching and visa administration. For families drawn by the riding, boarding also solves the practical problem of early-morning yard duties and weekend competitions, since the horses and the riders are in the same place; a competitive young eventer can train, compete and study without the constant ferrying that the sport usually demands of parents. Distant and overseas families should factor in travel and exeat logistics, but for many the all-in boarding life is precisely the appeal.

The equestrian centre is what sets Stonar apart from almost every other school in the country, and it is worth being specific. The British Horse Society approved facility offers stabling for 74 horses, a 40m by 20m indoor arena with a viewing gallery and lecture room, outdoor schools, a hacking track, and a cross-country schooling field built to British eventing standards by David Evans, an Olympic course designer. Pupils can bring their own horse or loan one of the school's, take recognised equestrian qualifications, and compete through the National Schools Equestrian Association in dressage, show jumping, arena eventing and one-day events, with teams reaching qualifiers and the national championships. The inspection noted that this enrichment enables real success on the national and international stage. Riding scholarships are available for talented young equestrians, and the vocational equine management course ties the passion to a qualification. The centre is open to riders of all abilities through the Stonar Riding Academy, so a beginner and a county-level competitor can both find a place in the same yard, with expert coaching across the disciplines and livery and loan options for those without their own horse. For a horse-mad child, there is simply no comparable school setup in the region, and few anywhere in England.

Sport beyond the saddle is strong too, with named programmes in rugby excellence, tennis coaching and triathlon, and the open estate supports cross-country and outdoor pursuits across the seasons. The creative side is well provided for across drama, music, art and photography, giving non-riders an equally clear identity in the school. The co-curricular menu, branded the Stonar Clubs, runs from adventure training to a flying club and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, the last of which makes natural use of the surrounding countryside. Sixth-formers can add a Leith's cookery qualification and an Extended Project Qualification, the latter a useful piece of independent research that strengthens a university application. The breadth here is real, and it reflects the get-involved principle in practice rather than as a slogan: the challenge for most pupils is choosing between activities rather than finding one.

Stonar runs as a full day and boarding school on a single rural estate near Atworth, with the school day structured to accommodate boarding routines, fixtures and stable duties. Wraparound care matters less than at a town day school because boarding absorbs much of it, but before-school and after-school care for prep pupils is included within the fees, which is helpful for working day families. Fees also include text books, meals, personal accident insurance and most clubs, so the headline figure covers more of daily life than at some independents. For nursery fee details, see the school website; government-funded hours are available for eligible families, and you can read our guide to nursery funding for what may apply.

The location is genuinely rural, so transport is a practical consideration. The school sits between Melksham, Chippenham and Bath, and many families drive; school transport and minibus arrangements are available, and the nearby mainline stations at Chippenham and Bath connect to London and Bristol for boarders travelling at the start and end of term. Optional subjects, riding and livery, and transport are charged separately from the core fee, so families should ask for a full breakdown when budgeting.

Non-selective results need context. Headline A-level grades are around the England middle rather than at the top, which reflects the all-ability intake. Families seeking the highest raw exam outcomes should look at the progress story, where the school is stronger, rather than the percentages alone.

It is a small, specialist school. With roughly 451 pupils across ages 2 to 18, year groups are intimate. That suits children who thrive on individual attention and a defined identity, particularly riders, but parents wanting a very large peer group or an extensive academic subject menu should check that the offer matches.

The location is rural. The country setting is part of the appeal, but it means a car-dependent commute for most day families and real travel planning for distant and overseas boarders. The riding, livery and transport extras can also add meaningfully to the published fee.

A leadership change is underway. Matthew Way retires at the end of the current academic year, with Aaron J G King taking over from September 2026. New heads can bring change, so families joining now should ask about direction and continuity.

Stonar is a distinctive, friendly, all-through co-educational boarding school whose equestrian provision is among the best attached to any school in England, and whose non-selective ethos means it is genuinely about progress and participation rather than academic selection. It is best suited to families who want flexible boarding, a broad mix of academic and vocational routes, and above all a serious, world-class riding programme under one roof, especially those whose children ride competitively. Parents should be comfortable with results that sit in the England middle at A-level and stronger at GCSE locally, with a rural location and a change of head on the horizon. For the right child, particularly one happiest in a saddle, the fit is hard to beat.