Award-winning independent school makes major investment

For schools, investment is about more than new buildings and facilities.

At Monkton Combe School, it is about creating opportunities for young people to discover new interests and experience things that may shape what they do long after they leave school.

That thinking is behind a number of developments currently underway across the Senior and Prep sites, as Monkton builds on the momentum of significant national recognition.

The school was named Independent Boarding School of the Year, one of the sector’s highest accolades, while The Telegraph recognised Monkton as a great-value independent school.

Monkton Prep also received the Boarding Schools’ Association award for Supporting Junior Boarders.

From a new industry-standard Culinary School and a redeveloped performance space at Monkton Prep to expanded bus routes reaching further across Somerset and Wiltshire, this latest investment is creating new opportunities for pupils while making the school more accessible to families across the region.

Learning professional cookery

At the start of this term, Monkton opened its new Culinary School.

It’s a new space, but the ambition behind it is firmly centred on pupils, giving them the skills, confidence and curiosity to understand food, cook well and discover where those skills might take them.

The new industry-standard kitchen gives these experiences a dedicated home.

With space for 12 pupils, a demonstration station and specialist teaching from a Leiths-trained teacher with experience in professional kitchens, private catering and chalet management, pupils can learn in an environment that brings together education and industry experience.

For Sixth Form pupils, Monkton’s partnership with Leiths Education provides the opportunity to study the CTH Level 3 Professional Cookery qualification.

For some pupils, it could be the beginning of a career in the food industry; for others, it may provide the foundations for an entrepreneurial idea or simply a set of skills and confidence that will stay with them for life.

There are also Culinary School Clubs and Enrichment for Years 9–11.

Alongside learning to handle knives, bake bread and master new techniques, pupils explore seasonality and provenance, consider how food choices affect people and place, and discover the pleasure of cooking and eating well.

Transforming performance

At Monkton Prep, an existing performance space has been redeveloped with pupils’ and audiences’ experience firmly in mind.

The design considers everything from how sound travels around the walls to new lighting designed specifically for productions, with technical improvements throughout the space.

The redevelopment reflects the incredible performances already taking place at Monkton Prep, providing a setting and technical capabilities to match the ambition on stage. Improved acoustics help create a better experience for audiences, while new production lighting gives pupils and staff greater scope to shape each performance.

It is an investment in more than the space itself. For pupils, having a performance environment designed around what they are trying to achieve can build confidence, encourage creativity and give them the opportunity to experience the many different sides of putting on a production.

Greener and more accessible

Investment in a school is not only about what happens once pupils arrive on site.

For families considering their school options, getting there in the first place can be just as important.

Monkton has therefore expanded its transport routes, reaching further across Somerset and Wiltshire.

The new routes connect communities including Frome, Beckington, Norton St Philip, Hinton Charterhouse, Shepton Mallet, Radstock, Peasedown, Keynsham, Saltford, Warminster, Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon, Winsley, Chippenham, Corsham and Box.

For families, school transport can remove one of the practical barriers to choosing a school farther from home.

Expanding the bus network also supports Monkton’s aim to reduce traffic and individual car journeys around the school, while helping working parents regain valuable time by removing the need for a daily school commute across the Bath area.

For pupils, the journey also provides an opportunity to travel to and from school with friends from across the region.

Investing in what comes next

These investments form part of Monkton’s commitment to providing an award-winning education that prepares young people not just for their time at school, but for whatever comes next.

By continuing to invest in its facilities, opportunities and wider community, Monkton is creating an environment where pupils can discover new interests, develop their skills and make the most of their time at school.