REPTON HAILED AS THE UK’S ‘HAPPIEST BOARDING SCHOOL’
Repton has been crowned the UK’s Happiest Boarding School in the 2022 Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards.
Muddy Stilettos’ Schools Guide is a unique, independent, honest online resource for parents seeking insight into the UK’s competitive independent school sector. The site’s founder, Hero Brown, visited Repton in February 2022 saying “I really enjoyed looking around Repton and feeling the passion and care. Everyone is lovely.” The site’s review describes Repton as: ‘One of the UK’s oldest schools, Repton in Derbyshire holds a deserved reputation for sporting brilliance, mind-boggling facilities – and a refreshing lack of pretension.’
Repton’s nomination included quotes from current and past pupils, including full boarder Hattie, who said:
“I think my favourite part (of a Repton education) is the sense of community we have, as a school, but also as a house. My house has become my second home and being a border has enabled me to make strong friendships that I know will last way beyond my Repton career.”
Headmaster, Mark Semmence, commented:
“Winning awards validates of all the work our dedicated staff put into to bringing our pupils a world-class education. However, this award feels particularly special as any educator’s over-arching aim should be to ensure that pupils are happy. We know that young people who are happy perform better and those who perform better are happy. This is borne out in our exam results as well as by our pupils’ performance on the sports pitches, in the theatre, the music school and in Repton’s superb House spirit. By interweaving traditional care with scientific data driven tracking we have developed highly tuned pastoral care provision that works for every child.”
Muddy Stilettos’ founder, Hero Brown, commented:
"With over 400 schools entering the first year of the Awards the standard has been incredibly high. After three rounds of painstaking judging, Repton was unanimously chosen as the winner of the Happiest Boarding School award, an accolade that’s richly deserved for this excellent school.”
Repton’s House system provides a strong sense of belonging. Housemasters and Housemistresses, Tutors, Matrons and their friends and peers provide a nurturing and familiar base, giving Reptonians the confidence to try new endeavours, succeed academically and make the most of every opportunity provided by a Repton education. A rich extra-curricular programme that includes day pupils as well as boarders ensures that weekends are busy and inspiring times. Seventy per cent of Reptonians board, but every pupil belongs to an integrated House meaning that all pupils feel the benefit of the School’s strong community.
The judging panel, Chaired by Muddy Stilettos founder, Hero Brown, rank amongst the most highly-respected senior educators in the UK and included: Patrick Derham OBE, former Headmaster of Westminster School, Professor Dr Ger Graus, the Global Director of Education Kidzania, Emma Goldsmith, Head of Dragon School in Oxford and Tove Okunniwa MBE, former CEO of London Sport.
Repton also received a Highly Commended Award for the Most Inventive Sports Programme. In 2021 Repton was awarded the Education Business Award for Remote Learning, alongside being shortlisted for two Times Education Supplement Awards.
