Independent Prep Schools in Buckinghamshire and Where to Live Nearby
Deciding between the independent prep schools in Buckinghamshire is one of the first considerations for families relocating to the county.
It is often the decision that determines where they end up living. The county’s prep schools draw from a wide geographic area, and the towns and villages that surround them offer very different combinations of property character, commuter access, and community feel.
Below, Sophie Ellam, Buckinghamshire buying agent, looks at selected independent prep schools in Buckinghamshire and the towns and villages surrounding them.
Prep Schools and the Grammar School Decision
Many families moving to Buckinghamshire with primary-age children look carefully at the independent preparatory school landscape. A number of state primary schools in the county are infant-only, ending at Year 2, which creates a natural transition point at Year 3 when families must choose a junior school.
Several independent preps have important entry points around that stage. For families thinking ahead to Buckinghamshire’s Secondary Transfer Test, it is worth asking each school how it approaches senior school preparation. The test measures verbal, non-verbal, and mathematical skills, and schools vary in how directly they prepare pupils for that process.
Some families use a prep school as part of their planning for the grammar school years, intending to return to the state sector at secondary.
Others choose the prep route for entirely separate reasons. What it means practically is that the prep school a family chooses often determines the community they join, the area they settle in, and the friendships their children build in the years preceding the secondary school decision.
Independent Preparatory Schools in and around Buckinghamshire and Where to Live Nearby
The schools below are arranged geographically, moving broadly from south to north through the county. As with any area of this kind, details change, so it is always worth checking directly with a school to confirm current entry points and year group availability.
Gerrards Cross
Gerrards Cross is one of South Buckinghamshire’s most established family addresses. Its open common land runs through the heart of the town, giving it a spacious quality uncommon this close to London, and the Chiltern Main Line station puts London Marylebone around twenty-five minutes away.
Property ranges from substantial Edwardian and interwar detached houses around the common to more modest family homes on the wider residential streets, with generous gardens throughout.
The villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Chalfont St Giles, and Chalfont St Peter offer a quieter alternative while keeping the town’s amenities and rail connection within easy reach. Four independent schools serve this part of the county.
Maltman’s Green School
Maltman’s Green is an independent day school for girls from two to eleven, set in extensive grounds on the edge of Gerrards Cross. The school provides a broad preparatory curriculum within a well-resourced semi-rural campus, with a programme extending across academic study, sport, and the creative arts.
Gayhurst School
Gayhurst School is a co-educational day school for children from three to eleven, set in a Victorian country house in Gerrards Cross. The school offers a broad preparatory education within an environment that combines its historic building with well-resourced modern facilities.
Thorpe House School
Thorpe House is an independent school for boys aged three to eighteen, with girls joining in the co-educational sixth form. Its all-through structure allows families to plan across the preparatory, secondary, and post-sixteen phases without a change of school.
St Mary’s School
St Mary’s is an independent day school for girls from three to eighteen in Gerrards Cross, with a Church of England foundation. The school offers a through-school education from early years to sixth form, and draws families from a wide geographic range across south Buckinghamshire.
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is divided into two distinct areas. The Old Town, to the south, is a Georgian market town with a wide high street of period buildings, independent shops, and restaurants, surrounded by substantial family houses.
New Beaconsfield, which grew around the railway station from the early twentieth century, is more suburban in character but offers direct Chiltern line services to London Marylebone in around twenty-five minutes.
The villages within a few miles, including Penn, Knotty Green, and Forty Green to the north and Hedgerley and Farnham Common to the east, offer a more rural setting with good road access back into town.
High March School
High March is an independent day school for girls from three to eleven, set in Beaconsfield. The school offers a full preparatory curriculum within a close-knit community environment, with a programme spanning academic subjects and a wide range of co-curricular activities.
Davenies School
Davenies is an independent day school for boys from four to thirteen, set in Beaconsfield. The school offers a preparatory education through to Common Entrance and senior school entry, with a programme covering academic study, sport, and a range of creative and co-curricular activity across an attractive campus.
Amersham
Amersham has two distinct centres. The Old Town sits in the valley of the River Misbourne: a genuinely historic market town with a broad main street of timber-framed and Georgian buildings, weekly markets, and independent traders.
Amersham-on-the-Hill, which grew around the Metropolitan line station from the 1890s, is more suburban in layout but offers Metropolitan line services to Baker Street and Aldgate.
Property in the Old Town tends toward Georgian townhouses, Victorian terraces, and older cottages; the Hill offers a mix of Edwardian and interwar housing alongside more recent development.
The villages of the Misbourne valley, with Great Missenden to the north and Little Chalfont to the south, are consistently popular with families wanting a village base with good London access.
Much of the surrounding countryside sits within or close to the Chilterns National Landscape, a designation that is an important planning consideration and helps shape development decisions across the area.
The Beacon School
The Beacon is an independent prep school for children aged three to thirteen, set on an extensive site in Chesham Bois above Amersham. Founded in 1933 as a boys’ school, it has recently announced plans for an exciting new chapter in its history. The Beacon is now welcoming boys and girls into the school from September 2026. Families should check the school’s current admissions position directly.
Heatherton School
Heatherton is a girls’ prep school in Amersham, part of the Berkhamsted Schools Group, with early-years provision from age two, though entry arrangements for the youngest age groups are worth confirming with the school. Little Chalfont, just to the south, is worth particular mention for families considering this area: a well-served community with a Metropolitan line station and a residential character that is somewhat more accessible in price than central Amersham.
Chesham
Chesham is the most northerly point of the Metropolitan line and has a character quite distinct from its southern neighbours. It is a working market town with a strong community identity and a housing market that offers considerably more space for a given budget than Amersham or Beaconsfield.
Chesham is served by the Metropolitan line branch, while Amersham has both Metropolitan line and Chiltern Railways services into London, so commuters should compare journey times, frequency, and interchange options carefully.
The surrounding villages of Chesham Bois, Ashley Green, and Latimer offer a rural setting while keeping the station within easy reach.
Chesham Preparatory School
Chesham Preparatory School is set in beautiful, open grounds where the town meets the countryside. Catering to boys and girls aged 3–11, the school is best known for its warm family feel and the close-knit community that connects its pupils and parents. It provides a complete preparatory journey that balances a supportive environment, seeing a high number of pupils successfully transition into the area’s prestigious grammar and independent senior schools.
Great Missenden
Great Missenden is a village of considerable appeal, set in the valley between Amersham and Wendover with the Chilterns rising steeply on either side. A Chiltern Railways station puts London Marylebone around forty-five to fifty minutes away, and the residential character runs from period cottages and Victorian houses through to a smaller number of more contemporary family homes.
The valley villages of Ballinger, South Heath, and the Hampdens offer a more rural alternative.
Wendover, a few miles to the north, is a well-served market town with its own Chiltern line station and a property market that tends to be slightly more accessible than Great Missenden.
Gateway School
Gateway School is a co-educational day school for children from two to eleven, set in the heart of Great Missenden. The school offers a preparatory education from early years through to senior school entry, within a village setting that reflects the character of the surrounding Chilterns community.
Berkhamsted: Just Across the Buckinghamshire Border
Berkhamsted sits just across the county border in Hertfordshire, but features here because it is regularly considered by families in the north and east of Buckinghamshire, and the surrounding property market overlaps meaningfully with the Bucks commuter belt.
Set in the Bulbourne valley with the Grand Union Canal running through its centre and the Chilterns rising to either side, the town has a high street with genuine vitality and a well-established sense of community.
Berkhamsted station offers London Northwestern Railway services to London Euston, with typical journey times in the mid-to-upper thirties depending on the service.
Property ranges from large Victorian and Edwardian family houses on the hills above the town to period terraces in the centre and newer developments on the fringes. The surrounding villages of Potten End, Little Gaddesden, and Aldbury are considered among the most attractive in the wider Chilterns area.
Berkhamsted Prep School
Berkhamsted Prep is a co-educational day school for children from seven to eleven, part of the Berkhamsted Schools Group, set on the group’s campus in Berkhamsted. The school sits within a through-school environment, with a natural progression into the senior school for families who wish to follow that route through to sixth form.
Buying in Buckinghamshire for Schools
Garrington works with families relocating to Buckinghamshire from across the UK and from overseas. The school question is almost always central to the brief, and it is rarely as simple as identifying a school and buying nearby.
Understanding which prep schools feed particular communities, where to find the right combination of housing character, village life, and transport access, and how the property decision connects to the secondary school landscape is the kind of local knowledge that takes years to accumulate.
If you are considering a move to Buckinghamshire with schools in mind, Sophie would be glad to talk through your options. Contact Garrington for a no-obligation discussion.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should families start looking at prep schools in Buckinghamshire?
Many prep schools in Buckinghamshire have waiting lists, and some key entry points, particularly Year 3 and nursery, can fill well in advance. Families relocating to the county are generally advised to research schools and register interest as early as possible. Going directly to each school to understand their current availability and registration process is the most reliable approach.
How do prep schools in Buckinghamshire approach grammar school preparation?
The Secondary Transfer Test measures verbal, non-verbal, and mathematical skills. Prep schools vary in how directly they approach grammar school or senior school preparation, so families should speak with individual schools about Year 6 preparation, familiarisation work, and reasoning skills development.
