Independent preparatory schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum or submit test results to the Department for Education so there is no individual school performance data or star rating.
Visit the school's website to learn more about their unique curriculum, policies on testing and common leaver destinations (a good indicator of pupil progress). See our About page for information on Choosing A Prep School.
School Description
We have three Little Downsend schools, located in Ashtead, Epsom, and Leatherhead.
Based in beautiful Victorian buildings with exceptional landscaped play areas, our children benefit from large, airy rooms with high ceilings, equipped with the latest technology. Each school has a unique outdoor space, with covered play areas, sandpits, mud kitchens, race tracks, climbing equipment, vegetable patches, and large open fields for simply running about!
All around us at Little Downsend, children are happily settling into school life and starting to explore their exciting surroundings with great delight. Whatever age your child joins us, they and you, will be welcomed as part of the Downsend community. We pride ourselves on our friendly, family-feel where children feel comfortable and supported.
Alongside this, our children thrive on our problem-solving and thinking-based approach to learning. Their levels of confidence, perseverance, and resilience continue to rise, along with academic achievement, which is a delight to see. Learn more about our innovative Teaching and Learning approach here.
Downsend is a unique group of schools that has innate creativity and a love of life. We would love to welcome you to each of the schools so we can share our enthusiasm and for you to see the schools at their best – full of life with children playing, laughing, and learning.
Lisa Burns was appointed Head of Little Downsend in 2023. Previously, she was Head of School at two Little Downsend schools where she worked closely with the then Headteacher, Vanessa Conlan, to introduce Shakespeare to five-year-olds and implement an innovative writing programme to raise standards of Early Years mark making and writing which was recognised as ‘excellent and innovative’ by the Independent Schools Association in 2024. Lisa joined Downsend School in 2009, initially as a class teacher and subsequently as Head of Junior School English. Lisa refreshed the English curriculum, created English computer-based home learning resources (prior to Lockdown), and devised cross-curricular themed weeks and a reading programme designed to ignite the children’s love of reading, writing and drama performance. Lisa’s early teaching career was in Early Years and Key Stage 1 which is where her passion and inspiration for teaching and learning remains today.
Who/what inspired you to become a teacher?
My first teacher, Mrs Jerome, was supremely nurturing and not only gave me a lasting love of stories but also the inspiration to write and to be creative through ‘messy play’. While the desire to teach was there from the start, I wanted to do other things with my life before re-entering the classroom as an adult. After graduating with an English and Drama degree, I started my career in Public Relations working in the aviation sector. This opened a new world as it enabled me to work with interesting people from very different walks of life and to be involved with exciting projects that were changing travel at the time. After ten years in a career that I loved and which gave me a healthy balance of opportunity and challenge, I stepped into the world of freelance writing, but I missed the stimulation of being part of a team. In my late thirties, and after having my
children, the original spark to re-enter the classroom was re-ignited and I re-trained as a teacher. The rest is history!
What achievement are you most proud of as Head?
Managing the transformation of Little Downsend since September 2023. We have evolved from three schools each providing excellent education for children aged 2-6 years of age to two schools specialising in high quality education for 2-7 year olds in Epsom and Leatherhead and a brand new innovative nursery in Ashtead which offers a distinctive, stimulating and nurturing early learning experience for babies and young children aged from six months to four years. And with Downsend School’s Sixth Form set to open in September 2025, we are now uniquely positioned within the local area to offer a baby through to 18-year-old learning experience that prepares children and young people, age appropriately, through our future skills vision to enter a world that will be very different from the one we know today.
What does a successful school look like to you?
The strength of a school is built upon a clear, shared vision and strong relationships between the adults and equally strong relationships between the adults and children. The curriculum offering must also stimulate children’s curiosity, build upon their interests, be sufficiently flexible to evolve not only year by year but day to day and to be responsive to changing influences in the world beyond the school walls. In the Early Years there has always been great scope to be adaptable and to design learning activities that best suit young children’s needs to be active, to explore and to make sense of the world through play. At Little Downsend we believe that our Key Stage 1 children should have the same opportunities, and we incorporate problem-solving challenges, outdoor learning and enrichment experiences in school and through off-site activities to make learning relevant and fun. This is skilfully woven into the curriculum so that we still achieve the same high academic standards and deliver the future skills vision that sits at the heart of the Downsend School philosophy.
What is the most important quality you want every child to have when they leave your school? And why?
Resilience because it is the single most important quality that will enable every child to thrive today and in the future. The world is changing at an increasingly rapid rate, and children need to be open to new ideas and ways of working and
to recognise that first attempts are just that. Reframing initial failure as a positive first step is a valuable learning experience because it changes our mindsets from ‘can’t do’ to ‘can do next time’. While this needs to be managed positively with
young children, the successful outcome leads them to embrace other ideas, to collaborate with others and to try new approaches which are all key attributes required for success.
Please give 5 words to describe the ethos of your school.
Kindness, curiosity, creativity, resilience, future skills
This school is independently managed and its admission criteria may be selective. There is no set catchment area as pupils are admitted from a wide variety of postcodes and, in the case of boarding schools, from outside the UK. Contact the school directly or visit their website for more information on Admissions Policy and Procedures.
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