Muddy Stilettos review of The Lyceum School
We are delighted to share a lovely review of the school taken by Muddy Stilettos – an editorial company. It captures the essence of The Lyceum perfectly.
A vibrant, family focused modern Prep where STEAM, sustainability and wellbeing are a priority. It’s a bit of a gem.
Located between the business hub of Liverpool Street and the trendy residential hotspot of Shoreditch, The Lyceum School is a unique and progressive co-ed Prep school for kids aged 4-11.
Part of the Duke’s Education Group, the school is a relative newcomer, opening its doors in 1997 in the old Radio Times production building on Paul Street, before moving to its current location on Worship Street – a five-storey former print works with its own playground, STEAM Studio, dedicated science/arts room (with a specialist Art teacher) and lots of original features.
It’s small (just 130 children, with room to grow to 200), nurturing and down to earth, with a vibrant and buzzy vibe that is hard to resist. Call us shallow, but the uniform’s cute too. Parents tend to work in the City of London, many of them in tech, finance and creative industries and the strong family feel is one its USPs. The school’s built a rep for its dedication to STEAM and sustainability, but not at the expense of good manners, kindness and empathy.
FACILITIES
Unassuming on the outside but a tardis-like building on the inside. Classrooms are light and bright – giving you a workout when you’re going up and down the stairs. The new STEAM Studio – aka The Owlery – opened in autumn 2023. It’s a free-flowing, future-focused classroom with a wall of interactive screens and a seriously cool Minecraft inspired tree. A new Head of STEAM delivers computing lessons, and all year groups learn to code, problem solve and learn innovative thinking skills. We saw a Y3 class coding musical instruments and were keen to flex their techy knowledge. On the same floor there’s also a fantastic new library and a dedicated science and art room.
Elsewhere the outdoor space is a good size for inner London – covered in astro turf and an enormous, colourful ‘The Lyceum’ mural adorns the outdoor walls. After school clubs are popular, with something for everyone: chess, film club, judo, dance of all kinds, cookery, LAMDA, coding, Mandarin – the list goes on and on. London is treated as an extension of the classroom and the trips are a highlight. Most within the UK, but historically Y6 residential trips have included Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and Barcelona and much recently, the Isle of Wight.
SPORT
A new head of sport has been appointed and his remit is to strengthen the sport offering here. It’s good, but there’s always room for improvement. A city location requires a little creativity, but onsite there’s a good-sized astro space and the older children travel to nearby Shoreditch Power league.
The core sports include rugby, netball, football, tennis, cricket and athletics. Plus dance, gymnastics and yoga all feature on the curriculum. If you’re keen for competition, there’s plenty of that too – inter-house competitions, fixtures against local Prep and tournaments feature throughout the academic year.
Each year, the whole school (as well as parents and teachers) head to Mile End Stadium for sports day. Limber up, people, there is a Parents Race (*gulp*).
CREATIVE ARTS
Theatre and music are both strong at The Lyceum. All children learn the recorder, most play at least one or two instruments – and, of course, they sing. There is a dedicated music teacher and a plethora of peripatetic teachers giving individual tuition. No musical instruments are off limits. They currently have a bassoonist, but we wouldn’t fancy carrying a harp up those stairs.
There are plenty of opportunities to perform, too and for such a small school it’s impressive that they have a big band, orchestra and a chamber choir. They are particularly proud of their summer term concert – the so-called ‘summer pudding’. There’s a Christmas carol service at the Wesley Chapel.
For those with children who love to be in the spotlight, there’s at least one big production each year – often tied into topics they have been learning – and LAMDA is a popular after school club for those who want to work towards more formal qualifications.
Creativity flows throughout the school, from writing poetry and storytelling to inventing machines and building models. The large art room is a lovely space and the children learn lots of techniques, from paint and print to drawing and knitting.
PASTORAL CARE
A pastorally strong school that gives equal weight to wellbeing and emotional intelligence and pure academics. Each classroom has a feelings board where the children put their name against a word that describes how they’re feeling. Not only does it give the staff the heads up but normalises talking about mood – and that it’s OK to feel differently from one day to the next.
Laughter is also being deployed. It’s scientifically proven that laughing strengthens the immune system, boosts mood, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress. They have introduced a joke of the day, and the teachers are primed to breakout the giggles during the lesson. Soothing music is also played in most classrooms and new half-termly Pillars Prizes are given for upholding the school values – kindness, creativity, confidence and community.
The staff go the extra mile to get to know each individual child (one of the benefits of a small school) and step him to help. They also run workshops and offer lots of staff training on managing emotions. Emotional Literacy Support Assistants have also been introduced.
ACADEMICS
Non-selective, but academically ambitious, The Lyceum follows a topic-based curriculum, giving the children a 360° view of a subject, and greater depth of learning through experience, exploration and enquiry. All pupils, bar the very youngest, must do a little homework, but it’s never an overwhelming amount. Pupil wellbeing and the importance of family time are always considered,
The children are well prepared for the 11+ exams and while home tuition is discouraged, they work with the parents very closely to ensure they are putting down four destination school (rather than nine). It doesn’t feel like a race to the top schools, with more focus on fit.
Destination schools include Channing, City of London School for Girls/ Boys, Forest, Francis Holland, Alleyns, Highgate, Queen’s College, St Paul’s Cathedral School and UCS, to name a few.
SEND
Pupils with special needs can draw off a specialist teacher who comes in several days each week. Tailored strategies are put in place to support each child’s unique needs that include personalised learning plans, inclusive teaching, specialist support when it’s needed and plenty of resources to ensure each child.
THE HEAD
Mike Stanley joined The Lyceum School as head in 2022. Before moving to London, he was head of Y5 and Y6 at Rokeby School in Kingston, deputy head of Walhampton and then head of Forres Sandle Manor in Hamsphire. The reason for the move? The opportunity to work for Duke’s Education, plus his children are older (he has a daughter, 21, at the University of Bath and a 17-year-old son at Radnor House) and his wife works for Deloitte’s. The stars aligned and the rest his history.
Mike is a man with a plan (he loves a strategy) and the new priorities have been received well – to provide an education for today, tomorrow and the future, focussing on STEAM, sustainability and pupil voice. The new Minecraft-themed Tech Room is very cool and enables children of all ages to apply coding and problem solving. The kids LOVE it.
Eco initiatives are in abundance. The Lyceum is a pilot school for a sustainability tech company, Hyscore, who are collecting energy data from the classrooms. Pupils have termly sustainability topics (recycling, Amazon rainforest and an eco-fashion show during sustainability week) and the pupil-led eco council are brimming with bright ideas to reduce our carbon footprint.
He’s very proud of the school’s international pick and mix of pupils which he says gives “a real sense of culture and flavour and makes the kids kinder and more tolerant as well”. He’s kind and caring but keen to shout about the schools many strengths and recognises it’s a team effort to develop young minds, emotional intelligence and resilience.
Mike is a man up for the challenge. The kids sent him one before he arrived to learn all their names in 10 days. and while he may forget to pick up milk on the way home, he nailed it. What can we say? He’s a historian, dates, names and places are in his DNA. We liked him a lot.
QUIRKS
It has its own Tube Stop. OK, not literally, but the lower ground dining room has an incredible mural, created using a mix of school colour and London Underground red. It’s very cool.
In fact, the entire school – inside and outside – is an explosion of colour. There are no no boring white spaces here, murals feature on all the walls, celebrating the school’s unique location, values, passions and the modes of transport the children use to get to and from school each day.
The Minecraft inspired STEAM Suite proves learning can be fun and creative.
The location certainly makes The Lyceum unique. The building is discreet. There’s a sign above the main door and even that isn’t very shouty.
WRAP AROUND CARE
It’s good. A Breakfast Club runs from 8am (£5 per morning). The school days ends at 3.30pm, but After School Clubs run until 5.45pm. For parents who need to pick a bit later, Homework Clubs runs until 5.30pm. Many parents work locally, so having the wrap around care available here is attractive. It can be a long day for younger children, but the staff can step in to slow things down and ensure the end of day activities are more relaxing.
Parents are welcomed with open arms. You can hang around until just before 9am, attend assemblies, meet teachers and attend Parents lunches. When the school bell rings, you need to tootle off and the business of learning begins.
INSPECTION REPORT
The Lyceum School’s most recent ISI report was published in Sep 2022. Read it here.
MOBILE PHONE POLICY
Mobile phones are for Y6 children only and must be handed in at the start of the day.
TRANSPORT
It’s London innit! Most kids arrive on foot or via public transport. The school is located in the heart of the City of London, and is just 8 mins from Liverpool Street Station which services the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Elizabeth lines. Overground trains connect to north and east London, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridge and Norwich.
FEES
Sitting in the mid-range for London schools, fees are £7,220 per term. A sibling discount of 10% is offered for second and subsequent children. Individual music tuition, breakfast and after school clubs are all extra.
It’s worth noting, the Nursery Voucher Grant is also accepted for children in Nursery or Reception (until their 5th birthday).
WORD ON THE GROUND
Parents are very happy. They like that the head’s strategy brings out the very best in every child and is designed to make them real world ready. One mum was keen to tell us that there’s plenty of ambition, but without the need to pile on the pressure or for the kids to sharpen their elbows. it’s a caring school, with a strong community that deals with an issue calmly and competently.
THE MUDDY VERDICT
Good for: Those looking for a family-focused, forward-looking Prep school where wellbeing and academics go hand in hand. STEAM, sustainability and wellbeing are a priority, and children benefit from the individual attention.
Not for: Big personalities and the super-sporty may outgrow a small cohort.
See for yourself? Be our guest! Check out our upcoming Open Days.
