During the summer, The Manor Nursery received its Ofsted registration, which means its facilities for the very young will now extend to two-year olds. This is great news for parents. Children will now be able to attend The Manor shortly after their second birthday.

The Manor has both a self-contained cottage with a very cosy feel for the very young, and a further self-contained purpose-built nursery for the thre-year olds.

For the boys this means more than five consecutive years at The Manor, before moving onto Abingdon Prep which, with The Manor, Abingdon School and St Helen and St Katharine School, forms the Abingdon4Education partnership, or another prep school of their choice.

For the girls, their route takes them to Common Entrance. There are many choices along the way, all designed to make the many stages through education as smooth and enjoyable for all as possible.

Firstly, there is a completely flexible choice of sessions for two and threeyear olds to assist parents with their working commitments. Then there is the choice of whether to add on lunch, arrive early, or collect late.

Later, the addition of lunch time clubs, early morning squads and after school clubs are further choices.

Finally, the children end up with a magnificent choice of senior schools.

Life at The Manor is a rich mêlée of opportunities. An academic curriculum goes without saying, along with trips and visitors to enhance project work.

An energetic ‘sport for all’ policy, alongside a full programme of competitive fixtures, means that everyone achieves their active best!

Angela O’Rourke, director of sport, firmly believes that: “Happy outside the classroom equates to happy inside”.

A vibrant music department ensures that a love of music begins with the two-year olds and ends with around 80 per cent of the upper school becoming confident, instrumental performers.

An enthusiastic French department hosts a French lunch, a French breakfast and culminates its teaching with a Year 6 trip to Normandy.

Art and design feature heavily on The Manor’s calendar with creations galore. For budding actors and actresses, The Manor’s stage draws back its curtains to children of all ages, with performances worthy of the West End.

Travelling to The Manor on the outskirts of Abingdon could not be easier. It is situated just off the A34 and 15 minutes from the centre of Oxford.

With a network of 18 buses shared with St Helen and St Katharine and Abingdon School, more villages now have access to what The Manor has to offer.

The buses start in Goring, Watlington, Henley, Nettlebed, Peppard, Pangbourne, Streatley, South Stoke, Wantage, East Hendred, Newbury, Chieveley, Thame, North Oxford, Woodstock, Long Hanborough, Faringdon and Buckland, and wend their way through villages en route.

The Manor looks forward to welcoming you to its open day on Saturday, October 10 from 10am-12.30pm. Call Mrs Karen Copson, registrar, on 01235 858462, or e-mail registrar@manorprep.org Please also ask about the free nursery taster sessions on Wednesday afternoons.