Aldenham School

Aldenham School suits a child who is capable but not showy, and who does better somewhere the adults know them by name. It is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school in Elstree, Hertfordshire (WD6 3AJ), taking pupils from 11 to 18 in the senior school, with boarding from Year 7 on a flexi, weekly or full basis. The grounds run to more than 110 acres of Hertfordshire countryside, still inside the M25 and about 25 minutes from central London.

The school was founded in 1597 by Richard Platt, a London brewer who obtained letters patent from Elizabeth I for a free grammar school and almshouses, and the Brewers' Company link has never been broken. Girls joined the sixth form in the 1980s and came in at 11 from 2004; the whole school has been co-educational since 2007, so a child starting Year 7 in 2027 arrives at a fully mixed school. It was also the second place after Eton to write down football rules, in 1825. Karren Brady is a former pupil. Daily life turns on the houses, which the school calls extended families, and two afternoons a week go to clubs, from archery and sailing to Warhammer.

The Good Schools Guide finds the pupils 'relaxed, sociable and unflashy', and one parent's verdict was simply 'It's just a bit cool, Aldenham'. Pupils say 'There's always someone to talk to', which fits a school that has kept pastoral care at its centre for decades. It suits a child who wants room to try things without an audience: one who might board a night or two, settle into a house, and grow into themselves rather than be sharpened for a single exam.