Papplewick School


Papplewick School is a non-selective independent day and boarding preparatory school for boys aged 6–13 in Ascot, England. It occupies a 15-acre semi-rural campus across from Ascot Racecourse.

History

It was founded in 1947 as a small boys' school and grew under long-serving headmaster Peter Knatchbull-Hugessen. The school became a charitable trust in 1964 under a board of governors. Extensive additions to the accommodation were carried out in 1998 under a building programme which included a sports hall, music school and two technology suites.

Academics

All boys generally take English, Maths, Science, French, Classics, History, Geography, Philosophy, Theology and Religion, Design & Technology, Art, ICT, PE and Reasoning. Common Entrance Exam prep begins in Year 7.
Many leavers often go on to public schools such as Charterhouse, Eton College, Harrow School, Tonbridge School and Winchester College.

Extracurricular activities

Sport is an important aspect of school life and a wide range of sports are available. The main sports are football, rugby and cricket. Besides the main sports, boys may represent the school in squash, swimming, cross-country, hockey, polo, shooting, table tennis, and chess. The cricket and football teams regularly tour abroad during the holidays. Papplewick is also home to the youngest antiquarian booksellers in the world and now members of the PBFA, the Bibliomaniacs.
Thursday afternoons are generally devoted to extracurricular activities. Activities available range from interest clubs, music, riding, drama and chess.

Boarding

About half of the boys in the school are boarders. Weekly boarders go home at the week-end, full boarders usually only in school holidays and at half-terms. Boys aged 11 and above must be either full or weekly boarders, while many younger boys board on a flexible basis. They are grouped by years and looked after by three sets of "houseparents" per year group. The boarding programme was rated "outstanding" by Ofsted in its 2011 social care inspection.

Heads

  • 1950–1979: Peter Merrick Knatchbull-Hugessen
  • 1981-1989: Stuart Morris
  • 1991-2003: Rhidian Llewellyn
  • 2004 – present: Tom Bunbury

    Notable former pupils

  • Ed Coode, British rower and Olympic gold medallist
  • James Haskell, England rugby union international
  • Bo Guagua, socialite and son of Bo Xilai
  • Richard Curtis, screenwriter whose works include Bernard & The Genie, The Tall Guy and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and founder of the prestigious Barnard Scholarship for Gifted Youngsters.
  • Max Lahiff, Rugby Union

    Historic safeguarding concerns

Edward Phillips-Smith

In January 2024, Edward Phillips-Smith, a retired priest and former Papplewick School chaplain, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court to 32 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to historic child sexual offences committed in Staffordshire in the early 1980s.
In November 2025, the BBC reported that Phillips-Smith pleaded guilty at Cannock Magistrates' Court to two further offences relating to incidents in Brewood, Staffordshire, between 1982 and 1983, and was due to be sentenced at Stafford Crown Court in January 2026.
Later in November 2025, the BBC reported that Thames Valley Police had reopened an investigation into a complaint of "inappropriate behaviour" relating to Phillips-Smith's later work at Papplewick prep school in Ascot, Berkshire, where the BBC said he was employed as chaplain from 1993 to 2008. The BBC reported that, following concerns raised after his 2024 conviction, the school's governing board commissioned an independent review of records relating to his employment; the BBC said the results were not made public, but that the review identified "some concerns about his behaviour" and that police and the local authority were informed.
In January 2026, the BBC reported that Phillips-Smith had been charged with two further offences relating to alleged incidents in Wolverhampton between 1978 and 1980: indecent assault on a boy under 14, and gross indecency with a boy under 14. The BBC said he was excused from attending a mention hearing in person, and that a further mention hearing was listed for 5 February 2026 at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Jonathan Button

In 2007, the Richmond and Twickenham Times reported that Jonathan Button was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to 12 months' imprisonment after admitting specimen counts of possessing indecent images of children. The newspaper also reported that Button had previous convictions in 1999, including imprisonment after admitting indecently assaulting boys while employed as a science teacher at a private school in Berkshire during the 1980s.
Earlier reporting in the same newspaper described Button's 2007 court appearance and interim restrictions imposed pending sentence.
A 1998 report in The People named Papplewick School in connection with an allegation of indecent assault in the 1980s involving Button, and said the matter was being investigated by police at the time.