Unicorn School is a registered educational charity, and we own our own building and grounds, which means every penny of your fees goes into the three things that matter: excellent teaching, continuous investment in facilities, and bursaries for families who need them.
It is also why our fees sit at the lower end of the local prep school range and we intend to keep them there.
Our fees are set out in full below.
Nursery – Red Class (VAT exempt)
| Attendance | Termly fee |
|---|---|
| Mornings, 8.20am – 12.20pm | £3,630 |
| Full days, 8.20am – 3.15pm | £5,695 |
Nursery fees are exempt from VAT and every child aged 3 or 4 is entitled to the Universal 15 funded hours, so this is not what most families pay. Open the section directly below to see how the funding works and Unicorn will help you apply for it.
Nursery: using your 15 funded hours, session times and a worked example
The 15 funded hours each week can be applied to our school day by selecting funded sessions from the tables below. Funded hours will appear on your invoice with a nil cost and additional hours are charged at a maximum rate of £44.43 per hour.
| Mornings | Hours | Monday to Friday |
|---|---|---|
| 08:20 – 11:20 | 3 | Funded or fee |
| 11:20 – 12:20 | 1 | Fee only |
| Full days | Hours | Monday to Friday |
|---|---|---|
| 08:20 – 11:20 | 3 | Funded or fee |
| 11:20 – 14:20 | 3 | Funded or fee |
| 14:20 – 15:15 | 1 | Fee only |
Our morning session runs for four hours. We are happy to build a bespoke schedule, or to let your child build up their hours gradually across the year – please ask.
Additional hours and charges can enhance your child’s school experience e.g. through the provision of foreign language sessions, forest school, computing, swimming and specialist music and PE, but are entirely voluntary.
An example of our billing structure, for a child attending for mornings only, is set out below. Other attendance structures are available and it is worth noting that as a child’s hours increase, a discount is applied to bring fees in line with our Termly Fees, set out above.
| Description | Unit | Unit price | Weekly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free entitlement hours – 15 hrs per week | Weekly | Free | Free |
| Additional hours purchased – 5 hrs per week | Weekly | £44.43 | £222.15 |
| Meals and snacks (voluntary) – hot lunch prepared on site plus morning and afternoon snacks daily | Daily | £6.11 | £30.55 |
| Additional voluntary charges: outings and trips | Ad hoc | Variable | Variable |
| Weekly total, mornings only | £252.70 |
Reception to Year 6 (inclusive of VAT)
| Year group | Termly fee | VAT | Total payable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reception, Years 1 & 2 (Orange, Yellow & Green) | £5,795 | £1,159 | £6,954 |
| Years 3, 4 & 5 (Blue, Indigo & Violet) | £5,995 | £1,199 | £7,194 |
| Year 6 (Ultra Violet) | £6,095 | £1,219 | £7,314 |
What your fees include
- One class in each year group, usually up to 22 children
- An individual 11+ preparation programme, with many subjects taught in half classes
- Specialist teaching in art, music, science, French, PE and games, and a school librarian
- Swimming lesson every week (Nursery start in the spring term)
- Forest School for Nursery and Reception
- Bespoke Thursday clubs for juniors: sailing, pottery, cookery, science, debating, dance, design technology, padel tennis, sewing and art are among those we have run
- SEN support in class, where a child needs it
- Most day trips during the school day
- All school books and materials
- State of the art classroom technology throughout the school
Beyond the school day
A school day that ends in the afternoon does not always fit a working week. All the following are available at an additional cost.
- Breakfast club and wraparound care, before and after school
- Individual music lessons, taught in our own music pods
- Musical theatre, and singing lessons with a specialist teacher
- Swim squad
- Lunchtime and after-school clubs: chess, sewing, karate, drama, touch typing, AI, skateboarding and comedy among them
- One-to-one SEN lessons, where a child needs more than in-class support
- Riding and skiing, the two Thursday clubs charged as extras
Lunches and snacks
Lunch and snacks are £6.11 a day, with no VAT – a morning snack, a hot lunch and, for our infants, an afternoon snack as well. Everything is cooked here on the day by our own experienced chef and his team, using fresh ingredients.
Residential trips
From Year 3 every child takes part in a trip away with their class. Year 3 spends a night bushcrafting at Penshurst Place; Year 4 spend three days and two nights at Sayers Croft; Year 5 have a week on the Isle of Wight, rock climbing, kayaking and studying the coast and Year 6 have an action packed week at Castle Head in Cumbria.
Children remember these trips long after they leave us. They also do a great deal of quiet work – a first night away from home, or a week of managing without a parent nearby. The children come back standing a little taller, a little more confident and full of the adventures they’ve just enjoyed. Trips are invoiced separately and are not subject to VAT.
| Year group | Cost a year |
|---|---|
| Years 3 and 4 | £261 |
| Year 5 | £645 |
| Year 6 | £792 |
Help with fees
Bursaries
Please see our bursaries page for full details, including what the application asks for and how awards are reviewed.
Sibling discount
A 15% tuition fee discount applies to the third child, where three or more siblings from the same family (biological or adopted) attend at the same time.
The Loan Note
Each family loans the school £3,000, interest-free, and receives a Loan Note and membership of the charitable trust that owns Unicorn. It is repaid in full after your last child leaves. Comparable schools ask for a refundable deposit of a similar size; ours also makes your family a member of the school.
Registering
Registration is £50 per child, which is non-refundable and places your child on our waiting list. Priority goes to siblings of current pupils and to children of past Unicorns. We do our best to find a place for every registered child as soon as one becomes available.
You can register online.
Payment and terms
- Invoices are raised termly and made available online. Payment is due on the first day of each term.
- One full term’s written notice is required to withdraw a child, given by the last day of the previous term, or one term’s fees in lieu of notice.
- An optional Pupil’s Absence Insurance Scheme is available. All pupils are covered by a personal accident insurance scheme.
Further details are in our Admissions Policy and Funding Policy.
Still thinking it over? Come and see the school. We show families around on any school day and are happy to answer any question, however small. Book a visit, call us on 020 8948 3926, or email registrar@unicornschool.org.uk.
