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Thank you for your enquiry and your interest in Denstone College.
Our Admissions Team has received your message and will be in touch shortly to answer any questions and guide you through the next steps.
Our Admissions Team has received your message and will be in touch shortly to answer any questions and guide you through the next steps.
Choosing a school is one of the most important decisions a family makes. While academic success is undoubtedly important, we understand that education is about so much more than examination results. It is about helping young people discover who they are, develop confidence and character, build lifelong friendships, and leave school ready to embrace every opportunity that life presents.
As you explore whether Denstone might be the right fit for your family, we wanted to share a letter recently received by our Head from a parent whose child is coming to the end of their Denstone journey after fourteen years with us.
The letter captures, far better than any prospectus or website ever could, what many families hope their children will gain from their time at Denstone.
This letter is reproduced with permission from the family. Names and certain identifying details have been changed for privacy reasons.
Hi Lotte,
As I sit down to write this, I think this is probably the first time in fourteen years that I’ve written to school for anything other than asking a question or checking information, which in itself feels quite incredible.
The last few weeks have felt very momentous for my child and me. For my child, they are entering their final few weeks at Denstone. For me, as a parent, it marks the end of an educational journey that began over fourteen years ago when our child joined nursery at Smallwood Manor (now The Prep at Denstone College).
I’ve already had a few tears about the end of this chapter of our lives, and I’m sure many parents feel the same when they reach this point. It feels hugely significant for both my child and I, because Denstone has been such a constant part of our lives for so long.
At the time our child started at Smallwood Manor, I was a single parent navigating what was, in many ways, a very challenging period in my life. It forced me to reflect deeply on what really matters as a parent and what I could realistically give my child. I couldn’t provide my child with the traditional two parent environment, but what I could do was prioritise giving my child the very best education and opportunities possible. From that point onwards, I built my life around a very simple philosophy: love first, education second, but both absolutely non negotiable.
As I approach these final weeks of school life, I’ve found myself asking a very honest question: was it worth it? Was it worth the sacrifices that come with being a full time working single parent, often staying in jobs I didn’t particularly love simply because I had school fees to pay and opportunities to protect for my son?
The answer is unequivocally yes.
My child is, in many ways, completely a product of Denstone. It is the only educational environment my child has ever known. In fact, when we’ve looked at universities, I think if my child had complete freedom of choice, they would happily stay at school forever, because Denstone is home to them. It is the environment where they feels safe, known, comfortable and valued.
My child has never been the loudest voice in the room. They are naturally quiet, thoughtful and introverted. Like many children, extracting information or emotions from them has never been easy, and over the years I have sometimes worried that perhaps I should have been more of a “helicopter parent”, more pushy, more demanding, more vocal.
But what Denstone has allowed my child to do is quietly become themself.
My child is not the child who puts their hand up first. They are not the alpha personality pushing themself forward at every opportunity. Yet they have grown into a quietly confident, emotionally intelligent and genuinely kind young person, and I believe the school has played a huge part in shaping that.
It certainly hasn’t all been plain sailing over the years, and there have been some real challenges that my child has had to face into. What has probably made me most proud is the way they have approached those situations, quietly, maturely and with resilience.
Not every child flourishes loudly, and I think Denstone, at its best, creates an environment where all personalities can grow into themselves in their own way and in their own time.
The introduction of VAT created additional financial pressure, and there have certainly been moments over the years where the weight of the commitment has felt significant. But even with that, I would still say the journey has been worth it.
I take enormous pride in having been able to give my child this education and these experiences. Education matters, not simply academically, but because of the confidence, character, resilience and sense of self it helps build in young people as they prepare to enter the world.
Thank you to Denstone, and to everyone who has played a role in my childs journey over the years. Fourteen years is a long chapter in anyone’s life, and it has meant more to us than I could ever properly articulate.
With thanks,
Denstone Parent
As I sit down to write this, I think this is probably the first time in fourteen years that I’ve written to school for anything other than asking a question or checking information, which in itself feels quite incredible.
The last few weeks have felt very momentous for my child and me. For my child, they are entering their final few weeks at Denstone. For me, as a parent, it marks the end of an educational journey that began over fourteen years ago when our child joined nursery at Smallwood Manor (now The Prep at Denstone College).
I’ve already had a few tears about the end of this chapter of our lives, and I’m sure many parents feel the same when they reach this point. It feels hugely significant for both my child and I, because Denstone has been such a constant part of our lives for so long.
At the time our child started at Smallwood Manor, I was a single parent navigating what was, in many ways, a very challenging period in my life. It forced me to reflect deeply on what really matters as a parent and what I could realistically give my child. I couldn’t provide my child with the traditional two parent environment, but what I could do was prioritise giving my child the very best education and opportunities possible. From that point onwards, I built my life around a very simple philosophy: love first, education second, but both absolutely non negotiable.
As I approach these final weeks of school life, I’ve found myself asking a very honest question: was it worth it? Was it worth the sacrifices that come with being a full time working single parent, often staying in jobs I didn’t particularly love simply because I had school fees to pay and opportunities to protect for my son?
The answer is unequivocally yes.
My child is, in many ways, completely a product of Denstone. It is the only educational environment my child has ever known. In fact, when we’ve looked at universities, I think if my child had complete freedom of choice, they would happily stay at school forever, because Denstone is home to them. It is the environment where they feels safe, known, comfortable and valued.
My child has never been the loudest voice in the room. They are naturally quiet, thoughtful and introverted. Like many children, extracting information or emotions from them has never been easy, and over the years I have sometimes worried that perhaps I should have been more of a “helicopter parent”, more pushy, more demanding, more vocal.
But what Denstone has allowed my child to do is quietly become themself.
My child is not the child who puts their hand up first. They are not the alpha personality pushing themself forward at every opportunity. Yet they have grown into a quietly confident, emotionally intelligent and genuinely kind young person, and I believe the school has played a huge part in shaping that.
It certainly hasn’t all been plain sailing over the years, and there have been some real challenges that my child has had to face into. What has probably made me most proud is the way they have approached those situations, quietly, maturely and with resilience.
Not every child flourishes loudly, and I think Denstone, at its best, creates an environment where all personalities can grow into themselves in their own way and in their own time.
The introduction of VAT created additional financial pressure, and there have certainly been moments over the years where the weight of the commitment has felt significant. But even with that, I would still say the journey has been worth it.
I take enormous pride in having been able to give my child this education and these experiences. Education matters, not simply academically, but because of the confidence, character, resilience and sense of self it helps build in young people as they prepare to enter the world.
Thank you to Denstone, and to everyone who has played a role in my childs journey over the years. Fourteen years is a long chapter in anyone’s life, and it has meant more to us than I could ever properly articulate.
With thanks,
Denstone Parent
We hope you find these reflections as inspiring as we did.
At Denstone, our ambition is not simply to help pupils achieve excellent outcomes, but to ensure they leave us as kind, resilient, confident young people who are ready to make their mark on the world.
We look forward to speaking with you soon.
With best wishes,
The Admissions Team
Denstone College
At Denstone, our ambition is not simply to help pupils achieve excellent outcomes, but to ensure they leave us as kind, resilient, confident young people who are ready to make their mark on the world.
We look forward to speaking with you soon.
With best wishes,
The Admissions Team
Denstone College
CONTACT INFORMATION
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Denstone College, Uttoxeter,
Staffordshire, ST14 5HN
Email: admissions@denstonecollege.net
Tel: 01889 590484
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