St Gabriel's School

St Gabriel’s School sits in Sandleford Priory, two miles south of Newbury in Berkshire. The priory is a Grade I listed building surrounded by 54 acres of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown. James Wyatt designed the present structure between 1780 and 1786 for Elizabeth Montagu, a leading figure in the Blue Stockings Society. The school itself was founded in 1929 in Mill Hill, London, and moved through Devon and Newbury before settling at Sandleford Priory in 1948. It began as a girls’ school and has gradually become fully co-educational. Over 400 pupils now attend from nursery through to sixth form. The school keeps traditional Church of England values at its core. Boys joined the senior school in Year 7 from 2022, and the sixth form will admit boys from 2024. By 2026 the school will be fully co-educational. The move reflects a careful, incremental approach to change. Elizabeth Montagu’s influence still shapes the setting, where art, literature and reform once gathered. The priory’s chapel remains a focal point of the estate. Visitors walk through parkland designed by Capability Brown. The Grade I listed building shows Wyatt’s elegant style from the late 18th century. The school occupies classrooms and facilities within the priory grounds. The chapel and landscaped gardens frame daily life for pupils. The setting offers a quiet, reflective atmosphere away from Newbury’s centre.