Ponies & Animals
Hanford Prep is famous for its ponies but there are also lots of other animals at the school.
The Canning family, who founded Hanford Prep, strongly believed that being around animals was an important part of childhood, teaching children to be thoughtful, kind and gentle as well as encouraging them to think about others.
The Stables
There are around 18 ponies who live permanently in our stables.
During term time they are sometimes joined by the girls’ ponies. Before any girl can to bring her own pony to school it must be assessed for suitability.
The stables is a popular place to hang out in break and recreation. Girls will often enjoy spending their free time grooming and caring for the ponies. The desire to look after animals at Hanford helps to encourage a sense of selflessness and empathy.
It is also an important area of common ground as the shared interest in ponies, chickens and dogs can help bring together even the most unlikely of friendships.
Dogs & Dog Walks
There are many dogs who are part of the Hanford Prep community, staff often bring their dogs in to school and girls love taking them for walks around the grounds.
At weekends, Mrs Phillips will often take a group of girls for a dog walk, sometimes with a picnic, up Hod or Hambledon Hill.
The nearby railway museum at Shillingstone has a wonderful little café where they serve piping hot chocolate in the winter and ice cream in the summer.
Guinea Pigs & Chickens
Our Guinea Pigs are well looked after by the ‘Guinea Pig Committee’ who help make sure the animals are fed and watered, and given lots of attention.
A relatively new addition to Hanford Prep are our chickens. They live up near Mrs Phillips’ house and girls have been involved in planning their chicken run; finding a suitable and safe location for the chickens, measuring out the space and helping order materials. A great deal of research also went into which chickens to buy, as we were keen to get good layers!
As with all our animals, girls learn to take responsibility and make sure the animals are looked after properly. The Hanford Prep animals, big and small, play an important pastoral role within our community; they are a calming influence and the girls love spending time with them.
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