IAPS (formerly called the Independent Association of Prep Schools) has been serving independent school Headteachers in the UK and beyond for more than 100 years.

It exists to provide its members with support, advice, training, events, services and connection to each other, and over 650 thriving schools are part of the Association today. IAPS schools are incredibly diverse: rural; urban; day; boarding; co-ed; single sex; stand-alone; all-through... They describe the full spectrum of independent school types, sizes and traditions.

To qualify to apply for membership, Heads must be leading an independent school (able to charge fees), the majority of whose pupils are of prep age (3-to-11 or 3-to-13). Applications are considered against our quality criteria, including areas such as the Head’s autonomy, the breadth of the school’s curriculum, its ability to recruit and retain the best staff and its compliance with the standards of the relevant inspection body.

For these reasons, and through the ongoing monitoring of inspection outcomes, membership of IAPS has become a byword for school quality amongst professionals and parents in the sector.