Thomas's Clapham, Streatham and Clapham Prep offers Post Reply

[pie81]

Interesting Goldhawk - do you have children at Hornsby?

[Confus_ed]

I guess the other question then is whether you have any ideas where you might want your son to go (early days I know)?

Mainly because you don't want to let a single school run swing your choice now and then decide you actually prefer somewhere else for your son, but also because some schools just combine together more easily based on location.

[DonJ]

Well he is registered at a few preps in Balham - but had imagined trying for Dulwich schools for him when time came- as much as you can imagine for a baby anyway!

[mummyof1]

RE your school run - SCP has a bus service that is run by the actual school (unlike some other schools) so all the girls are driven by premises staff and they always have a sixth former on the bus too. Lots of girls use and currently have 4/5 routes and they offer this service from nursery age children with of course car seats.

[Confus_ed]

Well in that case it sounds like the single school run point might be a bit moot.

If you have enough time, I'd book in for a tour of the Dulwich options asap as they are very different from the BTC schools both in ethos and facilities (roof top observatories, climbing walls, swimming pools, film studios...).

If you decide you're likely to want that for your son then Streatham would work well. Same direction geographically, lots of families with kids at both plus holidays usually coincide which they don't with the BTC preps (and having kids with different half terms is a total pain).

[mummyof1]

Also lots of parents at SCP have boys over at dulwich so opportunities to share the return run at least.

[lolaloves]

Thanks for these insights much appreciated on Hornsby and other schools. We also have a ds and I had. Or considered dulwich schools they sound great!

[Flowermummy]

Donj - 2 school runs is tough ... but I know people how do it (in one case both are working parents with no nanny in the morning), so it's clearly doable. Plus you can use the bus or share school runs. Dulwich also have school buses.
It must mean that you like SCP quite a bit more than Thomas's though , otherwise why give up the convenience (and quite nice for the 2 siblings to go to school together).

Lolaloves- tough choice...I have heard nothing but good things about Hornsby too, plus it's more diverse than Thomas's (not sure this matters to you). It feels inclusive and less competitive but still gets great results at 11+. BUT I don't have any close friends with kids there... Thomas's does have better facilities, and more clubs/activities. So your choice seems to be between more facilities/activities and a more relaxed atmosphere. (Most people I know don't want boarding, so if that's your case too then your dd would leave prep school at 11 even from Thomas's).
Ultimately you have to go with your gut feel of which one dd would enjoy better.

[DonJ]

I think it's more that I know more about SCP, and what I have seen there I like a lot. Thomas's is much more of an unknown quantity to me, which is why is so useful to hear from current parents, as it does seem to be a school that a lot of rumour attaches itself to! I know my daughter has thrived on a nurturing atmosphere, which is what I was keen to see whether existed there.

[Medway]

Re HH, I may be wrong here but there was a rumour going round earlier this year that the past set of 11+ results were in fact not very good/ not nearly as good as in the past. Not many kids got into DC/ Alleyns/ JAGS, there was an over reliance on Whitgift and Streatham and many kids only got 1 offer. There was bit of an uproar amongst parents at the time. I may be wrong (tittle tattle alert), but thought I;d share. I have also been talking to people as I approach the 11+ with my first Son and the general consensus is that 11+ has become a nightmare - too many children looking for too few places and all those kids very bright and well prepared.

To be fair to HH they are non selective and very much emphasise the rounded aspect of the educaiton they provide. I believe the results acted as a bit of a wake up call for parents though - paying a lot of money for a great school is no guarantee of success...scary!

[Manny]

I suspect most of these schools do a similar job academically - at least that was my conclusion! I would go on gut feel, whether co-ed is important (it was to us) and facilities. Also whether you need option of 13+. Perhaps a second look around would help, as suggested above? FWIW, we are very happy with Thomas's as is our child. I do think there is a degree of 'chatter' about schools and their reputations, but I haven't noticed and particular child 'type' or competitiveness. That said I only know one school personally so I can't compare.

At the end of the day pretty much everyone I know has been happy with their school choice in the end and I am sure I would have been happy with any of the schools we looked at. They were all good schools. Good luck!

[lolaloves]

That's interesting Medway, I can't see that from the published offers and acceptances which show 13 offered at jags and 12 at alleyns but maybe it was the year before. This is so stressful! I don't think we will do boarding school so that makes Hh more obvious.

[Flowermummy]

We Donj - we have looked at Thomas's a lot for a year (one of our top 2 choices), saw it twice, spoke to lots of parents. Great majority of parents we spoke to are happy there ( there are of course some for whom it doesn't work out). I wouldn't call it a nurturing environment, every parent described it as full-on or bustling, with teachers that are very motivated to engage and help all children, so most children end up happy (and exhausted)

[sofiatheseventh]

HH's 2016 results are on their website in full including both offers and places accepted http://www.hornsbyhouse.org.uk/destination-schools.

For 51 leavers - 14 Alleyns offers, 13 JAGS offers, 6 Wimbledon High. To have almost half of your girls getting offers to JAGS is pretty good going especially when they aren't selective on entry.

The boys school results don't look as strong with only 5 DC offers and none for KCJS, Westminster, St Pauls...

But HH's ethos tends to attract families who are aiming for relatively local day schools anyway so that may skew where they choose to apply.

As for the large number to Whitgift, I suspect this in part reflects the fact that its exam results have been closing in on DC's a lot in recent years and its facilities and grounds are pretty spectacular. It's not an automatic 2nd choice any more. The same thing seems to be starting to happen with SCH too.

[SoConfused!]

Having been through the 11+ London school process a couple of times now I wish I had chosen a school that goes all the way until 18. You don't necessarily have to stay onto the senior school - but you can approach the 11+ process feeling more relaxed as you have an option !

The only criticism I have of Thomas' is that the streaming sets are openly discussed by parents and children - and I know this sometimes results in demoralised children in predominantly in the older years as the sets are not that fluid. Other schools tend to have a "top set" and equal sets around it which in my modest opinion is a better format. I personally don't buy the "selective school" label as all siblings get a place and you really cannot "assess" a child at 3. But I do think their facilities are the best in SW11.

I have no direct experience of Hornsy but I have never heard a bad thing about this school ! Everyone there seems to be really happy and their results sound amazing. I actually heard the opposite Medway ? I thought they had had a really successful year last year ? The SW11 rumour machine...

Good luck with it all - lots of good options.