Have you heard about The Roche School? Post Reply

[supergirl]

Hi there

Has any mums heard about The Roche School on Frogmore St SW18 (going towards Putney).

When we moved in the area a few years ago, we made the conscious decision of not buying in any catchment areas and decided to go down the private schools road instead. Our daughters are on the waiting lists for Newton Prep, Finton House and L'Ecole de Battersea (a french bilingual school which provides an automatic place at the Lycee should you start and finish the primary school years there).

But I heard this school is still offering places there for the years 2013 and 2014 when my daughters will be due to start school in the english system, so I went to check in order to have another option...
I must say I was very impressed, the ofsted is outstanding, the school is very small (2 classes per year of 19 children max), very creative and very academic. They have a lot of interesting clubs (the art club is particularly impressive), concerts, plays, etc. I felt the school is very comparable with Newton Prep and smaller. No obvious minuses except perhaps that they don't offer the option of providing lunches but if it is the only minus I could survive that

I would love to hear some mums who have their children there or have friends who have...

Looking forward to reading your comments

Supergirl

[karend1]

I have good very good things about the Roche, we have a place there for this year. I also spoke with some of the mums and they were very happy with what it offered

I shown around by a lovely year 6 pupil who was leaving; the children there seem to go to great secondary schools. I also paid for consultancy to discuss schools in the area as everything is so full !! They suggested that Roche had the edge academically over a few other schools so that gave us more comfort. I feel lucky we got a place and hope our child is happy when she starts there.

PM me if you want more info. I have looked at many schools in the area and its been challenging and I have had a lot of sleepless nights, all the mothers will say that... good luck

[Hunnybunnymay]

Hi,

I too have two daughters who will be starting school in September 2013 and 2014 respectively and the Roche school is one we are interested in, so would love to hear any feedback too. I recently moved from Fulham to Wandsworth and have found we are too late to get onto lists for Hornsby House and Finton House etc so this is a good option for us along with Thomas's Fulham as they are both reasonably close and have good reputations. I went to see the Roche on an open day and was very impressed by their ethos and the the feel of the place. However I found that the building was rather cramped and like a rabbit warren, which I felt could be an issue in bad weather (kids going a bit wild), though I am told they are making the building bigger but not their pupil intake so this could totally change this! I also felt it was perhaps a little old fashioned (cant decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing!) and could do with a little modernisation - but this was just my impression and I could be completely wrong! I don't know about the not providing lunch issue, please can you enlighten me?!?

I would say above all, if you like it you should follow your gut feeling- it is massively important when making such a decision, why wait around to see if you get a place in a school you are not sure about when there is one you really like......

[maxiebaby]

We have a daughter at the Roche so can offer you our opinion based on nearly a year (warning, this is long).

I would say Hunnybunnymay's take on the school is spot on.
We too love the ethos: it is a small caring school with a family feel, it seems to cater very well to every individual child and try and bring out the best in each one.

Academically we are very pleased with the approach and our daughters progress. She is doing well and is also enthusiastic and inspired, which is an excellent sign that teachers are engaging the children.
It is also very hot on drama and they seem to do a lot of sport too, both things we were specifically looking for.
Ive seen less sign of the music and art to be honest. My impression (and it is just that) is that these things are perhaps not quite as strong as at some other schools, but it may just be a reflection of interests or age.

In terms of the downsides, I agree that the building is very cramped. Admittedly building work is starting soon, but the site is very small and there is little potential to expand. I think the impact will be fairly limited. It is also quite a scruffy, down-to-earth place, which has pluses and minuses.
For reasons of space, the school does not seem to have the same facilities, such as dedicated DT rooms or science labs, as I have seen in some other schools. And it does not have space for a kitchen, so school dinners are out. It does, however, have a small art building, rooms for individual music lessons, an ICT lab and use of Wandsworth Park 5 minutes away for frequent games lessons.
So from a space/facilities perspective I think it does fall short of schools like Finton House or Newton Prep for example (I have little knowledge of others).

As to whether it is old fashioned, I guess it probably is in a way. But not in a stuffy way. One thing I like about the school is that children are allowed to be children, and there is litle formality. Academically though, yes the children do sit in rows in old fashioned wooden desks (really took me back) and the approach is more traditional than in the State school our daughter was previously at. But I think it is more academically rigorous, focuses well on mastery of the basics as a starting point, and I see only positives in that.

Only you can decide what is most important to you: the general ethos/feel and standards or the facilities.

It certainly seems to be a good fit for our rather unconventional daughter who I could not envisage in a very formal environment. She is happy and settled after nearly a year and enjoying both the academic and additional activities.

Hope this is helpful and good luck in your decision making.

[supergirl]

Thank very much for all your comments. I am very pleased to read such positive ones. I did feel when i was there that the children were happy there which is very important and i did like the fact as you said that they are allowed to be children.

You are absolutely right, we need to decide what is important to us in order to make that decision. Luckily, we wont have to commit before the summer 2012 so that gives some more time.

I am French and have done all my schooling in the french system so i have little knowledge about the english one. My husband is Irish so he doesnt know much either. However, having done our homework i feel that the english one gives a lot more confidence (at least during the primary school) to the children. The french one emphasise a lot more on the academic side of things (although it is changing a bit) and the way you learn is not in a very creative way. So or a child who is not so academic there are no other ways to shine... I feel that a system which brings the academic and the creative side in the same curriculum is much better for a child. Sorry if I dont express myself very clearly. I mean that in order to learn about the solar system, in the french system you would take your book and in the english one you would create one as part of your science project. I believe the second way is more effective!

So i would much prefer my children to have that chance to learn that way. But what about secondary school. If your children are in the same one (because of the 11+), how do parents cope with the school run? Overlapping sports day or play or Parents Teachers meeting?

So much to think about...

[MamaMillie]

Our son is coming to the end of Year 1 at The Roche and has been there since nursery.

We are absolutely delighted with the school and with our son's progress there. He adores his teacher and commented at the beginning of this year "Mum, I didn't think I could like my *new teacher* any more than my *last teacher* but I LOVE her!" (teachers names withheld).

All the parents I know there are very happy and most importantly, their children are happy and thriving.

The classes are small (only 14 in our class) and it is such a positive, nurturing environment. They focus on bringing out the best in every single child and help them all find and develop their strengths.

The children do gymnastics, sports, dance, drama, music, singing as part of the curriculum (as well as all the usual subjects like English, Maths, Science, French etc). They can also do after school or lunchtime clubs such as choir, football, cricket, dance, judo, gym, drawing and plenty of other choices.

Academically the do very well and all children get in to the schools of their choice on leaving I believe.

Yes the building is small but by the end of this year the expansion will be complete which will give them a bit more space. The playground is not very big but Wandsworth Park is so close and they use it for PE and sport clubs. The size of the building or grounds doesn't bother the children one bit!

I would add that all of the parents we've met are lovely and it's not a stuffy or 'stuck up' school at all. Very down to earth and dedicated to what matters most - our children.