Putney High Junior School Vs. Thomas's Clapham Post Reply

[alostdad]

Hi all,
Thanks in advance for any advice I get here. Needed a bit of community feedback on this. Our DD has gotten into PHS Junior and also Thomas's.

Putney high is a 3mile heavy traffic (25 mins drive each way) but feels right from ethos and academic rigour. Plus v high chance of entry into the senior school.

Thomas's on the other hand is a 5 mins walk with mixed feedback on academic rigour/ success in SW Day schools.

DD2 is also joining a nursery in Clapham so lift & shift to Putney right away doesn't fit right away.

On one hand we are attracted by the great academic results of PHS but don't really fancy the 25 mins drive each way (plus toddler in tow).

Any any advice (and correction to our research) is very very welcome!

[Wellwhybot]

You could move closer to Putney High 😉

[alostdad]

Absolutely - one thing that we are considering - only thing is that our younger daughter is starting her nursery locally in Clapham and we adore that nursery!

[BFW]

It’s a 6 minutes train ride journey to Putney from Clapham junction. And then a 5 minute walk up the hill. Much easier by train.

Save yourself the nightmare of 11+ and go for PH!

[Starr]

We stupidly turned down Putney Junior for a prep and I regretted it when I realized how stressful the 11+ was. If you like the school ( I really do, it's down to earth) go for it. Especially as you have another girl.

[Flowermummy]

Go with your gut feel!
PH seems the better option from what you describe. The commute doesn’t sound that bad, you will make it work!!
We had a similar choice between NP and Thomas’s Clapham a few years back, with Thomas’s being 5 mins away and we also had a younger one in a nursery nearby. We chose NP as it fit much better with my sons personality, and so happy we did that!
In your case PH sounds even better because you avoid 11+!!!

[dudette]

One thing to think about if you choose PH is that most of your daughter’s friends (and your friends too!) will be in Putney and you may start to get heartily sick of the journey over there for play dates, mums’ nights out etc. Whatever you think of Thomas’s (I think it’s a fantastic school but not everyone does) it’s given me (and my kids hopefully) lifelong friends who I count as among my very best pals. And not only are they great people but they all live within walking distance. I’m sure this is the same for a lot of schools but if PH is your first choice I would think seriously about moving there. Don’t worry about your little one - kids are very adaptable at that age. The only other thing I’d say is that 5-18 is a long time to be at one (single sex) school. I went to one from 7-18 and it was unutterably dull! I think it’s good to experience change in life and although 11 plus is tricky it does mean a new school and a fresh start. The kids all get in somewhere. Thomas’s has a new head who might well improve the academics so that in seven years time it’s not an issue. Part of the problem was their emphasis on 13+ and Common Entrance but now that’s all going and everyone will have to do exams at 11 they should hopefully pull their socks up.

[Starr]

Dudette makes great points.
They are right, for some girls co ed is just more suitable.
For what it's worth my daughter did get an offer at 11 plus and she was average ( in a very strong cohort admittedly!), very shy as well as being completely anxious. The benefit of the prep is we got to have a choice and we have gone for a coed!
I don't think Putney is very difficult to get into compared to others and the exams are very straightforward: maths and english paper and the interview very friendly and straightforward. Lots of girls do apply but many take up offers in west London or further out sw.

It's definitely a dilemma for you!
You could always prep for 11 plus from Putney junior with a bit of tutoring. I saw girls in Putney uniforms at open days sometimes.

[Swmum1234]

Hi we did it a while back and I only survived the drive from just off northcote road to Putney for a year. We ended up moving to Putney and ironically now DD isn’t there anymore. We moved abroad for a couple of years so that forced the initial move for us but when we came back did not reapply as realised is did not really suit her personality anymore. As had quite a large number of her friends. A lot of people choose to move schools for seniors anyway hard to know that early on if it’s the right school for your now four year old. Just went through the 11plus with my son and it’s tough but I feel it works and you end up with a school where your child should ‘fit’ and hopefully be happy.

[Medicalmam]

I don’t know much about Putney High but Thomas’s Clapham is a fantastic school. All 3 of my children have been exceptionally happy there. They have made lovely friends and had a huge wealth of opportunities in drama, music and sport. The pastoral care is excellent and the school is progressive. As an aside, all of my children have gone/ are going onto great schools which happen to be academically selective. I don’t recognise the concern you raised around academic rigour at Thomas’s though do understand your concern about putting your child through a selective exam process at 11+. The school will help guide you through this process so your child ends up at the right school for them.
I’m sure parents of children at Putney will also be incredibly positive about their experiences so it’s probably a case where there isn’t a bad choice.
There is a lot to be said for ease of logistics and being able to walk your child to school and play dates. Good luck with your decision!

[MagnoliaMum]

My kids both went to Thomas's Clapham and loved it and went on to extremely good secondary schools, as did all their friends, so I'm a little puzzled by your academic concerns (although I may be out of date). I agree with the points above, particularly those made by Dudette and Medicalmam.

I would add that my experience of Thomas's, which would probably be the same for any energetic fee-paying junior school (post Covid), is that you would be unrealistic to think that you/your partner would just be doing two trips to school a day, particularly when your second child joins too. There were before-school clubs (music, drama, sports), assemblies to watch, after-school clubs of all descriptions, lunch-time concerts and dance shows for parents, Saturday gymnastics and sports fixtures, Parents' Evenings and all sorts of talks and social events in the evenings. Nothing compulsory, just really nice to get involved with - but thank goodness we lived ten minutes walk away! Your daughter(s) might not want to take up all those opportunities, however it would be a shame to deprive her of those she would like to do or not be able to watch/support her because the commute is too much or the logistics impossible.

I also would point out that Thomas's is opening it's own senior school in September, which should be reasonably well-established by the time your eldest gets to that point and is likely to be a high quality and sought-after school once it takes off. So if 11+ exams feel too much or as a fall-back to take the pressure off, then there will be that option not to have to change schools if you did go down the Thomas's route.

Good luck with the decision.

[katzekatze]

Hi
Thomas's is offering a Senior school now so you can avoid the 11+ if you want to.