Eaton House The Manor vs Parkgate House Post Reply

[clapham_dad]

Our son was accepted to both Eaton House The Manor and Parkgate House, and we're trying to decide between the two. I appreciate that they're very different schools, with EH emphasising academic achievements and PGH pastoral care (or at least that's how it looks to the outside observer, also based on destination schools). In addition to these differences, rumours are that boys leave PGH midway leaving mostly girls in later years. Any advice/experience would be highly appreciated. 

[abbevillenewbie]

My children attended both - we moved to Eaton House which was a fantastic decision. You are absolutely correct in that many boys leave. In my sons old class there were two boys remaining (only 5 boys to begin with) Not enough to get a cricket team together let alone have a proper match fixture! In my view, the facilities/infrastructure at Parkgate are really poor eg children eat lunch in classrooms, no indoor sports facilities, no theatre etc. Is the art room still a portacabin? If the weather is awful, the children watch a video instead of having a games lesson (no sports hall/gym). Events have to be held off site in a community hall a few streets away. There isn’t even a lollipop lady to assist the children crossing the busy road despite parents asking for years.I know numerous ex Parkgate parents at Eaton House and we unanimously feel that EH is in a completely different league. You mention pastoral care – it is exceptional at EH as is the whole ethos of the school. Parkgate goes up to 11 so if you are considering boarding school in the future you would have to move your son elsewhere for two years.As a side note the Parkgate registrar never spoke to us again once I gave the school notice. Bit awkward as she’s on the door most mornings. Amazingly unprofessional!

[MuddyStiletos]

Like a lot of parents, I had boys at PGH and moved them to EH. It was the best decision I did. As the poster above mentioned, the facilities at EH are far superior. The quality of teaching staff can’t be compared with EH attracting staff at the top of their field and PG only employing newly qualified staff who leave after a year. App they don’t pay them enough to keep them.
Although PG claim to be pastoral, I found this lacking. Bullying is handled poorly. The principal (who needs to retire in my opinion) and headmaster have no backbone. Never standing up to parents. It is also very sexist. The girls are highly celebrated and the boys seem to be there for de oration and fall to the way side.
When we left there were hoards of families who were also leaving. Rats leaving a sinking ship came to mind.
One of the worst things I found with the school were the parents. Very very cliquey. Quite unwelcoming. Unless you had a Chanel handbag. The Principal endorses this. Sucking up to a few elite parents and treating the others like they are beneath her.
At EH everyone is treated the same. Even royalty. They have no problem standing up to pushy parents or shutting down an out of hand what’s app group.
The pastoral care is excellent. My youngest was very scared joining and cried on his first day in September. The headmaster went out of his way to encourage him, showing a real paternal side. Taking him by the hand and sitting cross legged on the floor of the classroom until he was settled. Then showing them his Guinea pigs he keeps in his office. When my son had completed his first day he hit lots of praise from the staff and made to feel really special. Exactly what I wanted from a school.
Ultimately it’s your decision. But I would avoid PG like the plaque.

[Readytocelebrate]

I’m surprised by the previous post, some things are true (outdoor sport is on the Common, no lollipop lady) but the children don’t eat in their classroom, art doesn’t take place in a portacabin, they also don’t watch tv instead of sports when it rains.
Assemblies, plays, indoor sports all take place at the Devas, usually the children will spend the whole morning there doing these, they don’t go back and forth for each activity.

Re boys leaving, for now my DCs classes have a good boy/girl balance (Prep) but I don’t know what will happen in Y5/Y6.

Really really surprised by the comments about cliquey parents, not my experience at all, quite the opposite! I imagine it can vary from class to class.

My two DC are very academic and I am happy with what they are doing, the children have differentiated work, sensible amount of daily homework, etc. At their previous school they would tell me they were sometimes bored, not the case anymore.

Our main reasons for choosing PH over EH were:
- not enough girls at EH.
- very sports oriented / too competitive. This one definitely depends on each child, my son would have hated it but some boys would thrive.
- smaller, « family » feel, less formal than EH. Again, this depends on what each child needs.
- finally, not a decisive one but we are not planning to send ours to boarding school so the school going up to 13y vs 11y was not a plus, and we preferred a school where all pupils would leave at the same time as them.

To be honest I think my daughter would be happy at both EH and PH, my son however wouldn’t be a good EH fit. So it really depends on your child. Have you asked about a taster day?

[Motheroffour4]

Readytocelebrate states not enough girls at EH but there is an entire actual girls school there (and obviously a boys school too)!  Anyway, if it helps, I have had four children at EH (boys & girls) and found the school brilliant for all. One of mine needed a lot of SEN support which was amazing and limitless, there is a dedicated wellbeing team, excellent core values and the covid reponse was outstanding with onsite testing pods built etc. Two of mine are very academic, two very sporty but all four have thrived. Teaching quality is A***. I haven't personally experienced PG but noted how many families leave PG to move to Eaton and have poor feedback about PG. Also the devas centre referred to for indoor games etc is a council owned youth club so not part of PG school and not onsite...

[Moonlightdawn]

Hi

Our youngest went to nursery at PH for two years. The school is very nurturing and it has the atmosphere of a small, village school. For some people, that's wonderful and great. For me it felt claustrophobic.

We chose not to stay there for Reception. However, we have kept in touch with some of the families whose children still attend PH. I only hear good things from them, that their child is thriving and happy, etc.

EH was not on our destination list. We didn't like the single-sex education component. The traditional uniform with the hats etc put us off as well. Like stepping back into time.

Hope you find somewhere that suits you and your child. There are lots of other good schools in Wandsworth which are worth looking at.

[mrsF]

The school choice issue can be quite emotive! We turned down Eaton House for Parkgate because we loved the personal feel and the clearly happy and enthusiastic children. We’ve been very happy with our choice. We chose happy, confident children over snazzy facilities.

The children all get great results and into top schools without pressure and outside tutoring so they aren’t exhausted. We’ve found that the smaller classes mean everyone gets a chance to have a go in sport and drama etc which helps develop confidence. Our children’s classes our balanced with girl/boy numbers.

So far as cliquey parents go, that hasn’t been my experience at all. There’s a mix of working parents and stay at home parents and everyone seems very friendly and supportive.

We are lucky to live in an area with so many very good schools. I’m sure any of them would be good. Good luck!

[mrsF]

The school choice issue can be quite emotive! We turned down Eaton House for Parkgate because we loved the personal feel and the clearly happy and enthusiastic children. We’ve been very happy with our choice. We chose happy, confident children over snazzy facilities.

The children all get great results and into top schools without pressure and outside tutoring so they aren’t exhausted. We’ve found that the smaller classes mean everyone gets a chance to have a go in sport and drama etc which helps develop confidence. Our children’s classes our balanced with girl/boy numbers.

So far as cliquey parents go, that hasn’t been my experience at all. There’s a mix of working parents and stay at home parents and everyone seems very friendly and supportive.

We are lucky to live in an area with so many very good schools. I’m sure any of them would be good. Good luck!

[clapham_dad]

Thank you, everyone, for the very valuable input (some of which we've never heard before). Although this sounds like a divisive topic (given differing opinions here), we decided to go with EH given the comments here and knowing our son's nature. 

As mrsF mentioned, making a school choice can be quite emotive, but everyone's comments here helped us make what we think is the right choice. Thank you again!

[mrsF]

I’m glad you have made a decision.

I remember why I finally chose Parkgate and it was from some mums I spoke to from both schools. The EH mums felt that their kids had “got through” prep school where as the Parkgate mums felt their children had really enjoyed their time. For me, this was quite telling.

Just as an additional point- the “snazzy facilities” I was talking about weren’t at Eaton House but other, larger schools in the area. As I said, we are lucky to have such a wealth of good schools locally, all with different strengths!

[Newschool]

Thanks OP for posting, this has been very useful and has cemented our decision about EH and our son will be starting there in Y3 in September.

[michelhmed]

parkgate is horrible. i really recommend parents to avoid this school. Eaton house is way better. Academically it is way better. Pupils are well prepared for 11 plus.
my experience with parkgate is a disaster.

[ralph123456]

parkgate is such an awful school. really bad.
avoid this school. to be honest EH is way better.