Oh dear. All schools seem to be going this way now and no school will ever be "good enough" for prepping children for the 11 plus from all these demanding parents.
It's completely unhealthy.

I agree with clphm and Normandie.  As a general rule boarding schools are definitely easier to get into than the London day schools (bar a few exceptions).  I know of pupils who didnt get into Alleyns for example but got into Brighton College.  The curriculum is broad which may be good in the long term or as a preparation for boarding school but it makes it harder for pupils to perform well against the competition on the narrow range of subjects tested at 11 for senior school entry via 11+ or pre tests.  Lots of outdoor pursuit days and weeks and co-curricular activity is a big part of the school.  Hence a lot of tutoring or supplementary parental involvement takes place out of school for many with aspirations of passing very competitive entrance exams.  Things may change again though under the new headmaster. 

I agree with above poster that the curriculum isn’t 11+ focused enough at all. Having heard of the “brand” I took a look at the leavers destinations: a very mixed bag. We looked no further at the school after that. What is the point of £8k fees if you’re going to need to tutor at home as well?

Boarding isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be, stuffed full of international students these days.

I can safely agree again with above poster that it’s much easier to get into various old school name boarding schools (obviously not Eaton though that brand has taken a lot of criticism recently, would not choose it for my son) as most parents prefer 11+ as results so much better at day schools. The competition for boarding isn’t nearly as intense.

Lower results plus eye watering fees have put a lot of people off...

I know it's not quite what the OP asked, but just a comment to say that our child is in their third year at Newton and we've been really impressed. It's not the most formal environment, and feels relatively international, which suits us. Nice range of people and professions (and languages) amongst the parent community.

The commute issue depends on where you live and are coming from. We are 25 mins walk but find the bus is super easy in the mornings and usually drive in afternoons (you just need to park a couple of streets away, avoiding the road that the school entrance is actually on)

It’s not easy to get into the likes of Wellington! Or any of the top-rated day or boarding schools these days - there are at least three applications for every place and I should know as my child is applying there.

Agree with a lot of the previous posts.

It is a school with so much going right - lots going on, real community, well organised, children love the fun side, amazing teachers, good site.

Sadly the academic side just isn't keeping up. It has a very creative, free curriculum which to be honest just doesn't cut it for 11+ and 13+. It isn't that hard to get into the boarding schools like Wellington anymore so Thomas's real academic level is hidden in its results with such a mix of destinations. But given the intake (selective right from 4+) and professional parent body, they really do not equip the children fully with the strong academic grounding and stretch many of them are capable of. I know many fellow ex-Thomas's children whose parents were shocked for them to go from top set Thomas's to near-bottom sets in their big name public schools afterwards. The rigour just is not there, previously in the Lower School but now all the way through. The support for 11+ and 13+ is nothing like other preps - all very relaxed, which has positives, but not necessarily aspiring and giving the pupils the step up you'd expect from such a well-regarded London day school.

I think it may quickly pick up on this and adapt though with the new head and with the Senior School as they will now have GCSE/A-Levels to (partly) worry about. I imagine many of their less able pupils will be the ones who go into the senior school at first, so they need to do better groundwork to get the academics more solid. They certainly have the quality of staff to do this, it is their curriculum, policies and general ethos on academics which needs to shift.

What is your gut feel?
Where do you see your child fitting in the best?
I think listen to you instinct and go with that.

We had a similar choice a few years back, and went for NP despite being less than 10 mins walk from Thomas’s Clapham.

In hindsight, it was absolutely the right decision. My DS is quirky, not shy but definitely not alpha , and I just couldn’t see him fitting in at Thomas’s. He now has made friends from many other schools around here (from sports clubs, etc) but not a single friend from Thomas’s - which convinces me we made the right decision many years ago.
Having said that, i think Thomas’s is a lovely school, it just wasn’t for him.
The commute to NP is not great, but you get used to it. We go by train in the morning (driving is too busy) and car pickup in the afternoons.

Best of luck !

Thank you so much everybody, really really appreciate your time and advices!!!

I'm happy for you, good luck to you.

Hi,
I have twins , a non-alpha son & a daughter who sounds like yours. Both have thrived and loved the school. Which I think has got the balance right in terms of academics & not losing cross curricular opportunities. The support for senior schools was phenomenal and my kids got places in all the schools they applied for (without having to do extra tutoring). I was a teacher myself so feel well placed to judge the balance on the academic standards and how they approached the build up to 11 & 13+

On the odd occasion my children have had a problem with other children or another child with unkindness or bad behavior then the school has always taken my complaint or concern seriously and dealt with it in a suitable manner.

There are some pushy parents but I’d say far less than I thought and probably the same as any other school. We’ve made friends for life and so have our kids. Happy for you to DM me if you have any specific questions.

Agree Mr Boller is fab!

I live close to Newton Prep, and I can confirm that traffic is horrendous there in the mornings and afternoons. This is not made any easier by the obvious fact that having money to pay for “independent” schooling isn't directly linked to having any brains (or driving skills).

This situation is probably aggravated by the fact that there are two schools right next door to each other here, and is definitely aggravated by TfL’s road changes.

The smart people get the train to school (two minutes walk from Battersea Park, five mins from Queenstown Road).

I was a Thomas's Clapham parent and also a teacher at Newton Prep.  Both are good schools academically but very different in ethos and atmosphere.  Our son was happy at Thomas's until Year 7 when he started to be badly bullied by an 'Alpha boy' set - the school refused to acknowledge this and we were obliged to move him at the end of the Year.  Their famous 'Be Kind' motto seemed somewhat ironic to us.  However, he had some excellent teaching there and the facilities and range of activities was very good as was the general organisation.  
Newton Prep is very different, far less formal and very child focused - there is genuinely no 'star system' there.  Academically, it has improved over the years and now NP students gain places at all the major London day schools and famous public boarding schools - their Head of Transfer is excellent.   Newton Prep has a far more international parent base whereas Thomas's tends to recruit more from local professional families.
It all depends on what you want - my experience as a parent at Thomas's was some years and two head teachers ago - but comments on this strand makes me think that some things haven't changed that much there - which is sad because in many ways it is an excellent school.  Newton Prep isn't as well organised and not nearly as smart but is full of happy children and as parents, you will have more influence there - at Thomas's you do things the Thomas's way and as the brand has clearly been very successful, that is obviously what a lot of families want.
If you do go for Newton, try to arrange to get there by bus or by walking/biking - driving there in the mornings is no fun at all!
Good luck with it all!

My daughter said recently she thought Thomas’s Clapham was better than her highly sought-after secondary school! The new head used to be a teacher at Thomas’s and he is fab. I have made life-long friends from among the parents there. I agree that there is an issue with a few alpha kids getting all the glory but hopefully Mr Boller will sort that out.

Correction meant to say it WAS much easier with our younger child so we may have just been just a particularly sporty/alpha year group