Hello,

I have 2 kids at Newton Prep and have been there for 7 years now and highly recommend it. We really love the school. There are many incredibly bright children at the school, but many of our kids are just normal bright (after all, who doesn't want to think of their children as bright.) It's not been an easy ride for my eldest, as she has learning difficulties, but the school has been fantastic. Her teachers have all been helpful and very approachable. Many of the kids move on at after Year 6, but more are staying and we have quite a few girls who stayed on last year and there are a number who will stay on from Year 6.

Overall the teaching at Newton is of a high standard, but the standout departments are the Art Department and the Science Department. Between the science labs and the library, I wish I were a student there! The Newton community is very warm as well and there are many ways to be active at the school.

We commute every day - a brisk walk to Clapham Junction in the morning and then the train to school, usually car for pick-up, but in the lighter months - the train. We often share rides with friends. The commute is tough at first, but the school is worth the trip.

They are 2 very different schools, but both are good choices, you just need to figure out which fits your child the best. Good luck with your choice.

Thank you. Your point about the commute is a good one and it is playing on my mind but I will take your advice and try some dummy runs. Best wishes.

I don’t often post but I just wanted to give you a bit of advice (from personal experience !!). Please don’t underestimate the travelling to and from school especially if you work. I did it for a while and it was a NIGHTMARE. I ended up moving because of it ….. you probably have already done this and I hope you don’t mind me suggesting it. But try the commute a couple of times – with your kids and at the really busy rush hour which is when you probably would have to do it to get your kids to school on time. The train are so so busy and I hated seeing my kids squashed in a corner and pushed around by everyone. Door to door it was basically taking me almost 2 hours to drop the kids to school and then get myself to work….and at the time my office was 6 miles from my home. I ended up almost having a nervous breakdown as a result of it.
Good luck with everything – by the sounds of things you have great options !

Thank you all. We are lucky to have these good schools around us.
We got offered a place at Newton nursery and will probably take it, despite now travelling in the wrong direction from my place of work to get there! Eaton Prep sounds wonderful too but we cannot look around it before we have to pay Newton deposit+some fees up front (we asked)...and that's too important despite excellent reports on this post. We looked around Newton and really loved it. I suppose the moral for all those parents of youngs ones is to look around early and then perhaps nearer the time too.
Thanks again so much.

Hi, we have two boys (now years 6 and 3) who have both been through Newton from nursery and we are huge fans of the school. I therefore have no personal experience of Eaton House save that several parents have moved to Newton from EH and found it refreshing. Newton is not a traditional prep so if you want a smart blazer and hat and a cohort of families who are traditional private school parents then it probably isn't for you. There is a real emphasis on enjoying education rather than education in order to pass exams so there is no cramming and endless verbal/non-verbal reasoning (as I hear there is in other school) so parents need to have faith that a more all round approach creates a more confident and rounded child who questions and loves learning. On the "your child needs to be very very bright" reputation, that is not true at all. Yes they interview (and in the past had a ridiculous ed psych. test) but I have a son with special learning needs who is of very average intelligence and who loves school and manages well. Please do contact me if you want to have a chat and good luck! ps we get the train from Wandsworth Common and it is fine.

From our experience Newton Prep is a great school developing kids with a rounded character and good sense of place in the world.

My one observation is that we offer additional SEN support to a few students there as the specialist help available wasn't considered sufficient.

There will be lots of mum's looking to share school runs from your area which will help with that daily grind!

Good luck!

My daughter goes to Newton Prep and LOVES it! She's in the nursery and I have to beg for my kiss goodbye when I drop her off because she is so excited to start her day.

We live in Balham too and yes, the overground can be a pain (really crowded in the morning) but it's a quick ride and the afternoons are fine.

I'm impressed by how much she's learning and how much fun she's having. As an American who when to public (state) schools, I was a bit daunted by the whole private school thing, but I can tell you the parents are friendly, involved and down to earth. I could not be happier.

My daughter has just started at Newton Prep and I wish I could go too! It is amazing. The care and attention she has received is wonderful and she is developing so quickly. The school has a wonderful mix of cultures, which I feel is important, a strong community feeling among the parents, and incredible facilities. I don't like the commute much, but it is worth every minute to see her thriving and happy.

Hadn't realised my casual use of the clearly explosive word 'scuffly' would cause so such angst.

I simply meant that the boys enjoy a little bit of rough and tumble play, generally focused on a football. There are many little boys under 8 in a playground. There is no fighting, there is no nastiness, just little boys charging around happily in an enclosed place. Occasionally they bump into each other by accident. There is always a teacher on duty, of course, and bad behaviour is simply not tolerated.

Hi, here is a link to the full article I was referring to, although it doesn't expand much more on the play-fighting point I'm afraid...

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/fami ... 654616.ece

Writerlady wrote:I have a son and daughter at Eaton House.... Yes, the playground can be scuffly, but what i have always been very impressed about is how the boys all look out for others, and will always rush to comfort or help others.

One parent agreed that it was scuffly. I suppose my comment was following on from other discussions on here and in real life with concerns about state schools which would often be fear of fighting etc and it is interesting to see that such behaviour happens at private schools too and is, potentially, actually sometimes tolerated more than it would be in a state school (by parents and head/teachers alike).

Interesting point too from the previous poster about whether this constitutes bad behaviour that should be stopped or is actually good for kids anyway...

Quite a random post LauraBrown ?

I don't think anyone has suggested that scuffling in the playground in a private school is acceptable ? Someone suggested that they "had heard" that this was an issue and parents with children at the school have just confirmed that it wasn't ? So really not sure what you are trying to get to ? And this is an honest question - I am not trying to start an argument.

I have children at both Eaton House boys and girls school - we are very impressed with it. The teaching standards are extremely high, the facilities great and our children are very happy there. I have to say that my kids have never complained about the playground being scuffly. I walk past the playground daily and I always see very happy children having fun (and generally the boys playing a lot of football !!)

Good luck with your decision - both excellent schools !

twinmummy77 - that article sounds really interesting. Do you have a link ?

I am a parent in the nursery at Eaton House and walk through the playground 4 times a day. I have never seen boys 'scrapping'' (although I'm sure little boys everywhere do this a bit).

I have to say that I have found much of the chatter around the differences between schools quite stressful in the decision making process ( our daughter starts school in September). I would suggest going to both schools and seeing for yourself.

I am pretty certain we are going to send our daughter to Eaton House ( and our son in due course). The school has really grown on me (I thought it might be a bit too traditional and standoffish at first) but I have been really impressed with the caring nature and quality of staff so far as well as the range of amazing opportunities the kids get to experience different sports, languages outings from the outset.

As has been said before, we are really spoilt for schools in this part of the world. Listen to your gut instinct and go with whatever feels best for your child.

Good luck!

I was reading an interesting article in the paper last weekend, written specifically for mothers of boys! This is what it said about boys fighting:

"The intensity of rough-and-tumble games so loved by most boys can come as a shock. But play fighting, which peaks at ages 7-8, is an important part of boys’ development and shouldn’t be stopped. “Research among young apes showed that the ones who did not play fight were more aggressive as they got older,” Palmer says. “It seems to be a way of working off natural aggression through play. It’s also the way boys get to know and understand each other and see how the other one ticks.” She encourages parents, particularly fathers, to get involved with rough and tumble games to teach fair rules and self-control."

I would be interested to know other parents thoughts on this! Sorry to go off topic a bit!

I am honestly not trying to start an argument but just find it interesting that potential and current private school parents are not concerned by a scuffling in the playground. If a state school had a reputation for playground scraps, that would be a source for great concern I would think . It's interesting and surprising that fighting between boys in a private school is deemed acceptable.