Ravenstone or Rutherford House Post Reply

[Sophie CLS]

I am looking at sending my 3.5yr old to either Ravenstone or Rutherford House schools in September and can’t choose between them.

Has anyone been in the same position and any advice when making the choice?

Many thanks

[kat195]

We were in the same situation and it's hard choosing as both are great schools. We have now been nearly all the way through Ravenstone and our experience has been extremely positive. It's such a lovely community, the grounds are fantastic with trees and wild areas (allowing for 'forest school' for the littler ones), plenty of space to run in different areas, and a new early years building nearly completed. There tends to be low teacher turnover, learning is stretching, and they are a learning hub for example maths. Sports opportunities have been many, and my originally very much non-sporty child has been encouraged so much that they are now attending several of the clubs! The newish head seems to be on the ball in terms of tightening things up and ensuring standards, but there is still Ravenstone's traditional focus on the 'happiness' of the child. There are some great events run by the Friends of Ravenstone and some great residentials and programmes of trips. I couldn't recommend the school more, but of course we're so lucky in this area to have brilliant schools available to us!

[mylifestory]

depends where you want to go after and your priorities. with parental support they can get into top private schools from rutherford ....

[kat195]

On the contrary I don't think choosing one school over the other will make any difference to whether your child can get into private school afterwards - I know plenty of kids who went on to independent schools from Ravenstone as well as from Rutherford House. Mainly I think it's just important to make the decision about which school will fit your child/your child will be happiest at. It's definitely a hard choice given that both are good, and we were really dithering between the two!

[Btwmum]

I would say with a lot of tutoring support they can go into private secondary at Ruthford House. The majority of kids are heavily tutored there, which obviously raises the bar academically. So if the goal is a private secondary Ruthford house is better as loads of families go to this route, lot of stay at home mums pushing their kids academically and with after school activities and tutoring. If this is not an important aspect then Ravestone is a less competitive more inclusive school. There are kids who are tutored and go for private secondary of course, but much less

[Spinosaurus]

Our son just left Ravenstone after 7 mostly happy years there. He made some really good friends and has gone to a good secondary, the school community is lovely. I don’t know much about Rutherford House but the support for the Wandsworth test is non-existent at Ravenstone as the focus is seemingly only on the relentless SATs drills. You would need a tutor for indies there but that’s usual for state I think.

There’s been a lot of change in the last few years with the new head, with most of the existing teachers leaving, some went mid-year which although he wasn’t directly affected was upsetting for our son. Not unusual that this happens when there’s a leadership change though and hopefully will all have settled now. It did sadly feel like some of the caring nature/SEN support of the school was lost in the transition though.

[Stronglattesplease]

I am in a peculiar situation of having experience with both schools. We moved from Ravenstone to Rutherford House.
People tend to say that Ravenstone feels more inclusive. It is indeed a very inclusive school (no arguments here) but so is Rutherford House.
I did not feel any difference - the parents at Rutherford House are lovely, super fun and super invested into the school. They certainly throw amazing summer and Christmas parties. I met lots of them, had fun coffee mornings & light chats at the school gate (and lots of them are working parents btw - also drawn to RHS due to the wrap around care provision).
Then people say it is a lot more academic. I would say it is strong in academics (and I like that) but not to the expense of children's wellbeing. My eldest is a very balanced child - not top marks - good at everything but on a very balanced way. In no way my child feels pressured or stressed. Stretched, yes. Stressed, no. Same for my youngest.
And to add - I love love the clubs. The provision is absolutely amazing.
Which one I prefer - Rutherford House but that is slightly obvious as I decided to change. I also think Ravenstone is a good school. It does come down to preferences and a bit of a gut feel.

[kat195]

The thing with the Wandsworth (11+) test is that getting a good score on the test is only actually required for admission to a small proportion of places at just two secondary schools in Wandsworth, moreover preparation really doesn't benefit students academically - unlike the preparation for SATs, which are in core subjects, so placing an emphasis on taking the SATS can encourage children to improve in key subjects which will be important to them later on (and some schools base eg streaming decisions and even consideration of what GCSE options may be appropriate on them). So I am glad that the school didn't waste time on this - there are in any case plenty of tutoring options, including an after-school tutor club which helps prepare for the Wandsworth test.

[MabelMia]

I agree that both of these schools are great and that we are lucky to have such brilliant schools in Balham! We also struggled to make a decision between these two schools with our eldest (now in Y4) and ended up going with Ravenstone which has been fantastic for our family. Our two children are both very happy at Ravenstone, they’ve made great friends (as have I) and they have always had wonderful teachers. Plus the school has got a great community and an inclusive energy which we love. The quality of teaching has been fantastic and we are confident that our two will leave Ravenstone with plenty of options when considering secondary schools (which has been the case with other Ravenstone families we know). Good luck with the decision - both are great schools whichever you go for!