Advice with private primary schools Post Reply

[Edge of Valley]

Hi, thank you so much again for your inputs. Very much appreciated!

>Diana M, Medway, Bee,
Sadly moving is not an option - my DH need to be on the tube line, or be relatively close to central London for job reasons. My DH loves spending time with DD in the mornings and being far from work means that he will never get to see her during the weekday. You never know though, we might have an awakening from a hectic London lifestyle, and think to ourselves "Oh I remember the Nappy Valley mums advised me for a move...I should have listened"

>Supergirl
I am pretty much on the same boat as you. There is certainly a price to pay, but the cultural diversity is important for us. Putney is a little far from us, we don't know the area well but The Roche school sounds like a lovely place to study. I hope I can find a similar school.

>Bubs
Thank you for a practical advice. For our second one, we are doing exactly that! On the phone and being on the list. I learned my lesson for sure from our current experience! You are quite right about "being the type" is not our problem. I guess if we don't fit, we don't fit! As simple as that. I would not want my DD pretend to be a what she is not.

>Bbkl
Great advice, thank you. I understand what you mean by being a right fit. Already we have screened out some of the schools being "not quite right for us" from looking at the prospectus and what I hear from people. I am also looking for a reasonable diversity although a skew is somewhat expected in some schools. I was attracted the "name value" factor initially but I realised that my DD's happiness is ultimately the most important reason for choosing a school!

>JoY
Funny you mention this school, I have been reading the Ofsted report and it is reviewed well. My DD goes to a small nursery so somewhere with a close knit community feel sounds great. Would you like to tell us a little bit about it? I will certainly give them a call!

[JoY]

Hi

You asked to know a bit more about the White House School in Balham...sorry it's taken me so long to reply!

We came across it by chance and I am so pleased we did!

It is a small school with a lovely friendly feel. They have one intake per year, class sizes of approx 15, very approachable teachers who all seem to genuinely love what they do and really care about your child. They seem to challenge, but without being pushy. I also like they do sports 4/5 days a week, have a range of clubs and encourage them to be creative - the art is super and as the children get older they are encouraged to engage in public speaking etc.

They have a lovely playground and different year groups share playtime - so my daughter knows a lot of children throughout the school. They have just built a new IT and music room and there is an art/ science room being renovated currently.

My eldest is just finishing reception, so my experience is limited but friends with older children at the school seem very happy, confident that their children are thriving. They have a good leaver results and all the older children I have met are polite and confident.

Being a smaller school it doesn't have some of the facilities offered by the larger schools, but they make use of the local commons and for example, use CSHS theatre for the end of year play. Some of the communications aren't as glossy and polished as larger schools. A concern some people have is the class sizes and balance of girls/ boys - i.e when is small too small, particularly when it comes to sport? They do some sports fixtures across year groups e.g. all girls in years 3&4 to make the squad and they seem to do well in fixtures.

The school also has a day nursery and a pre-school on the same site, so at the moment I have one in reception, one in pre-reception and one goes to the day nursery. It is super as I can drop them all off at the same time. I can also see that it would be great for people who want their children in full-day care, but to also have a pre-school experience as the staff walk the children from one to the other.

Hope that answers some of your questions. Let me know if you want to know anything else.

[LisaCF]

Hi,

I've just read your post and that of JoY. I couldn't agree more with her views. My children (2 boys - now aged 7 and 10) have been at The White House since Kindergarten. They have thrived there and my eldest, who is just about to embark on his final year, has grown in to a confident, happy, sociable and considerate child. He has been allowed to develop in a very close knit nurturing environment where all the children know each other across the year groups.

There are opportunities for children to discover and develop a variety of interests from the more traditional after school activities to car club - where the older children build and race a car at Goodwood to knitting - my 7 year old very sporty boy can't get enough of it!

The academic level is high but the classes have a wide range of abilities and the classes are small enough that each child gets a lot of individual attention whatever their current ability.

From my perspective school is not just about learning your ABC but about helping develop a rounded and happy person who is confident enough to contribute positively in any situation that they find themselves. I believe that The White House has done that for my children as well as providing them with a first rate primary education.

[Edge of Valley]

Hi JoY, LisaCF
Thank you for your replies on both of my posts.
I found your comments really helpful. The school sounds loving and warm as well as being academic, and it is definitely on my shortlist.
I saw some of the art works and the standard seems to be incredibly high. That is a big plus, as well as having sports class every day. My dd really needs to have that outlet to keep her sanity.

I guess my question is, why is there a skew between boys & girls?

Also I am curious to know, how do they do sports on a rainy day? Do they have an indoor sports area?

[JoY]

Hi

Great to hear you are looking at the White House!
In terms of skew girls/boys - I am not sure why but some years seem to have a couple more girls, others a couple more boys. I think it is probably more to do with who moves out/ away from london.
They seem to do sports unless it is really awful - they just put their raincoats on over tracksuits.
Hope that helps, but pm me if you want to talk further.