Eaton House The Manor Post Reply

[2boysmum]

Hi there,

I'm really keen to talk to anyone about their experience with Eaton House The Manor Prep school (ie year 4 upwards). Does anyone have children there currently or have children who went there and left? We have to decide fairly quickly whether to move our son there and while I know lots of people at the pre - prep level I don't have any inside info on the prep. If you would be happy to let me know your thoughts/pros/cons I would be really grateful if you could pm me. Thanks so much in advance!

[nvmof3]

For what it's worth, we looked at it and were put off by the fact that Eaton House Belgravia sends all its boys there after it ends at the end of year 3, with the result that there were a load of uniformed chauffeur driven bentleys/Daimlers dropping off little Russian boys and I just thought that I didn't really want our kid going on play dates in Belgravia with billionaires. I felt that it is hard enough to keep London kids grounded without that sort of influence. But on the other hand friends of mine with boys there argued that the school is a good leveller and there is no sense of "haves vs have nots" among the boys.
As a positive, we thought the head was impressive and he had an excellent record of advising on public schools and getting boys into the right one for them.
Not a v helpful comment as I have no real experience of the school so I hope you get more informed feedback from an actual parent. Good luck!

[Writerlady]

We have a son in the prep school who has been there since the start of the pre-prep. I have never, in five years, seen anyone dropped off by a chauffeur (uniformed or otherwise) or from a Daimler - perhaps I am looking in the wrong places! I think it's a great school, with a great record and an amazing headmaster. Of course there are people there with a lot of money but it doesn't mean they aren't just as friendly as everyone else. And, there are plenty of 'normal' people too. I work, drive a 13 year old car and occasionally go on the odd camping holiday (shock horror!) and I have loads of friends there. A few boys from abroad adds to the mix. The other boys are generally lovely, and well-mannered. Please PM me if you would like to ask anything else.

[Happymama]

What a funny post nvmof3 ! I am also a parent at the school and have never seen a child dropped off by Chauffeur !! Most kids that travel from north of the river come on the school bus. I actually find there is a very relaxed atmosphere among the parents at the school !

I am still in the pre-prep so don't have actual experience of the Prep, but so far we have been very happy with the school and we will definitely continue into the prep school.

There was a post here a few days ago saying that the Prep was "voted" (sorry can't think of a better word!) in the top 10 Prep Schools in the country ? Sorry have no idea how to find the post / link ?

[nvmof3]

I promise it was true! We were there for the interviews following on from the assessment day so I guess Belgravia boys who may ultimately travel down on the school bus were taken there by car. There were two such cars in the school car park and I saw boys in EH uniform emerge from them and I heard them speaking Russian. I saw one of them go in for his interview after my son. I have nothing against those families per se, I'm sure they are lovely. It just gave me a certain impression of the school which I accept may well have been the wrong impression. We had other options and went with one of those and, for us, the Belgravia issue happened to be a factor. Sorry for mentioning it if other people find it less if an issue.

[Northcoteplus2]

I have two boys at EH the Manor, both came through the pre-prep and now in the prep. One of the best features of the school is that it is (as much as anywhere) a true corner of traditional England, not euro trashy at all! The boys are from good backgrounds but are not at all flashy or superior and neither are the parents on the whole - that is one of the benefits of being away from the Chelsea, Notting Hill and Belgravia crowds. It is just a fantastic, traditional English boys' prep school, with a small and close knit school community - in my view the best of its kind in London. If you want kudos, celebs and money, go to Wetherby (also a great school btw!), but if you want the best of traditional England, go here. (Ps., we only considered a switch to Colet, but that's a different kettle of fish altogether and my boys love where they are so we decided against, although I am hoping they will go to St Paul's at 13). Hope that helps! Feel free to PM me.