Schools? Caterham School VS Cumnor House

[mothersandsons]

Help!

My little man (aged 2) attends Cumnor House Treetops at the moment.
Hubby and I continue to wonder if there are differences between Caterham Prep and Cumnor House School and what they are

Does anyone have experience with either or both?

[TChessmum]

We decided against Cumnor purely based on the Head master alone. He gave myself and my husband a tour, and we felt that as we were speaking about our son's interests and budding talents he was completely uninterested in our child. Cumnor is run as a business, if your son/daughter can offer them either academic, athletic or artistic success they will do fine. If they struggle to find their niche they will struggle in the school. You buy into the brand of Cumnor. A friend of ours who had a son there moved them to a co -ed smaller private school in Purley, because they felt they were being forced out after Form 2 when their sensitive, shy child wasn't fitting into the Cumnor Ethos. It depends on your child, and their personality. We decided to send our children to a school which fosters their personality and doesn't break it down and then rebuild it to fit their needs. I suggest in addition to Caterham (which I've only heard wonderful things about). You look into Oakwood, St. David's.

[stressymummy1]

Im in a similar position, I have a child which I was trying to get into Hornsby House and failed he is very sporty has been offered a place at C House.
My concern is the leavers results are mainly croydon and caterham schools, my interest is Dulwich, City of London boys and maybe whitgift it just appears to me they are not prepared at 11 for dulwich and slighlty more competitive schools in London.

[stressymummy1]

after attending the open day another thing i observed is that there didnt seem to beas much teaching staff on the acdemics ( some where very young and looked inexperienced and unpassionate about their subject) vs the excellent sports teachers ? Lovely well mannered boys.

[mothersandsons]

Thank you to both TChessmum and stressymummy1.
The highlight of last week was the fact that the Cumnor House School head master step down!
We were thinking of Dulwich or Caterham for 11+
We are stuck with the dilemma of moving him aged 4 or leaving him until age 11

[DF2002]

We have just put our 2 boys (both nearly 3 yrs old) into cumnor house treetops, they started this week so time will tell. I will say the wife has had some very early concerns as to the attitude of the teachers. WIll share more as they progress.

[39already]

We have just removed our son from cumnor due to poor teaching and a rude headmaster. After a few changes of head during the time that my son was there we realised that the school is not stable with a weak leadership. A few mums in my son's year have removed their son or are in the process of doing so. It is very much based on " if your face fits you will do well"

[LordWalterTheCourageous]

The poster above seems to have a beef with Cumnor lots of negative comments. It’s a great school where our DS excels excellent academics he scores 85-90% in all his tests and a fantastic sporting experience for young boys. Cricket Rugby football golf tennis and swimming.

Some parents seem to think that that their responsibility for their children’s education ends when they have paid the fees.

[VanillaSugar]

Caterham School is very good and is part of the United Learning group, which means that there are stringent measures to ensure that the teaching is efficient and up-to-date. Teachers are encouraged to take Masters degrees and the governors have their own governance.

[dailygrowl]

All schools have issues from time to time. In the same way that some parents have had issues with Cumnor, likewise with Caterham - the prep school is run rather like a business and teaching standards have fallen in the last few years , there have been issues with disruptive behaviour and bullying that some teachers don't take seriously, several good teachers have left or been forced out, and now the head is also leaving next year. The senior school also has a head of chemistry who has been observed to be rude to parents, and the school tends to boost its exam results by recruiting high achieving boarders from abroad for years 9 to 13 rather than supporting its own students. As a prep school rather than a feeder school, Cunmor does at least prepare pupils to attain a good standard to tackle entrance exams for senior schools, while Caterham Prep only does the minimum for their pupils to continue at its own senior school.

[DM29]

DF2002- I have recently placed my Child at the nursery and have early concerns also. How did you get on?