Prep Schools near Esher. Claremont? Feltonfleet?

[londonlivvy]

We are looking at moving our girls to private over the next year and have two DD, one yr3, one y1. Neither is particularly academic and DD2 is particularly struggling with maths. I want them to have lots of sport and extra curricular stuff to do too. DD1 is a quirky child, always wants to climb trees and wrestle, but equally an anxious child so I don't think a high pressure school would bring out the best in her.

I've been looking at a few local options and would love options / real life experiences please.

1. Feltonfleet (we visited in lockdown, hard to evaluate the feel of the school with no staff and no kids present - left feeling slightly unsure), 2) Claremont (I have heard reports of bullying / not be academically challenging / resting on laurels of a beautiful setting but not being that good in terms of tuition)
   
2. Dane's Hill.(facilities VERY impressive. Not sure we are rich enough to keep up with Jones' etc.)
   
3. Milbourne Lodge - seems not ideal for girls
   
4. Rowan - not for us. Building felt claustrophic and huge academic pressure. Hated it.
   
5. Notre Dame - not for us as DH is an atheist
   
   Are we missing any?
   
   I feel like we are down to a short list of Claremont vs Feltonfleet. Thoughts?
   
   Thank you.

[SENaroundtheworld]

Have you looked at Manor hour or St Teresa’s? If you are ok with girls schools both would be worth a look.

Manor House seems a lovely small nurturing school with plenty of activities and might fit the bill. In terms of journey time, allowing for traffic it wouldn’t be too different from the other you have listed.

[londonlivvy]

We are happy to consider all girls' schools. Funnily enough my sister went to St T (though obviously that was a long time ago!). I will have a look at journey times - hadn't considered.

Thanks too for Manor House suggestion. Will look.

[londonlivvy]

Had a look and it seems that St T is 25-40 mins away on monday mornings and Manor house 35 mins (vs Feltonfleet 15 and Claremont 10). I think it's too far for now. thanks for the suggestion though.

[lostpanda]

Why not go back and visit Feltonfleet again, now that the kids are back? I know they are offering outdoor visits now.

[iminthegarden]

Very surprised to hear claims of bullying at Claremont Fan. My kids are there and I've never got any sense of that, if anything it's the total opposite and generally regarded the friendliest school around. On the education side, things are changing with the new senior head, academic focus is growing but it's a great all-round through school with a huge emphasis on pastoral.

[Eshermum73]

Have you thought of looking at Surbiton High School? Perfectly commutable from Esher but guess gets more tricky if you’re Cobham way? I had heard Claremont has come on a lot in recent years and is very nurturing. FF is more academic (though less so than Rowan) and I have friends with kids there who are very happy. Main criticism I hear is if your child is very bright might not be challenged enough and as growing, sometimes not enough 1-on-1 attention. If you’re Cobham way you should look at Ripley Court and Downsend.

[londonlivvy]

@lostpanda I have booked a visit to Feltonfleet again but they have no spaces currently so it might be a long wait (or not?)
@Iminthegarden interesting. It was a personal comment from a friend whose son was having a tricky time. Hopefully it was a rarity. I'm trying to get a visit to Claremont but they're not very responsive (clearly don't need the business!)
@Eshermum73 I had knocked Surbiton High off the list for two reasons - firstly they don't have a campus - it's all get in a bus to do everything, right? And they have barely more sport scheduled than we do at state school. I'm not mad keen on girls' schools as DD1 is very tomboy-ish and a lot of her friends are boys. DD2 would be fine. I'm not sure whether they are v bright - bright enough? It's hard to know. I'll have a look at Ripley Court and Downsend, thank you.

[iminthegarden]

@londonlivvy which part of the school are you applying to?

[iminthegarden]

@londonlivvy sorry just re-read your post, similar to my kids. Randomly there have been job changes and health issues with both pre-prep and prep receptionists during the last 2 weeks. Hope they get in touch.

[guinnessandblackcurrant]

@iminthegarden

Very surprised to hear claims of bullying at Claremont Fan. My kids are there and I've never got any sense of that, if anything it's the total opposite and generally regarded the friendliest school around. On the education side, things are changing with the new senior head, academic focus is growing but it's a great all-round through school with a huge emphasis on pastoral.

That's my experience of it too. My child is a bit shy and quite arty and Claremont has really nurtured that side of them. The heads of year have all been fantastic and really approachable and I have always been made to feel that my child's happiness and growth is really important to them.

[londonlivvy]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have now got an appointment to see Claremont preprep - we last saw it in 2016 so not sure how much it will have changed but I'll be asking different questions than I did then. Unfortunately we can't even look at / talk to anyone from the prep school which is less than ideal.

Facilities wise it doesn't have much more than our state school, and they only (according to the person I spoke to on the phone) do sport twice a week in prep school, which is same as our state school too. So currently feeling underwhelmed by Claremont in general.

Felton I'm going to look at again - obviously places do come up. Currently, though Claremont closer, I'm keener on felton because it has better facilities and more sport.

Going to see Ripley Court too to see if that's an option.

[londonlivvy]

@guinnessandblackcurrant would you mind telling me a little more about their usual timetable if your DD are in the prep school? I I asked if they could send it through but that seems to have not been possible.

Sport twice a week doesn't seem much. When I was at prep school we did sport every day. Do they do much in the way of arts / theatre too? Felton have an amazing room for CDT (woodwork etc -not sure if it's called that these days) and Claremont say they don't access it until senior school?

A broader curriculum is one of the key benefits of private education and I'm not really getting that impression from Claremont. From what I gleaned from my phone conversations, there's a lot of emphasis on after school clubs adding to the offering but that doesn't necessarily work if you have two kids who then need collecting at different times.

The person I spoke to seemed more familiar with the daily routines of the pre-prep, which seemed great, but we've only got one child to have one year of that and then it'll all be about the prep school so I'd really appreciate any further information.

[guinnessandblackcurrant]

Sorry, I miss read your original post, I only have experience of the senior school.

[londonlivvy]

Never mind thanks @guinnessandblackcurrant

@iminthegarden are your children in the prep or the senior school? Are you able to give a clearer idea of how much sport they play? Thanks - I feel that the school should be able to clarify but it seems not.

[iminthegarden]

Sport in Prep is only twice a week so if you want more than that then it's not the school for you. It seems to be 3 x a week in Prep-prep and they have just started back swimming on site. It's not an overly sporty school but they are able to cater for everyone and have a wide range of sporting activities. The Prep school is undergoing a complete renovation so facilities are being updated which may make it trickier to view right now. Not sure what you mean in terms of wanting a broader curriculum, perhaps look at Danes where they seem to offer under the sun but they have much bigger year groups. Milbourne do sports daily not sure about feltonfleet. My eldest started in Prep last year and facilities wise they've not had access to as much as usual with covid yet, pretty sure they haven't done any woodwork, not sure this would be a dealbreaker for me. They have a theatre and music/arts, science are high on the agenda.

[iminthegarden]

Are you seeing pre-prep in person? Would be surprised if you're able to go on site at the moment.

[Stayingpositive123]

I have girls at Ripley Court - one in year 1 and one in nursery and we love it. The girls are both thriving and it's such a happy, positive, nuturing environment - the grounds are lovely too. My daughter in Year 1 does some sort of physical activity every day - a mix of swimming, dancing, PE, games, Forest School etc plus after school and lunchtime activities eg netball, tennis etc. Really happy to answer any questions that you may have about it, we've been delighted with the experience and the children in Year 1 are all really lovely and get on brilliantly too.

[SpLDLSA]

Have you considered Weston Green? Esher accessible, small but nurturing school. The only thing about Claremont is that the reputation for senior school is improving and it is becoming more selective. In the past year, we have seen on the CFC website itself, saying 3 years ago, not selective, 2 years ago: gently selective, this year, selective. Apparently it is not an automatic entrance from prep to senior as well. If the reputation continues as it is, by the time your girls make it into senior, it might not be an a option, so this is something to consider if you are thinking long term, as you said they are not particularly academic. So worth asking about it.

Manor House and Weston Green are two good gentle schools who I have heard are nurturing as well.

[Sk8ermum3000]

Forget Feltonfleet. We left with a sporty and non academic child who never got a look in at this school. They pigeon hole kids way too early and pick ‘favourites’ for sport based on who takes the head of sport for golf days out and invites to dinner parties. Appalling. Furthermore, my child was physically bullied by a staff member- it’s all on record and I could have taken it further legally (still can and might) but this school closes ranks and protects staff over kids. I’m sure at this point they know who I am but I’m not saying more for my kid’s sake. The head is lovely but has lost control with too many overbearing Surrey parents who think they’re the best thing since sliced bread (they’re really not) but bizarrely intimidate school into submission. Added to this, a deputy head who is nice enough on a good day but seems to feel he has something to prove and just needs to pipe down and understand the dynamics. As for academics - it’s middle of the road and success depends largely on which teachers like you. Too many teachers who have zero patience unless you get it first time. Very expensive for what you get. Wouldn’t do it again. Child now happy and succeeding on all counts in another school so we know our child wasn’t the problem.

[CG7843]

I have a few close friends with daughters at both Feltonfleet and also Claremont and think either would be a great option for you as I only hear positive things. Feltonfleet is more sporty and I know is a lovely school so please don't be put off by the post above - I guess everywhere you go there will be people who aren't happy for one reason or another. I always disregard ranting posts written at midnight! The most important thing is to find the school where you feel your children will fit in best, not the school that is top of the league tables or has the fanciest facilities. EVERY school wants their children to succeed so go for where you think they will fit in best - that is the greatest benefit of private education, the choice. If they are happy and challenged, success will follow. Good luck in your choice - follow your instinct - that's what we did for my DD and DS, it is far better than any prospectus!

[Sk8ermum3000]

Some of are generally too busy in the real world and only have time to post very early or late. It wasn’t a rant. It’s fact. A school that brandishes a banner about promoting good mental health in kids needs to act by these values. That means acting on bullying, especially by teachers in their own four walls. When three teachers on the management team described his actions as wholly unacceptable and embarrassing, then they know it shouldn’t have happened. I had calls from other parents informing me of what happened as they heard from their kids and felt I needed to know. Parents don’t get involved like that so they clearly knew something was very wrong.

The sport really isn’t that good either. Look at their results online. The ones where there’s no result - check out the opposition result. It means they lost! They’re pretty average at sport. My kid did play A team at various places, so that’s not coming from someone who is complaining about not getting a chance. What we were sold on viewing the school didn’t materialise at all in reality.

Also, there is high pupil turnover here. Yes, some kids will love it I’m sure but I’m definitely aware of lots of dissatisfaction amongst parents. My view as a previous parent surely has more weight than a ‘friend of a friend’ so don’t suggest it’s not.

Tbh I take the view that you can’t keep all the people happy all of the time and schools have a tough job. As a parent you pick something that speaks your language and go with it - even the bits you don’t like. It won’t be perfect. Despite my very reasonable and fair view - we still needed to walk away and wouldn’t recommend it. They think they’re a bit better than they are. It’s all high polish in appearance but lacking substance in too many places.

Other local schools you hear great things about - Claremont, Notre Dame, Milbourne Lodge. Also some strong state options that are worth considering.