Caterham Prep school vs Banstead Prep

[lilC]

Hi, my husband and I are relatively new to England (from NZ), and are trying to navigate the UK schools system. DD is 1 year and the private schools we have seen said we have to apply now for prep school.

We visited Caterham Prep school and liked what we saw, but would like to hear from parents with kids that attend there:

1. What is the proportion of working parents? We are working parents and we would like our DD to attend a school with children from a mix of backgrounds.
2. How are they on academics vs arts / sports etc. If your child is not very academic, do they still have a place there?
3. How is the level of bullying? And do they deal well with bullying?
4. Do you know how well kids from minority backgrounds fit in?

We also looked at Banstead, I felt more comfortable with the teachers (are more approachable), but not sure about the school's stability since its a new product from a merger - any thoughts?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I know of the schools but not well enough to answer your questions. I just wondered what you meant by working parents? Do you mean both parents working as opposed to a SAHP? By backgrounds, are you thinking different ethnicities as opposed to socio-economic? I would have thought that most children attending prep schools are from a fairly well off background. They are fairly affluent areas and if you choose prep over state you must have a reasonable income. Do you have to decide now or can you put your name down at both?

Thanks BendingSpoons. By working parents I mean as opposed to parents who come from wealthy backgrounds and don't necessarily work in formal employment. The reason I ask is, in some 'old money' schools kids from working class backgrounds struggle to fit in and keep up with the luxuries of the other kids so feel like the odd one out.

On diversity I meant ethnicity. I hear that being the odd one out ethnically is a big issue in the UK (which wasn't in NZ where I come from!).

The childminding board probably isn’t the best place to get the answers you’re looking for.

Crickey, I hadn't realised it was under Childminders. Will move it. Thanks for pointing that out.

I don't know the schools particularly but I know Banstead as an area and other local prep schools a bit. I think the demographic is more affluent middle classes, with one or more parent working in a well paid job, often commuting to London. There are probably also families who have school fees provided by grandparents/inheritance. I don't think the schools (or areas) are prestigious enough for the majority of the uber wealthy families. There will of course be a range.

In terms of ethnicity, I wouldn't think either would have a huge issue. Being on the outer reaches of London, the population has a range of ethnicities. I would guess the majority (but not all) are likely to be white British though. Hopefully someone else who knows the schools can give more information.

Banstead prep is less established so probably more proactively recruiting at the moment. The parents we know of from C prep are a mixture of working and sahp but neither school is ethnically diverse. Obviously from B you need to look elsewhere for secondary and sit entrance tests whereas it is less of an issue for pupils at C prep, majority of whom will progress to the senior. Where will you be living as the journey could be decisive?

And both have preprep departments so you do not need to wait to apply as they will intake in year 1/2 if there is a place.

I would have thought any prep school is not going to have much of a mix in terms of income as most working people cant afford the fees.

To the Original Poster - may I ask what you did in the end? How did you decide?

Being based in Sutton we are also looking at the same options - both Banstead and Caterham appear to have good reputations and we will try and visit both in the coming year as we consider what to do for our 2 year old.