TheManor prep Abingdon vs headington prep

[ishyum]

We Currently live ina village north of Oxford and have registered our daughter with Oxford High pre prep. We are not happy with the school choice now and wish to relocate to allow acess to other private schools. We liked The Manor prep in Abingdon a lot. My hubby works in Oxford. Any ideas of a nice area to live around Abingdon which provides easy access to the school and Oxford. Somewhere with a lot of families perhaps. Would also like to know how the Manor prep compares to Headington prep. Will it be practically very hard to get into the headington senior school if we didnt go through the Junior school?

Thanks in Advance
Ish

Hello ishyum, I just saw your post.

I can't answer your question re schools but can tell you a bit about the area as we have been doing a search for a property in the area. We are planning move somewhere around Abingdon and have looked at several areas keeping in mind the same two schools you have considered, Manor prep and Oxford high junior school. I liked the Manor a lot but OHS is cheaper and has better results so still deciding what to choose for my DD.

Do you want to be in town or in a village? Any village like Appleton, Cumnor, Farmoor, Shippon, Wooton, sunningwell will be good to commute to both Oxford and the manor. I can't tell you anything as to how it feels to live there as we are not there yet. I really liked Appleton but couldn't get the house we wanted. North Abingdon itself is 30 minutes commute to Oxford. I don't know which areas are good to live in North Abingdon though.

Can you tell me though what put you off OHS preprep? It may help in makIng a decision re the schools for my DD.

I hope this helps.

According to The Manor's web site, lots of girls go on to Headington. I don't think it would necessarily be a problem.
DD starting at Manor in sept, so we've committed to the decision now! Know girls at OHS and Headington prep also.

Goingmadmadmad, how do the girls do at OHS?

at junior school the girls I know are fine - but at senior school the parents say its really pressured that the girls do well. One girl refuses to babysit for me during exam week because it interferes with her revision schedule. The girls seem happy though and confident, intelligent young ladies.

It has a rumour that there is pressure on the older girls to 'look' the right way. This is a rumour, and I know one girl is perfectly happy there not being...erm....how shall I say it.....not super-slim????

Girls and parents I know are happier at OHS than at Headington.

Hi, I am thinking about Headington school for my daughter, who is only 2 at the moment. I have another baby on the way, so if it is a boy, it is not such a good option! Any idea how far in advance you have to register to get a place? We live in Oxford and the other choice is to move so that we are in a better area for state schools but it is quite difficult in this area

Hmmmm, yes, oxford secondary state schools.........

I think people register relatively late on for the secondary school- i.e. during y5 or maybe y4.
Many people I know have moved from state to private, so I don't think registering early is particulary necessary. A friend had to wait for a y1 place at OHS, y4 went to OHS with no wait, Headington girls went at y2 and y5 with no problems either. We registered the year prior to entry and had no problem.

I wouldn't worry too much. Wait and see what colour dc2 comes out first!!!
Good luck by the way......

Hi, thank you goingmadmadmad :)

I was actually thinking about primary school, so Headington Prep/another prep from 4yrs old, that is why I am starting to wonder when we should register or whether to move so that we have time to find a state school in a better area. The primary schools round us are so terrible. Any experience of the prep schools in Oxford? Could find out what colour dc2 is next week but would prefer a surprise. Just wondering whether we should find out to help with the school issue!

Yes the primaries are hit and miss. I think that's why a lot of people I know have started in the state, then became demoralised and went over to the private ones. Have you thought of Rye? I only know 2 parents there, but they are happy. As I said, the OHS prep families are happier than the Headington prep families. MCS (if dc2 is blue) junior is work work work apparently. How about Dragon? (3 happy families there) or Chandlings? (several happy families there).

The problem with moving, is where to? Bucks? Berks? Witney?

What I know of course is just based on very few people. I think all the Oxford preps are probably fine.

Oh, forgot about Whychwoods and Leckford place.

When dc2 has settled, go and visit a few and see what you think.

Thanks. Yes, will have to visit a few and get a better idea. I know, moving is a difficult one- move to nicer area in Oxford and pay more for a smaller house and still the schools are hit and miss or move to rural area like Stanton Harcourt/Eynsham where schools are better but property choice is limited and expensive. Just feel a bit daunted by paying for two in prep school from such an early age, but might have to resign ourselves to fact that that is best option. Thank you for the advice! You have mentioned a few options I hadn't thought about. We have got a bit hung up on girls' schools, I think.

Hi, I was on holiday and missed the entire conversation!!

onthecouch, I wasnt comfortable with the kind of parents I met when I visited the school and on induction day. I personally thought the preprep school was a very nice environment, the teachers for reception and year one were very good/competent/kind and the whole setup was more play based and quite flexible which I liked. I didn't really like what I was hearing about the next stage school at Bardwell road. Some of my friends have their girls there, and they are not happy with the amount of pressure that children are put through. We are from academic backgrounds and I very cautious that we don't push her down any path. I just want to make sure she gets a well rounded school life where she enjoys those amazing childhood years. My dh really liked the manor, he thought it a very nice space and set-up instead of a cramped building. we also thought the teachers were really nice and that all the children looked happy and most importantly that the parents who came to pick the girls were pretty normal.

We dont mind living in a village as long as its an active place with lots of families with small children. I have another little one, so I would need to keep her amused as well:). onthecouch have you any more experience in suitable areas to live in Abingdon?

We would have been happy sending her to a good local school but where we live the state schools are terrible. private schooling seems the only option now. Even if we shift to a good catchment area now there is no guarantee my daughter will get a place for year one since all the schools seemed to be packed.

AnnaEH, I don't know whether its a particularly odd year this year but its seems that OHS, HS and the manor all have a quite a few places to fill. We put our daughter's name down to one of the schools when she was 12 months (??) but it didnt really matter in the end. It seems silly now, since dh and I have changed with regard to what we want, like and value for our kids, so decisions have changed.

Just picked up on this quite late but for what it's worth:

We've put two girls through Oxford schools, we opted for Headington Prep over Oxford High and The Manor. Both girls have finished there and here's my thoughts in a nutshell:

• They're all great schools. Oxford has some of the best independent schools in the country if not the world. Which one is right for your child is often a case of fine margins.

• As with all walks you get posh, very posh and super posh and it's all relative (and somtimes faked!). Trying to be objective about it I'd say that the more expensive schools (The Dragon, Cothill, Summerfields) have more of a "posh" reputation in that regard than Headington or the Manor but that's not to say that you won't find people from both ends of the spectrum at all the schools above. As to whether you'll fit in: I've found the some of the nicest people (and most accepting) to be the poshest whilst those that are trying a bit too hard socially can be well...hard work.

• Headington is a strong choice if you want them to go on to the senior school. There are a plethora of kids from good local primary schools and standalone prep schools (The Manor / Chandlings) - not to mention overseas & London - trying to get in every year. The year that our daughter got in there were over 250 applicants for 90 places. In practice this amounted to 210 applicants for 40 places because regardless of what you've heard the fact is that the Headington Prep girls get offered a place first. If they're not right (academically) for the senior school this will have been identified a few years earlier and more suitable choices will have been suggested to the parents (Rye, Wychwood etc).

• The Manor is the school in the Oxford environs that feels most like Headington Prep. Very well run. Great pre prep. In frequent sports meets I was impressed with their attitude, competitiveness and school spirit. It's a no brainer if you're thinking of St Helen & St Katherine. Seems strong academically and I noticed anecdotally that a lot of girls from The Manor got into Headington. If you've got a son it's worth noting that they will not automatically be offered a place at Abingdon Prep if you're thinking of sending them there when they turn 7. My advice would be to go for Abingdon Prep from the outset.

• Oxford High. Great reputation but we found this too academic too soon. If yours is super bright though might be the right place. We preferred the Headington environment for ours at the prep level although at Senior school level very little divides them and they are both outstanding schools. Headington is currently top of the league tables for GCSE (100% pass rate) so the notion that Oxford High is academic and Headington sporty no longer rings true. They're both academic, they're both sporty - both are impressive.

Hope that helps.