The Hall School admissions

[theultimatepushyparent]

My DS1 didn't get in when he did his assessment (at age 3) for 4+ (Reception) intake. At the time I thought "Oh well, he's bright so it doesn't matter". I had reservations at that point about whether he would be "too sensitive" for such a tough school. So we put him in the local primary and thought we'd go for intake at other local private schools at 7+ when we will have a bit more choice. It has since become clear that he is (1) exceptionally bright (2) very competitive (3) sporty and would thrive in an environment where the expectations are high. Have we missed the boat, or do they take pupils later? If so, does anyone know how to go about having a second bite at the cherry? I'd like ideally to move him across in a couple of years.

They will have a waiting list and your first port of call is to get in touch with them and ask what the situation is. I think often persistence pays off - you have to keep calling and saying 'has the waiting list moved at all' because, you never know, a place may come up. In the meantime there are other schools in the area. What about the Dragon which is a feeder for UCS? Hampstead Hill is another popular pre-prep. You don't say how old your child is but I assume around reception age. If you register with more than one school you obviously stand a better chance of a place. As for the Hall it does go up to 13 and a lot of boys will leave before then so places do come up (at 7+ for instance). In the meantime as he's so young I wouldn't worry too much about him not being challenged etc - you can do stuff at home and save the money.

Thanks yesbutnobut. DS1 is approaching five and yes, we'll get him down for other schools. He's absolutely thriving in his local primary (and meeting lots of local mates too) so I would not want to pull him out unless he's going to be at the next school until he's 13. However, the local primary is fine while he's little but there are 30 in the class and the teacher doesn't have much time to get to him... As he gets older he (hopefully) won't be spending all day at school playing anymore. It would be perfect if we could get him into the Hall at 7+ - in my view, that would be preferable to him going at 5+ in a lot of ways!!! I have never heard of the Dragon or Hampstead Hill - we're actually based towards Queens Park.

Thanks for the tip to get him on the waiting list. It seems like a really "bad loser" thing to do but as time goes by I think he's really well suited, from what I know about the school.

No actual experience here at all, but if you're based towards Queens Park, might it also be worth getting on the waiting list at Wetherby, if that's possible?

Thanks clb I think that's a good idea. I think they take them from 7 as do Notting Hill prep.

OP - sorry, I meant The Phoenix, not the Dragon! It's a pre-prep owned by UCS. It may help if you can identify where you want your son to end up (eg UCS, Westminster) and then work backwards from there. Good luck

If your son is bright, sporty and competitive, you are happy to wait for a 7+ entry, and you like St. Paul's for senior school, also consider Colet Court (or WUS if you are more keen on Westminster Great School).

Thanks Mominatrix, helpful. I am thinking of St Paul's or Westminster if he carries on in the same vein. He would thrive in a competitive environment where standards and expectations are high, as long as it fostered the love for learning. He is an incredibly enthusiastic and fast learner, and extremely active. I didn't really know all of this eighteen months ago so probably didn't cast my net over the right schools for him. At that stage, you're thinking more of the places you'd like rather than ones that would suit him. I was keen on somewhere with some space to run around in!

You could also try Arnold House - occasional places come up. Sent lots to St Pauls last year.

St Paul's

Hello OP am I missing something or did you say that your boy is 'thriving' at his state school. I put mine into state as I didn't want to do any of those assessments at such a young age (I shudder at idea of any sense of pass or fail for very young children, plus suspected he wouldn't get in!). I thought I could always do 7+ as a later option. However, my boy was and is also thriving at his state school and there's no way I'd have moved him for some unknown. He is in an outside football team that plays in a quite serious league, plus does cricket in summer with lots of boys from places like The Hall. We've also recently started him with a tutor who's doing the higher level stuff they don't get a chance to do at school (it turns out he's pretty academic, which I wouldn't have thought at 3). Wouldn't you be better off waiting for the 10+ and 11+ exams so he could go straight into a senior school rather than having the whole prep school then CE palaver?
I'd also be wary of thinking you'll keep those local friends if you move him at year 3. Children have short memories and will just move on from him, while their parents might feel like you're abandoning the school that they think is fine for theirs. Esp if you say you had to move him because he's so bright. That goes down partic badly...

How do you know he's bright? What sort of things is he doing? Is he in R or in Yr1?

Farewelltoarms yes I know we'd all move on if he moves at year 3. But we will stay in the area so we will cross paths, even at the local swimming pool. I will be tactful if I move him --- other parents have moved their children for a whole host of reasons and I'm not particularly sensitive about it. I can major on the sports facilities, since they really are crap at the local state place and my DS is sporty.

LittleFrieda he's in Reception and retains knowledge well/ has a good memory - he's reading with Year 2s at school (having learned after he turned 3), and in the past couple of weeks he's learned all his times tables. He is very interested in the world around him and picks things up quickly.