Help with prep school choice

33 replies

Ruggles · 04/09/2014 13:16

Hello
We're just starting to look for a prep boarding school for our two DS. We're based in the south but can travel a bit. They are both happily ensconced at a mixed pre prep feeding a prep school. It's mixed, fantastic, quite large but seems very 'female' and all of the hobbies are terribly unisex. The school seem to go to great lengths to avoid anyone getting muddy or wet. All good for large-scale pupil management, but we have very active boys and are wondering if we can find an all boy environment with lots of country-side stuff - not just sport, but ferrets and fishing etc. Is there such a thing as a southern Asygarth? Thanks everyone!

OP posts:

summerends · 10/09/2014 20:17

Vixsatis sounds as though your DS's 'blind spot' has given him the last laugh over his friends in the boys' schools

Original poster

Ruggles · 11/09/2014 20:21

Evening ladies, just wanted to say hello! Sorry I haven't been on, but had a really horrid week with my Mum in hospital - all quite horrid and we've been staying and looking after my father (who needs quite a lot of looking after!). Thank you, all of you, for your lovely thoughtful posts. I'm going to have a good read through and will be back tom. We think we def. want boys, but hadn't thought about macho! Will think on... Thanks.

OP posts:

happygardening · 11/09/2014 20:58

Do look at the distance between you and the prep. Frankly if all things are equal I'd choose the nearest to your home. I have a max 1 1/2 hour one way driving rule now. We learnt the hard way, our prep used to be 35 mins away then we moved and it became 3 1/2 hours one way on a good day. You just don't go that often, your unlikely to drive for at least 3 1/2 hours to watch a poetry recital, and every time you do go your always watching the clock and thinking about getting home. You're significantly more involved in their lives than you are at senior schools. Before moving we used to be at the prep 2-3 times a week after moving every visit was frankly a pain in the arse. This particularly applies if you're looking for weekly boarding and even full boarding schools (which are increasingly few and far between) let children come out on Sunday. We found that our DS's were often 2 of only 10-12 in on Sunday. There is a limit to what trips are offered, after a few years the same ones came up over and over again, one castle my DS's reckoned they visited 10 times! We came under pressure from our DS's to make alternative arrangements for Saturday/Sunday roping in friends to help as we were obviously too far away.

happygardening · 11/09/2014 20:59

Hope you mum recovers.

ZeroSomeGameThingy · 12/09/2014 00:02

That does sound a tough week Ruggles.

Please accept some empathy vibes across the internet.

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