The Hall School Wimbledon or Willington School?

[chaplin157]

Dear parents,

We are looking for 2015 September entry for our DS to the primary schools in Wimbledon. Apart from the state schools we are applying, I would like to ask if anyone can help me with the choice we are trying to make on a private school.

We will pay the deposit to secure our place in 1 private school in case the state school plan does not work out.

Our options are the Hall School Wimbledon or Willington school. We were not offered a place from the Kings feeders. Do you have any feedback that could help us for the 2 schools we are considering? Any parents out there to share their experience and view?

Which suits you best in regards to location? Willington very close to the high street and station but Hall school juniors off the A3 and really only accessible by car (or long walk over the common).

They are completely different schools in their ethos - do you have a strong feeling one way or the other? Where do you feel DS would be happiest?

Read/heard somewhere that if you toss a coin and make a decision that way, you'll know it is right if you don't wish the other option had come up

That said, I have heard very positive things about Willington from people whose sons attend. Hall School considered quite 'alternative'.

Thank you so much for both answers. We have been feeling closer to the Hall School as it is a mixed school and we are not a big fan of single sex education.

We to be honest cannot figure out the difference academically. ohtobeanonymous could you clarify what you mean by an "alternative" school?

Tori23, we have found the headmaster at Willington a bit too young for that role? How are you finding him? Do you think they are stretching the students accademically as preparation for future good schools?

Tori23 thanks a lot. For one minute I thought you might be the head teacher himself! I am joking of course.

It is a hard decision and we will visit Willington again this week for our final decision.

We appreciate views from parents of the Hall school as well. Any one out there?

HSW prides itself on being very different to other schools in its approach to education. The homework system 'Flints' has been designed by the
Head who started and owns the school. There is an emphasis on physical activity, outdoor space and starting the day with exercise to prepare the mind and it deliberately tries to be non-traditional compared to other schools (particularly for boys).
There used to be 11+ preparation and the brighter students tended to leave towards the end of junior school to go to more academic schools. Not sure how things work there now for Year 6 students. There also tended to be a higher proportion of boys than girls (which is certainly still the case in the senior school, so the supposed benefits of coeducation for boys may not be quite so pronounced).
My personal choice would be Willington, but that's irrelevant to your preference

Really depends how you see things panning out at senior school really. Willington has a really strong family ethos, no sign of bullying, all years expected to get on and support each other., not a hot house but gets results at 13plus. The hall school will obviously get you through to 18.
I am a big fan of single sex education for boys. Willington really tailors the teaching to boys interests and provides very well structured and cross curricular teaching. They are strict wrt behaviour and have very clear cut process of reward and punishment.

Have you visited both schools? They really are such different places. The Hall is a nice school from what I've heard but I doubt they will be keen to help you move onto somewhere else at 13. As you mentioned Kings feeders I'm guessing this might be a consideration? Willington have really upped their game in regards to 13+ entry so it's worth really thinking about what you might want at that age. We have loved Willington, especially the close knit community and high levels of support. It really is great at helping each boy to just do his best and find his skills. We really wanted to go down the single sex route for prep but we are looking at mixed seniors, although you obviously have to go with what is right for your ds. It's worth looking at the literature related to single sex v mixed at prep level if you are unsure whether a single sex school would be good for your ds.