Dulwich Prep vs. Montessori School Canary Wharf

[ev2014]

Dear all, I urgently need an advice please. My DS (4 years old, started Reception in river house montessori school this year), has been offered a place in dulwich prep school. I wanted him moved because there were too many incidents (head related) in the river house school; also i'm looking at older kinds in montessori school - there is no strict education system in there, it's more like a play, but then again i love the home work he gets from school; commuting - again, i work in the city so DLR is perfect and quick way to work and back; now i have to use orange line (canada water to crystal palace and then a taxi), we live in canada water... but then again - if DS doesn't get into a proper school now it will be hard later on, right? and he's really good at math and loves to learn. not sure what to do. I applied to Garden house school, knightsbridge school (but too late, only in september this year) and there were no places left. Other private schools are also overcrowded. maybe place him there until he's 7 and then he'll have more chances to pass exams somewhere else (so commute will be a temp thing?) thank you so much, any feedback is welcome. Warm regards, Elena

If you want him in the formal education system in the future it will be easier to move him sooner rather than later.

I don't know River House but Dulwich Prep has a fantastic reputation and feeds on to an excellent senior school, Dulwich College.

There are two prep schools with Dulwich in the name which can lead to some confusion ... Dulwich College has a junior school which leads onto the senior department. Dulwich Prep is a standalone school which goes up to 13+ and feeds into a variety of day and boarding schools. It's a big, busy, full-on, competitive school and pretty much the polar opposite of a Montessori-type set-up so very much depends if you want your ds to have that kind of education at this stage

Dulwich Prep has a great reputation.

But the commute does sound hellish you'd have to get him from Canada water to Dulwich and then get yourself back to the city to work? You'd be in work by about 10am! And it might not be temporary - where would he go at 7?

Are there no schools closer to where you work? St pauls Cathedral School is one I know -0 there must be others? Personally, I'd try phoning around those rather than adding the commute on to my life for at least the next 2 years?

OP, I think you probably have a wider question to consider - as you're no doubt aware, you live in an area where there are no immediately local private schools, not least because it's historically been a very urban working class area. So you either have the choice of

-a local state primary and living where you do
-moving closer to a private school you do want your DC to go to and having a longer journey to work

• staying where you are and either having a long daily round trip to school/work or paying someone else for wraparound care.

Do bear in mind that although there is a lot of competition for reception places in the SE London private primary schools, it's relatively easy to get a casual place later on in most of them because so many people move out of London.

It might also be worth reassessing your local state choices and approaching them (yes, even the faith schools) for the same reason.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

"St pauls Cathedral School" - I called them, there are no places, but I'll complete the application form regardless and will wait.
I've also called all possible schools (good ones) in Notting Hill, Garden house school.. I'm worried that he's not going to pass entry exams into Westminster or similar great schools when he's 7 if I leave him at montessori. Then again, he's learning addition now and reading; Dulwich prep just doing writing in receiption; plus they finish at 3; montessori finish at 4. The commute is a separate subject, I guess I'm worried to miss the last train - in terms of getting him into the good school now and relax, instead of being worried if he'll get prepared for entry exams. Dulwich prep will prepare him; At the same time i don't know if he'll turn out to be very academic (I am, his dad is, but it's us, not him). At the same time i don't want to hear from him that 'mum, you didn't place me in a good school to start with'.. and I've heard that if you don't start with the correct school, it's hard to get in later on. it's very competitive. so i'm kind of ready to put up with long commuting there and back as long as he's there for 2-X years and then move him to.. don't know.. to Highgate school or somewhere else as good. For some reason i think chances of moving him from dulwich to some good school are higher vs. if I leave him in montessori. Maybe i'm mistaken.

And most importantly - thank you all so much for all your feedback and information, I read every post.. actually i re-read them all several times :-)

We moved our boy to Dulwich Prep. At one point we had an awful commute too. PM me if you would like more details.

Triplespin, thank you, I've sent you a PM. Would be lovely to hear what your experience is like and whether your boy is happy. My son loves to learn, write, he's not sporty - likes to play football with me though, but i don't see him in sport. he loves my piano, and actually started playing some nice tunes (his own) recently.. basic ones, but not just hitting any notes randomly which is a great improvement.

Have you tried the private schools in Greenwich? There's gotta be somewhere closer than Dulwich. That commute at primary age is nuts, sorry. Unless you're planning to move closer?

It's nuts, I completely agree. I'm going to see Dulwich prep (Y1-Y2 etc) tomorrow, they are on Alleyns Park, not Gallery road. I've found a commute there is much easier - basically, it's N3 bus for 10min from school to Crystal palace and then orange line all the way to Shoreditch high street, then 10min walk to heron tower. should be all up to 1hr. I think i'll get a nanny to drop him off to school and i'll pick him up. It's a 35min taxi journey (10min more than we do now from canada water to canary wharf). I'll be asking what the chances are for us to get in there next year.
Greenwich - I honestly couldn't find anything in there apart from Blackheath school and they've told me they're full. i'm on a waiting list so who knows.
I just want to place him somewhere and forget about 7years old exams. I can't see older kids in montessori school, all parents try to move them when they turn 7. Maybe I shouldn't bother at all and hope he'll pass exams at 7.. don't know.

Have you even had a look at your local state options? The early years curriculum is very similar across state and private. Although I would normally shudder to recommend a tutor for a 6 year old it would be better to tutor him for 7+ exams and go to his local school for now rather than subject him (and you) to all that extra stress at such a young age

Have you tried Colfes? St Dunstans? Both are closer than Dulwich. There's the Pointer school too although that's not for everyone. Have a search on here for old threads about private schools in that area, there's been lots of useful discussions in the past. Good that you're getting on waiting lists too, places do come up. Good luck. Hope you find a less taxing alternative.

Heath House School in Blackheath?

Faraday School nr Canary Wharf?

Update: Dulwich prep called me and basically 2 options are available: either start in January 2015 OR attend another assessment (for Y1 entry) in January and then they'll decide if to take him or not (as there are other candidates in the list for Y1). Should I fear that we won't pass Y1 assessment and can be refused a place? I'm happy for him to start, but moving him in the middle of the year is not ideal; plus commute next year when he's 5 will be easier than when he's 4. I was hoping school would give us a place in September 2015 based on the fact they accepted us for Reception, but they didn't. If we fail the interview in January then I'll be very upset.. Faraday - i've looked at it, didn't like it.. St Dunstans - same distance from us. Other schools in central london (in chelsea for example) is the same travel distance with only difference is that you're staying in central london vs. surburbs. Then again, Dulwich teachers looked at his home work from current private school and said it was good/sufficient. Basically I've taken a risk of doing another assessment for the same school.. where he can fail - I may regret this in the future.

Sorry but I think subjecting a child of 5 or 4 to that kind of commute every week day for the next God knows how many years is bordering on insanity - not to mention the additional stress for you

Dulwich prep is a good school but NO school is worth that kind of upheaval

You either need to move, change jobs or go with a sane alternative school near where you live now

It would be equally bonkers going over to Knightsbridge from Canada water and then heading back into Canary wharf - it's just not sensible, feasible or kind - on you and your son. I know you think you're giving him the best start but trust me, this is not it

In the nicest possible way - don't do this. You will regret it. And I say this as someone who is reasonably happy commuting with young children from Zone 3 to a central London pre-prep/prep.

In our case the commute is only feasible because I work quite close to the DC's school (as in walkable on a bad day), and because we have multiple public transport routes available to get home (train, tube, or as a last resort bus).

The commute are contemplating will send you bonkers in a very short space of time, and will be very tiring for a reception-age child. What will you do if the overground isn't running? Will all your son's classmates at Dulwich live close to the school, making it difficult for you to socialise? Don't underestimate the nuisance factor of having to schlep a long way out from home/work and then back again 5-10 times a week and once or twice on the weekend for birthday parties or playdates.

If you don't like the schools within a sensible commute of Canary Wharf, then I think you need to move. If you don't want to move, there are lots of good schools closer than Dulwich. If St Paul's Cathedral School is on your radar, you should also consider Charterhouse Square, Lyceum, Gatehouse, even Dallington. They will probably all be full for Reception, but given that London populations are quite mobile a place is likely to come up at one of them in a reasonable time frame. (Stay on the wait list for St Paul's Cathedral as well - fab school.)

"If you don't like the schools within a sensible commute of Canary Wharf" - I do, but they're full and we're on a waiting list. Some have entries only at 7+.
St.Paul's Cathedral - yes, in the waiting list - if we get a place, i'll be happy as it's near where i work. I didn't realise (until 4 months ago) that even if you pay, you can't choose where your son goes, because all places are filled up very quickly. I don't know why but I didn't apply to all these schools when he was 3 because I was considering moving to another country. I'm now glad I've applied to that river house. We've got a home work today - quite interesting and challenging i must say.. My mum is of the same opinion that Dulwich is not the only school so you're all right, and thanks again so much for your support.. I will hate commuting like this on a daily basis especially when I have to make up the hours i'm not in the office.. Thank you for listing other schools - I've never heard of them so will definitely have a look :-) Have a lovely weekend and I'll be back with more updates if anyone is interested:-)

Sorry so late to this post, but have you checked if Dulwich Prep have school buses? Most of the Dulwich primary schools do and it's joyous (drop him off at nearest school bus stop & wave goodbye!). Mine started a school bus at 3 and loved it. What did you decide in the end?

Hi DoMyBest, thank you for your suggestion - I've asked and they say the school bus is only available for kids 7 years old +.. However I may be able to find another parent (s) who'll be able to take DS to school. Then again, I'd rather have a nanny with a car. So.. my story continues with the school asking DS to attend another 2 rounds of interviews if he doesn't want to join now and instead joins them in September 2015. I think he won't pass therefore we'll stay where we are. We'll try anyway just to see the outcome. DS english has improved as much as it could (he's started learning it in Sept this year); reading is good (he reads well like others not understanding sometimes the meaning of the words but I help out); writing is good, math is excellent. I think no matter what, I'll keep buying books and exercises for math as he loves them so much. If he passes all tests I'll organise something and we'll definitely switch schools, but for some reason I feel it's not good to do it right now and I wanted for him to finish off this year in his current school especially he loves it. Thank you for all your support and very valuable advice, I do check this topic regularly :-))

Have you considered other schools in the City, like Charterhouse Square or Lyceum? There is also Green Gables Montessori in Wapping, and they have wrap around care too.

Charterhouse Square and Lyceum - looked at them and ended up sending a form to St.Paul's Cathedral school to join the queue. Thank you for mentioning Green Gables Montessori in Wapping - that's only 1 stop on the orange line from us so I'll definitely have a look. Lyceum feels like a very nice school, I'll try to allocate time and visit it. For some reason this idea of 'proper education' in my head only associates with schools in Dulwich or schools like Highgate and some in Notting Hill which are all quite far from us.. We'll try to get in and if it works out I'm prepared to move.

Sorry I seem to have missed the fact your son's mother tongue isn't English: what is it? I might be able to think outside the box...

Oh and yes, always trust your gut instinct: if it tells you he should finish the year then do :)

it's Russian language as we're from Moscow; ds was born here in London but he was exposed to mainly Russian speaking environment then again when I was working from home he could hear me speaking English all the time, although it was all about issue logs, project plans, integrations and DEV gaps :-)))) not a plain English he could have picked up. He loves both languages and is doing OK; the rest of his group were learning French so he was asked to join them after half term (as teachers found he doesn't need English lessons anymore), but I've asked to continue with English lessons until the end of this term.