Kew Green Prep (KGPS) v. Broomfield House School v. ACS Hillingdon

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We are considering the above schools for our 5 year old son. He is a fun-loving, active boy and while academics are important to us, at this age we are looking closely for a school that will provide an education for the whole child rather than focusing on academic achievement alone.

We will be moving to London from the US in the next few weeks and don't have much time to shop for schools. We are looking for private, and an international component (not only American) would be welcome.

In your answers, please be so kind as to explain your reasoning - whatever that may be. Doing this from long distance is a challenge, and any context you can add would be very helpful.

Thank you!

I presume all three have a place for your child?

If so I would first consider where you want to live. Hillingdon and Kew are quite different- Kew being much closer to London. Kew is a lovely place to live, with a lot of expat families in the area. Hillingdon itself isn't particularly nice, in my opinion so you may want to live a bit further away and drive to school. You may also need to consider the housing cost if budget may be an issue.

As an international school, ACS offers the US or an international (IB) curriculum whereas the other two follow the UK curriculum. Plenty of US families use schools offering the UK curriculum and slot back in to US schools when they return home. Are you coming for a couple of years - if so your child will still be young when you go back so UK curriculum is likely to be fine.

Both KGPS and Broomfield are co-ed schools that finish at 11. Broomfield is much longer established, KGPS relatively new. Broomfield is probably slightly pushier academically. Both have quite formal uniforms (Broomfield more pretentious in my opinion).

I think you really need to look at the schools and areas if you haven't already done so to assess where you feel your family would be happier living and which school makes you feel most at home.

Good luck!

Thank you!