The Mall School

[Me4You]

Hi, does any have children at The Mall in Twickenham? Or can anyone tell me anything about it good or bad? We'd be looking at a 7+ start, into year 3. Thanks.

Anyone?

Hi, my eldest is currently at the school in year 1 and my youngest will be joining reception in September. We love it! Happy to answer any questions :)

Send your son here with caution! Its fine up to year 3 and then from year 4 onwards the pressure on little boys is considerable. For example - from year 4 they are expected to move around classrooms and teachers ( similar to what most normal children wait until secondary school / year 7 to do) This can be an organisational and logistical nightmare involving lots of lost property and boys struggling to remember all the folders/ books they need for each lesson. Most grown men would struggle with this degree of multi tasking.
Expect 1-2 hours of homework most nights and lots of setting and testing. These things send a lot of parents into panic mode. Test results come back showing you if your child is within the school’s “ mid range”. Brilliant if your little Prince is top quartile but rather deflating if he isn’t. The mid ranges are always high largely because lots of boys are tutored outside of school - just what they need after loads of homework and an 8.30-4 day. ;)
At the end of year 4 they will sit something like 8 hours of tests over just 4 consecutive mornings. Ridiculous and cruel.
To be fair, the school is just trying to meet the high entry requirements for the schools they feed into - Hampton etc But rather than let nature take its course everyone becomes obsessed with improving scores.
The constant testing and setting sends parents into panic mode and then demanding endless progress meetings with stressed out teachers. Many teachers lack imagination and compassion. I would rather my son be in a class of 32 with an innovative passionate teacher than a class of 15 with a stressed out one. The discipline system is draconian and involves minuses for sometimes trivial misdemeanours and is a source of angst for many overly sensitive parents and boys.
There are many positive things within this school - music, sport and drama. And if you are a bona fide tiger Mum that believes hard work, tests and academia are all that matters then this is a perfect school. If you believe your child should have fun, be well rounded and not be put under a microscope from age 8 then look elsewhere.

Really sorry to hear you had such a negative experience at the school Mstcmum. I hope your son (and you) are happier at your new school?
We’ve had only positive experiences at the school and both my boys are very happy and thriving.

Mstcmum, sorry to hear about your dissapointint experience at your school. I don't have any children at the Mall, but I did want to comment on your point about children moving around school to different classrooms starting year 4. In the London selective preps, the boys do move around the school and teachers, sometimes in very large campuses and this starts in year 4 too. There are, as to be expected, some hiccups with some boys initially, but they all get used to doing this after a few weeks. Lost property does occur, but the point of a prep like the Mall is to allow boys to learn this responsibility to allow a seamless adjustment to senior school.

In terms of the testing (2 hours a day for 4 days), not every school does this, but many (most?) do have end of year exams which are similar. Not cruel or ridiculous.

I think that the Mall is in the same boat as many good prep schools in London in wanting to prepare their boys for entry into senior schools in London, including the most selective. As competition is fierce at all levels, if they gave less work their clients (ie parents of students) would be unhappy and leave. The problem is not with the school, but the whole London selective system.

Its well-known to be a very academic school just look at their leavers destination list, practically everyone goes onto selective schools. If you look at last years pupils then all but one going to St James went on to selective senior schools and two thirds of them went on to very selective top performing Indys.
If this wasn't what you wanted you should have looked elsewhere, there are other less academic local options. Do a lot more research when you are looking at senior schools.

www.themallschool.org.uk/Future-Schools

In 2017 at 13+
2 to SPS and 1 to Westminster, the others are fairly standard SW London independent secondaries that many state school boys get into.

Wonder why they don't show the 11+ leavers - they don't all stay til 13.

And 1 to Kings College, 11 to Hampton, 2 to Brighton College - these are all very selective schools. Add the 1 to KGS, 2 to St Georges which are reasonable selective and that only leaves the 5 to Reeds which I wouldn't call very selective but 2 went with scholarships which can be huge and a big inducement. It's a non-selective prep but it is obvious from their destinations that the average ability is quite high.

The boys who go on to the top Indy schools will go on to the same universities as bright pupils from the local state senior schools so I'm not sure what your point is nocamping.

plenty of local state boys go to Hampton, KGS etc - that was my point. Nothing about uni [puzzled]

Anyway the Mall is a great local school with great facilities and I'm sure the boys benefit from subject specific teaching. I know mine would have - from yr4 onwards one teacher for almost all subjects in state primary gets wearing and is luck of the draw.

My point about the unis nocamping is that you seemed to be subscribing to the idea private schools are a waste of money until senior school age when it all suddenly becomes worthwhile. But in the same way that bright children from state primaries get into good Indys so can bright children from state senior schools get in to top universities. A lot of people who moved DCs at 11+ are in for a shock in 6th form.

The Mall has calmed down a bit since the last change of head but its always had a very strong rep for academics and attracts academic parents. A tiny amount of research by potential parents would have flagged that up.

My point about the unis nocamping is that you seemed to be subscribing to the idea private schools are a waste of money until senior school age when it all suddenly becomes worthwhile.

ok well i don't believe that at all.

Hi all. Sorry to jump on this thread. We have very recently visited the school, for my son also for a 7+ entry, year 3 start in sept. We are contemplating staines Prep too. He has assessments due at both. We have a younger son who will also be starting at one of them in the reception class. My husband and I are both state school educated, and are new to the independent school route. We like both schools for different reasons. Does anyone have experience of either which may help us make our decision? We like that The Mall will have a good number of boys joining the school new at year 3, and hope this will make the move earlier for my eldest. At Staines Prep, he will essentially be the new boy. Both have good destination schools, The Mall has a more traditional feel and Staines feels more like a really really good primary (neither is a negative comment). We like the heads at both, a lot. Staines is a bigger prep starting from 3 forms from reception (this will make no difference to my year 3 boy, but thought the smaller pre prep at The Mall might be better for my reception starter). They are both moving from a very small school but are also very socialable and happy confident boys. The Mall is more ££ when considering two children, but this is not the main priority when choosing, it just helps.
My husband and I are just so confused, would appreciate any help xx

Hi @mummymode - do you want to direct message me some questions re the Mall and I’d be happy to answer them? Eldest is in year 2 so your son would be in his year and youngest currently in reception. It’s honestly a great school and the 2 years you’re joining have lovely parents and kids.

Be aware that the school will change considerably over the next couple of years as they're moving from 13+ to 11+. This mean that it will no longer be a route into the very top schools like Westminster and St Paul's. Their leavers' destinations have changed quite a lot over the past several years. The website used to state that most boys typically go on to Hampton, King's, St Paul's and Westminster. Now they have widened the net considerably, and advise parents to look at a wide variety of schools (Kingston Grammar, St George's, Reed's, St James', Radnor House, Halliford are all popular destinations).

I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, just a natural result of how the whole selection process is moving in the area. But it's something to be aware of if your DS is potential Westminster/St Paul's material.

To clarify: I meant that the current years 4-8 have been advised to cast their nets wider than in previous years. The list of destinations will probably change over the next few years, especially once boys in the current Year 5 and below all sit 11+.

Thankyou @Thereisalwaystomorrow x

Don't Westminster and St Paul's both have a junior house for yrs 7 & 8, as does KCS Wimbledon?

Yes they do, of course. But for Westminster Under School and Colet Court (feeder school to St Paul’s) the obvious entrance points would be 7+ or possibly 8+. There are few places at 11+ which isn’t a natural entrance point. The Mall certainly doesn’t have a record for getting boys in at this point - can’t think of a single case, in fact.
Leaving before year 8 (13+) has always been strongly discouraged until now, including withheld deposit, so there is absolutely no history of collaboration with other prep schools. Boys go to the Mall to get offers to senior schools in Year 6 and then prepare for Common Entrance/Scholarship exams in year 8 - not to go to other prep schools.

Moving to other prep schools at 11 isn’t something they’ve ever advertised or prepared for. They have always made a big deal of preparing for 13+ and strongly discouraged their students applying for other senior school entrance points.

Same for KCS, reallly. Until two years ago their main entrance point was 13+ and this is certainly what the Mall has prepared boys for. So far, I’m not aware that they’ve ever got a boy there for 11+ - yet from next year that will be the only option. From experience until now, parents have been told that the chances of getting in are much lower at the 11+ entrance point.
Same for St George’s and Reed’s - parents are still told that chances are much better if applying for 13+ yet the school is dropping this from next year? And until now parents were told that the only chance of getting into Hampton was applying for a 13+ place. There are plenty of horror stories of families who disobeyed this advice and failed to get a place anywhere.

The Mall Head spoke to all the secondary schools listed below & listened to the parents who want a Tiffin option and the school made the move to stop at 11. Kingston Grammar is a really popular choice in the area and they only take 10 x dc at 13. The Mall is also competing with Hampton Prep who stop at 11 & have the assured places with Hampton school. There are 3 x boys only traditional 13 plus prep schools left in SW London, Kings House, Tower House & Shrewsbury House & they can supply the demand for boarding/ top London schools. IMO the OP living near Staines/Twickenham either Staines Prep or The Mall will give their ds's a good education to reach a Grammar or outstanding private secondary at 11.

I've never quite understood why the local prep boys wouldn't choose to change school at 11 rather than 13.

At 11 they'll compete for places with the state educated boys. Surely they have a big advantage?

I guess it depends where they're headed.

Same for St George’s and Reed’s - parents are still told that chances are much better if applying for 13+ yet the school is dropping this from next year? And until now parents were told that the only chance of getting into Hampton was applying for a 13+ place.

You see that's what i don't understand. Plenty of local state primary boys go to these schools at 11. Why would a Mall educated boy "not stand a chance"?

Is Newland House continuing to 13?

Yes Newland is continuing but the parents are concerned their options are reduced.

I didn’t say they wouldn’t stand a chance, but the competition for places has traditionally been higher at 11 with many more children competing for each place. As for Hampton, there was a “gentlemen’s agreement” that they wouldn’t take Mall boys at 11. Also, at many of these schools if you sit for 13+ in year 6 and aren’t offered a place you can try again in Year 7 but not if you sat 11+ in year 6.
The headmaster’s report is really important when you apply from a prep school so going for 11+ against the school’s advice has always been a risky gamble.

Of course, many parents have also preferred keeping boys at prep school until 13 as it’s a smaller, more nurturing environment - especially if they are planning to move on to schools that are a considerable commute away, or to boarding school. My DS loved his time as a big fish in a little pond in years 7 and 8, and was really well prepared by the time he went to Secondary school. The boys who arrive at 13 are often stronger in many subjects than those who haven’t prepared for Common Entrance. But It doesn’t suit everyone and some are very ready to leave after year 6.

This is all changing though with all the local secondaries offering more places at 11 in recent years, most notably KGS and KCS. The Mall was losing increasing numbers at 11 (to Tiffin of course but also private schools). The move to drop years 7 and 8 was inevitable. It’s a shame though as that will make it hard for the school to retain their Secondary level teachers (needed to teach Common Entrance/Scholarship at GCSE level) that younger boys have also benefited from. I think it’s inevitable that its academic standards will drop.

I wonder if Hampton et al will further increase the number of places they offer at 11? Many presumably won’t be able to as they have purpose-built units for years 7 and 8 (KCS and Reed’s). Competition at 11 may become even crazier...

"I've never quite understood why the local prep boys wouldn't choose to change school at 11 rather than 13. "

They're not allowed to nocamping. The senior schools start at 13+ and entry at 11+ is into the junior/prep school which will belong to IAPS, there is an agreement amongst IAPS schools not to take boys from 13+ preps into Y7/8. But they can move before that, Rokeby boys and the WImbledon preps etc have often moved in the earlier years to avoid the cut off because its a bit easier to get in, or because they missed their first choice at 7+ and are trying again.

This is what is so unusual about the Kings position, they have stopped entry to the junior school beyond Y6 and instead have started a small Y7 and Y8 at the senior school. Because of this boys at 13+ prep are able to apply, which makes a mockery of the "we did this because we want to improve access claim", they did it because they spend too much money on vanity projects and they need the extra income. I am not sure how successful the KCS lower school is, the first head has left without even completing 2 years, not a good sign.