Alternative schools in North London?

[claro79]

Hi, are there any alternative school options between state and fully fledged private schools in North London? My son will start year 5 in September and I am trying to find a progressive/liberal school with little or no testing that looks after the emotional well being of the child without compromising academic learning. Does such school exist?
Thanks!

King Alfred in Barnet ? St Christopher's but that's outside of London as is the Steiner school.

@nylon14. We have visited King Alfred's but found it too expensive and too big for us. I am not aware of St Christopher's, is it in Hampstead? Google came back with few results and could not work out which one you meant. In regards to Steiner, we would not consider King's Langley due to their on-going investigation. Thanks for the reply.

The 'alternative' St Christopher's is in Letchworth.

There's also a St Christopher's in Hampstead but its an all-girls prep

between state and fully fledged private

what do you mean by this? you either pay or you don't, there isn't really a half way point.

Unfortunately the north London educational landscape is pretty much the opposite of what you say you want. It’s drastic but in your shoes I’d probably move...

There is this school in Tottenham
sunrise.org.uk
Less alternative there is Dallinton and Rosemary works
There is also this place in Docklands www.macemontessori.com/primary-mace-green-gables/#
Not alternative but may be cheaper www.maplewalkschool.co.uk

Small schools may not be what you are after, non selective
Chalfont independent Grammar,
Sheradswoord in Welwyn
Mount House Enfield (senior only)
If looking for SEN Egerton Rothesay .

Where in north London?

Places it might be worth looking at are:

Dallington (south Islington)
The Lyceum (south Hackney) - but I’m not sure about the testing here.
The Academy Hampstead www.academyschoolhampstead.com

I’m not sure how much each charges. As far as private schools go in north London, I don’t think I know of any that charge less than £4K a term (and quite a few charge a lot more).

Aldenham is meant to be inclusive and nurturing, and less academic than other North London independent schools. There are buses from all over North London.

However I agree with PP that most private schools cost around £4K/term. The most reasonable one I know of is Mount House in Barnet. I believe it recently went co-ed.

most private schools cost around £4K/term

not in N London they don't, I don't know any that are below £5k per term and many are approaching or above £6k.

Darlington say they charge £4,210 a term for children aged 9 to 11. SPCS charge £4,855 a term for children of the same age. I think the Lyceum is quite a bit more.

I found no reference to fees on The Academy's website so no idea there.

That’s interesting, to be fair I’m more NW London where they are a lot more usually. I’m thinking Highgate, ucs, Habs , nlc etc

Ah fair enough. My understanding is that the schools in Hampstead do tend to be more expensive (apart from SHHS).

My DD will be in year 6 in September. I hate large secondary schools and I am not sure what other options I have. She will be doing the 11+ in September as this will give us extra options.

I would love to find a small, nurturing secondary school for her. I am also considering home school or setting up a school myself.

meditation Where do you live? It might be worth starting a separate thread.

Meditation are you looking at indies or state only. If indies Mount House Hadley Woood.St Margaret’s Bushey, St Margaret’s Hampstead,,
Sherradswood Welwyn. More House Knightsbridge. Where abouts are you?

Another option would be to look at small international schools such as Dwight or Chalfont independent Grammar

I am in Middx. Thanks for these suggestions I am going to do some research .

The cheapest senior school in London I can find is City (girls and boys) mainly because they’re heavily subsidised by their foundations but even then they’re over £5k a term. Realistically you’re looking at around £5500 a term for girls schools at senior and pushing up to £6500 / £7000 +++ for boys schools or St Paul’s / Westminster etc which I think might even be over £8k and people wonder why it’s so hard to get a decent state place..... when we started looking at secondaries the fees were £4-5k a term Which was doable. Once they started to hit £6k we took the view it would be £8k a term by the end of schooling and it pushed the boat too far. Times that by 3 children and it’s just not affordable for many people who could have done it 10 years ago

Following with interest - I'm feeling disillusioned with mainstream primary education right now. My DD is also going into Y5. At the moment I'm looking at a lot of home ed websites, St Paul's Steiner and... ? I don't know. I don't like the emphasis on testing and I kind of feel that even though DD is at a technically great school, I don't think she is learning as much as she might in a different environment. We could then reassess the situation when it comes to secondary.

My reservation re St Paul's is that threads on here suggest that it appears very heavily anthroposophist rather than Steiner-lite and I don't know enough yet to decide whether that is a good thing or not!

Hi astoundedgoat

I don't know much about the St Paul's Steiner - I am rather prejudiced against Steiner schools because of the reputation that the one in my home town had. Other people will be able to give more information on this.

I think it is worth mentioning that even at "alternative" schools, there will probably be some testing. Parents expect it and, if it is a private or prep school, the children will be sitting pretests or the 11+ for the senior schools.

Alright this place is hardly North London, but it does intrigue me.
thelondonacornschool.co.uk/

Thank you for all the replies.
We are based around the borders of Islington/Camden and are looking for a short commute. I will check some of the great suggestions posted here.

@astoundedgoat, we have friends at St. paul's and they love it. Very nurturing with no testing and good curriculum. It is also on our list of choices, as we don't like big schools, or uniforms, or homework.

I visited sunrise in Tottenham and really liked it. It's £500 a month. I went for state Stroud Green in Finsbury Park currently under subscribed so anyone can go there less testing and they allow Flexi schooling.