Lochinver House School and Prep Schools in Potters Bar and Hertford

[breeminor]

We are considering sending my son to Lochinver House School in Potters Bar and would appreciate any information about the school.
I would also welcome your experiences of boys prep schools espcially in a family with no girls!
We have also looked at Duncombe School and Heathmount in Hertford and are strongly considering Duncombe.
We have also looked at St Johns Prep in Potters Bar but have ruled it out. Thank You ..

We looked at LH and were very impressed - it has great results and good admission rates to high flying senior schools (the tour was also the funniest I've ever been as as the two boys who took us round left no toilet or cupboard unexplored - they were lovely though!). DS is still only 3, so we've a while to go yet.

Hi
I posted on this a while back and no one replied.

I looked at LHS too and I really liked it but I am uncomfortable about it being boys only.

The boys all seemed really lovely and the school has a good reputation.

Shergar - ds would be 2009 entry so probably the same as your ds. Don't want to panic you but some of the schools around here are already putting us only onto waiting lists rather than the main lists.

Have either of you looked at Manor Lodge?
And also Breeminor, why did you rule out St Johns - just curious. I find it all a bit mysterious as no one seems to have heard of it round here!

boo64, thanks for your reply.
I did not look at Manor Lodge as it is a bit of a trek for me.
St Johns - rather long story. It took us ages for them to give us an appointment as they have no Open Days.

When we finally did get to have an appointment with the Headmistress who is also the owner of the school she was so matronly and rather rude.
I asked her what the admission process was and she said there would be a test, there must have been a look of surprise on my face (I was knew to all this then) as she then said "you can't just walk in here"

She then said "we have to assess if you are civilised people" by which time I just wanted to leave.
Anyway I gritted my teeth and said what would the test be like, and she explained a simple test to see if a child could follow instructions.
She said those who could not pass would "not be welcome in this school"

She then asked what my son was like and I said he is a typical 3 years old, sometimes he is as good as gold and sometimes naughty she then said I imagine he must be a handful.

I could go on forever. There are tests in many other prep schools but they tend to re-assure you that it's not really that big a deal.

I guess we just did not get on, she reminded me so much of teachers I couldn?t stand when I was in school.

I later found out from a parent at my sons?s nursery that had withdrawn her son from the school after a term that some of the facilities are not that good.
They bus them over to the senior school for sports. And there is no room to complain as she owns the schools.
I also heard from a teacher in another school that they have a high staff turnover mainly because of disagreements with the head.

There is no PTA or board of governors and her husband runs the senior school and some of her children teach there also. That said they do get good results but it is not the kind of place I would want my child to be.

So far Lochinver is top on our list, I guess I'll have to actively seek out friends with girls to have play dates with! The head showed us around and we went for an Open day where some Yr 8 boys showed us around, both times we were very impressed.

Our concerns were with the single sex and that they stayed till 13, but I think we have come to accept both of these.

We looked at Edgegrove in Aldenham (near Radlett) which we liked but like Manor Lodge was too far away.

Shengar as boo64 said it's worth registering in schools you are interested in now.

That's pretty offputting re St.Johns I have to agree!

LHS just seems really professionally run but caring and a far cry from some of the 'owner managed'schools around - I don't like the idea of the latter as you are at the behest of the head as you suggest.
I liked the head at LHS a lot too and the fact they emphasise a lot of the things that are important to us as a family.

My dh didn't like the idea of Edgegrove as he thinks boarding at this age is a bit odd. and besides it is too far for us.
I'm going to take a look at Norfolk House and Norfolk Lodge too (I'm in between the two).
Generally though when I first looked at registering with schools I was quite naive and signed up for ones that are too far so I'm having to review everything and hoping we aren't too late!

I think you'll be fine, there were quite a lot of people with boys looking to enter in Sep 09 at the Open day at LHS a couple of weeks ago.
I was over enthusiastic when I first started looking and like you registered at Edgegrove even though it was too far away.

I have a friend whose son is at Norfolk Lodge he has been there from 2 and a half I think. She says they have been happy there but are looking to move her son to HABS next year (he'll be 5 then). I also noticed that at the LHS assessment there were some boys from Norfolk Lodge and they have it down as a feeder school to LHS.

Have you heard/looked at Ravenscroft in Barnet. I have heard good things about the school although boys only go up to 7 so that would be an additional thing to get done! Then there is also Radlett Prep and Aldenham (not looked at these so can't comment)

Good luck with the search. We are the Sep 08 intake so hopefully I can post back some useful information if it all works out to plan!

Haven't got direct experience of Lochinver (having girls) but know plenty of people with boys who either have or are there - not heard anything bad about it.

Breeminor (love the name by the way) - do you mean Lyonsdown (Ravenscroft is the state senior school near Totteridge Lane that doesn't have to good a reputation and is now a technology academy)?

I know people with girls who go there and they are happy but it is very small and the Ofsted report is pretty bad, plus it is quite girly and boys are very much in the minority.

We applied to Highgate too (journey would have been awful but lovely school) but were rejected . I didn't feel too bad as it is absurdly over-subscribed at 3+ and most places go to siblings and old boys children.

I think Norfolk House in Muswell Hill is my favourite at the moment. I spoke to them today and we'd only go on the waiting list but they said people do drop out of the main list so you never know.

Breminor - what happened and what did you decide to do re schools?

MNersanonymous - LHS had an assessment lasting about an hour. From what I was told they read a story, asked some questions and played with some toys. Pretty standard stuff as I have since learnt. DS enjoyed it and had no idea he was being assessed.

Did not look at Lyonsdown which I hear is good but is very girly as the boys leave at 7.

Manor Lodge is also very good and has an assessment too.
What stage are you at?

Hi
Ds would be 2009 entry.
We had our interview at LHS. I thought we were just having a 'tour' so the interview was a bit of a surprise. His assessment will be in Sept.

We're 100% sure now that we want ds to go to there - it is everything we want from a school. So no more worrying about which school...instead we get to worry about whether he'll get a place!

That's really useful info about the assessment. The head said that really they are looking at behaviour more than anything else - they don't like very shy or very disruptive children from what he said.

Am worried ds will go all quiet - he is young for his year and although they are put with boys of a similar birth month I'm still concerned as sometimes he clams up!

I have heard mixed reports re ML but we have his name down there as a fall-back.

Lyonsdown is off my list for the same reason you mention. Realised Norfolk House journey and parking would be too difficult so that is no longer on my list either.

So has your ds started at LHS?

Hello, I'm late to this so I hope I can still be of use. I have a son at LHS and another joining this September.

We are very happy with the school; it comes across as very caring and positive. When you start there is a very detailed individual sit-down with your teacher - they want to know your son's likes/dislikes, what is he scared of, how does he respond to discipline, what makes him happy, what do you want from the school, etc.

The academic progress so far has been excellent, but it doesn't come across as "pushy" - there is great emphasis on your son as an individual. We have noticed that the standards of behaviour expected are high, - which can be a bit scary! - and which is consistent with the assessment feedback we have heard - difficult or unresponsive children don't seem to get places, whereas learning difficulties don't seem to be a problem. My son's class is definitely mixed ability. Also very much mixed in terms of race, nationality etc. Just one point, we've heard of quite a number this year not getting places - maybe a sign they are getting more picky? But that might be unfair, I can only go on what I hear.

Other parents come across as pleasant, sociable - not a school where everyone turns up in designer gear I would say, but then I don't so maybe I wouldn't notice if they did.

Having heard of another school where one of the LHS mums was told " don't expect your son to be happy here, that's not what school is about" we are pleased with our choice.

All the best
xxx

Paddy - thanks that's really useful. My impressions were similar from the open day and tour. It's reassuring to hear this from someone with a son who goes there.

I do hope ds gets a place!

I wonder, was the other school that mum mentioned something beginning with H?!

Any more info on the assessment itself would be gratefully received.

Hi, the assessment seems to have been very straightforward and the same for both my two boys. When we arrived we were taken to wait upstairs and they were asked if they recognised their name on a sticky label. There were maybe 5 other boys in the group, all born within about a month or two of each other.

The boys were taken down to the library and we were given the option of going with them and sitting in on the assessment, or waiting upstairs and chatting to the other parents. I personally would leave them to get on with it - I wonder if its a bit distracting for the kids to have mum in the room?

From what I could make out, they were read a story and asked some questions about it. My oldest said he was told it didn't matter if he got the questions right or wrong, but he had to wait nicely and take his turn for his question. They then played with some toys and got a sticker, and we were called to get them. The whole thing lasted about 40 mins. There were 3 teachers in the room at the time.

I think the process is generally about taking turns, sitting nicely while they read the story, etc. rather than anything academic. My youngest is a very quiet boy and I was a bit concerned he just wouldn't answer, but the teacher said afterwards he was fine. Neither of my two seemed to have any idea they had been assessed and thought the whole thing was great fun.

The other school - best not to be too specific as I don't want to be sued! But it has been mentioned in previous posts so I don't think the identity would be any great surprise!

I hope your son gets a place - I'm sure he'll be fine. By the way they had an ISI report written up very recently - I don't think its out yet but you might want to keep a look out for it.

Good luck!

Paddycat you are a star - thanks so much for all this information. It's so helpful to know what to expect.

We'd already decided we wouldn't go in with ds as I agree it would be a distraction. He'll be fine with most of this as he's good at concentrating and listening to stories and can recognise and spell his name. The only 'danger points' are if he gets freaked out at actually going into the room with some to him random lady and if he doesn't say anything at all in response to the qn! We'll just have to see! I suppose even if he does go all quiet there's always the nursery report and also he is very young for the year so maybe they will be more forgiving. (MN clutches at straws in desperation!)

Forgot to say in my last post that the particularly good mix of nationalities/ cultures attracted us too. I find some of the schools in this area are a little biased towards one or two groups which I'm not that comfortable with as I don't want ds to be an outsider.

It's so funny as I'd never expected to turn into some cliched school admissions desperado but I just like this one so much that I really, really want him to get in!

I must find a suitable second choice though just in case but it's not easy round here.

By the way, when did you have your 'interview' with the head - the same day as the assessment or at another time?

What are the other parents like by the way?

Hi there, I'm sure your son will be fine especially if he is already at nursery - I have to say, my two worry me sometimes with their willingness to take someone else's hand and wander off happily with them! I talked it up to mine beforehand as something that was going to be fun, they were going to meet some new friends, etc, and I think that's how they accepted it. The ones that have a problem are more likely the boys whose mums are anxiously drilling them on their letters (which is completely unnecessary anyway). And as the boys are assessed by age group, I'm assuming that's deliberate - after all a year's difference when you're 3-4 is a third to a quarter of your entire existence! There is certainly quite a variation in my son's class as to age and ability - but when I asked whether they expected them to know anything in particular before they started, the answer was a definite "no".

You're right to be aware of some schools having a particular make-up by the way - especially because some are less than honest about it. Goodness knows why, but we found out after the event that some schools will downplay there being a particular emphasis - I can only imagine they realise other parents will feel uncomfortable with it.

I'd say parents seem to be a pretty normal bunch - again the mix of backgrounds seems to help. Not really a school for social climbers - if anyone is staggeringly wealthy (and I'm sure some are) they don't generally flaunt it. Lots of dads at the school gate too which I think is nice though sadly not my husband very often. I was surprised how many run their own businesses. I'd say maybe just under half the mums work (mostly part time). There are two class reps in each class who organise social stuff so when you start there are coffee mornings/evening drinks etc straightaway. Put it this way, I knew no-one before we started and I feel very comfortable with the social side of things.

We had our sit down with the head on the day of the assessment - have you met him yet? Lovely man - his wife recently had a little boy. Seen about the school lots,and you feel you can go and see him to talk if you need to. Deputy is also very well thought of and reads a story to reception every week which I gather is a highlight!

Anyway all this is obviously highly biased so you must factor that in before taking the plunge! Where do you live? (just thinking re other choices)...

All the best.

Thanks Paddycat. I'm starting to relax a bit about the assessment now, thanks in part to your info and also given there's nothing I can really do about it anyway beyond talking to ds about what's going to happen.

It would almost be easier if it were more about academic stuff than behaviour as he knows all his letters etc. already (I probably wouldn't mention that in real life but this is anonymous so I can!)

I want him to be happy at school and challenged if that's right for him but not in some dreadful hothouse, so LHS absolutely fits the bill. Dh actually went to the school which is the hottest of the hothouses round here and he is firmly against sending ds there.

Oh the more you tell me about LHS, the more I want him to get a place! Can you just make up lots of bad things so that I won't be so gutted if ds doesn't get in!

How intriguing that some schools play down the mix of pupils' backgrounds. I'd love to hear more about that....without naming schools. I have friends with kids at a mixed prep near to LHS (I'm guessing you can work out which one) and they've found it a little problematic on that front. I wouldn't want ds to be so conscious of differences and to feel like an outsider in this way.

The LHS parents sound about right too (although I'm sure there are exceptions!) - I can't abide glitziness and there's so much of it round here regardless of people's incomes isn't there.

We have definitely already had our 'headmaster interview' as we had the classic questions which I'd heard about on the grapevine e.g. how do we discipline him, how would we describe him etc.

It went fine I think despite the fact I wasn't expecting this and thought we were just having a tour of the school!

I think we got on pretty well with him and we thought he was both impressive and approachable. I was also impressed that he seemed to know loads of the children's names and they all responded positively and confidently to him rather than seeming intimidated. Seemed like an extremely nice chap.

We live in Barnet borough. I've looked at most of the options locally to be honest. We sound like we value pretty similar things in education....where was your second choice?

Hi, we are from the other side of Potters Bar so our second choices were more Herts than anything else. You will fit right in if you live in Barnet - I'd say about a third of the parents I know are from Barnet or Hadley Wood, with the rest from Enfield/Southgate, Brookmans Park, Cuffley, Goffs Oak,and a small number from the surrounding villages/Hatfield/St Albans.

Our main second choice was also a boys only, but we had reservations, mainly because although it was nice enough it seemed a bit chilly in more than one way! I guess it was a bit more of a traditional prep school - we visited in November and all the boys were still in shorts! The head at LHS says if its too cold for him to wear shorts its too cold for the boys - fair enough I say. It was just all a bit too school caps and evensong and not really what we were after. Then when we visited LHS, for a start the heating was on (!) and looking back at the first school it just seemed a more caring atmosphere at LHS.

Unfortunately the other school we liked (mixed) was just too far away for us - at least half an hour each way twice a day. There were two others we considered, but the lack of a mix of backgrounds bothered us. One was a church school which in fairness seemed very inclusive and welcoming - but then we heard from a parent that it wasn't quite as mixed as it came across at first blush (and my husband has been through the whole church education thing himself). The other sold itself as completely non-religious, but we found out again from another parent that something like 85% of the children are from one faith! As you say, no-one wants to feel an outsider and we would just rather the children were taught good moral standards than anything specifically religious.

Oh the good news as well is that LHS seems to get its offers out earlier than a lot of schools - October-ish - a lot of the others do their assessments in January. It does mean though that they ask for a £1000 deposit if you want the place so I guess if its your second choice and you're holding out for another school that can be a tough choice.

I'm trying to think of any downsides about LHS - the fees?! Never fun paying those! The only thing I've ever heard moans about is that they are strict on behaviour - for example they expect decent table manners which was a shock for our oldest who is used to wandering around waving his cutlery round! But I guess when you put it in the context of the number of boys there, you can understand it - and in fairness they do just seem to accept that that's the way they have to behave at school. Other than that in some ways it reminds me of my own (state) primary school - just a good all-round school except unfortunately we're paying for it. You don't get a long gravel drive or a country mansion for your money - but I suppose if that is what you want there are plenty of fancy schools out there which are better suited!

Anyway, I've rambled enough - take care and good luck obviously.

How interesting - the shorts school sounds like the one my nephew starts at in Sept, especially if it is a little north of you. His mum is worried he'll freeze in shorts year round! It sounds like it has all sorts of wonderful facilities which has attracted dsil and db to it.

It is especially important to us that ds goes to a school that has a good mix of backgrounds given he has a mixed background himself - with three different ethnicities involved. He just won't fit in any one box and so I don't want him 'stuck in the middle'.

As atheist parents a church school just doesn't feel right. Sadly the two better state primaries near us are both religious schools and the secular school is not good at all. So if I were looking to go state I would be livid about this.

That won't be a problem about the assessment timing and paying the deposit for us as we are so sure we prefer LHS to the other schools we've seen. However I can see that it would be problematic for anyone who wanted to keep options open.

And if ds doesn't get a place it gives us a little longer to sort an alternative out - although I've registered with a couple of places anyway just in case. None of which I'd be delighted by in the same way as I would with LHS but I'll have to address that at the time....or move to another area!

Hi - I am new to the area but in the same boat as I have 2 little ones. Would MNersanonymous, paddycat or breeminor or any others of you mind if I CAT you with a view maybe a telephone conversation so you could explain some of the comments on here - I am afraid quite a lot of this is in a "code" that I could n't follow?

I also have a 2 year old girl and I have no clue where I should be looking to send her but not the local state school - so I am trying to look at the private options.

I would be very grateful for any input. Thanks.

Yes you can CAT me or call if you need to.
How does this CAT thing work

Hi no problem - CAT me - although I have a boy so haven't considered the girls' only schools for obvious reasons!!

Breeminor - quick LHS question - which reading scheme/ approach do they use in reception there e.g. Jolly phonics or similar?

Bree - to send or receive CAT messages you have to subscribe to MN - costs £5 I think.

Jolly Phonics it states in the curriculum.

Stressed - not heard from you - feel free to ask away on here or CAT and we will try to help.

Don't worry too much about the shorts bit. My son moved from primary in Sept. and he was convinced he'd die of exposure in the winter as he is very thin and usually feels the cold. I asked him today what he thought about the shorts now--two terms plus since he started. He looked completely blank and said he hardly even noticed he was wearing them because he was running around so much at breaktime. There's actually only about 2 inches of exposed skin between the tops of the socks and the bottom of the shorts.

It's his last year in them--in year 7 they go into longs.