Lochinver House School and Prep Schools in Potters Bar and Hertford

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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 ..

I hear really good things about Manor Lodge from people I know with kids there.

I really disliked Norfolk House in Muswell Hill though.

Very small, no outdoor space, a bit shabby.

Plus you can't tour it without applying. And the tour is also an admissions interview - though they are interviewing the parents not the child. When we did ours, the head barely even glanced at DD.

Finally, you have to accept your place and put down a deposit months before the offers of places from the larger schools get made. I'm told people (probably those with more money than sense) put down deposits at N.H to ensure they've got a place somewhere if they fail to get one of their first choice schools in the Feb offers. That strikes me as the school playing the system somewhat - if they are as good a school as they say, why not send all the offers at the same time and give parents a fair choice?

I'm sure there is someone on here with a child there though who will be able to offer a less grrr-y view!

Lochinver is just an amazing school that like Habs nurtures excellence. It is a happy fun filled school and gives parents the choice of where to put their son at 13.

I have two boys there (my youngest will be going too) and it really is well run and a beautiful community.

It should be a very easy choice for parents as the boys are happy and grow up in a safe environment.

( I have had experience of other schools as I had to pull my oldest out of a well regarded local school for being like a military boot camp.....)

We have a son at Lochinver too. Academically the school is brilliant but there is a noticeable problem with bullying and other behaviour. Last year a child was expelled for persistently carrying a knife (why this needed to be persistent before action is beyond me, but may be explained by the same problem that we are currently experiencing).
There is a new headmaster and whether things will improve on behaviour is yet to be seen. In our son's year, Year 2, there is a child who has been subject to repeated complaints about his bullying etc - in at least one case, the victim's father gave the school a choice about moving his son to the other class or he would leave the school. Other parents are openly stating dissatisfaction with lack of action. There is a current complaint from one parent that has reached solicitors letters stage about the very same child.
In most private schools, 5 complaints about bullying would lead to expulsion, but the problem for the school is that the mother of the child concerned plays the race card every time.

Hi. I'm currently looking at Dubcombe, Lochinver House, Manir Losge and Heath Mount for my DS. Any advice would be great!