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Original poster

Finding new prep school

46 replies

angrysquirrel73 · 09/10/2020 09:26

I've NC'd for this.. I will try to be brief..

Without going into details we need to find a new prep school for our son (they are modifying the school and will he will no longer be able to attend). We have done nothing, our child has done nothing - the school has decided... So my son and his friends will have to move on. We have some time to find a new school but some boys are leaving imminently so although I rather leave him there as long as possible (he is very happy and the school is very good) there will be a time when his friends are dwindling and he will no longer be happy.
So I need to start thinking about it now..
He is sociable, bright and enjoys sport. The current prep school ticked all our boxes. He is year 3. We know the 13+ school we would like him to go to so we need a school from year 3 to year 8.

We have visited 2 schools, each has pros and cons:
School 1
Pros - academically good and some of his friends will go there
Cons - it would be logistically difficult for us to get to (its 24 miles away - we live in the countryside)
School 2
Pros - lovely school, can get there, the children prefer this one when we toured them
Cons - its very small so I would fear it might close (we're now quite anxious about this with all schools) and its 50% more expensive

Both prep schools have sent children to the 13+ school of our choice though more regularly from the former.

The other schools near us are not very academic and the state schools are not good either (we've tried that already.. the best one would be a 30min drive).

Has anyone else had a similar situation? Any advice? My head is spinning..

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HandfulofDust · 09/10/2020 12:26

How small are we talking (5 kids per year or 20)? Can you request financial information about school 2?

Does school 2 not have a school bus system (although probably wouldn't right now)?

HandfulofDust · 09/10/2020 12:27

I also think it matters whether the 24 miles is on reliably clear/easy road. Where I live (also rural) 24 miles could be a reliable 30 minute drive or an absolute nightmare of more than an hour depending on where it was.

Original poster

angrysquirrel73 · 09/10/2020 12:41

hi there

School 2 would have 8 children in the year (mostly boys) and it does have a school bus so would be handy for us :-). I have looked on companies house and school 2 made a small loss in the last 2 years. I have asked whether we could apply for a scholarship.

School 1 has no bus and its 24 miles. Quite reliable drive but still about 45-50 mins each way. I work full-time and although DH has more time available than me I feel its quite a burden (about 3 hours a day of driving! 39 weeks a year!) I have asked them if there would be enough interested parents to put on a bus and am waiting to hear back.

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Malmontar · 09/10/2020 12:50

What are your state schools like? Neither of those options sound too great tbh

SparkyBlue · 09/10/2020 13:05

Neither of these options sound great being honest. Does it have to be a private school? Can you take another look at the state schools in your area.

HandfulofDust · 09/10/2020 13:07

I agree with the other posters that I wouldn't be especially happy with either option. spending over an hour and a half commuting each day is a lot at 8 though so I'd probabky go for a local state school, then transfer over to school 2 for year 7.

FairFriday · 09/10/2020 13:07

Can you give an idea of location and maybe locals can give their experiences of the local Schools they know. Maybe there’s one you haven’t considered?

Original poster

angrysquirrel73 · 09/10/2020 13:13

We have come from our local state school which though lovely was not very good. Before moving to the private sector we looked at all the alternative local state schools and they are all pretty poor. V small year groups so multiple year groups clumped together. Because our children are bright and well behaved they were pretty much ignored and bored. Hence we moved them. The nearest good state school is about 35 mins away so I am back round to the transport issue..
Our children currently travel for nearly 2 hours (round trip) per day which we accept due to our remote location

OP posts:

HandfulofDust · 09/10/2020 13:52

Hmm in that case I think I'd take my chances with school 2 personally. You only need it to be open another 5 years and at the moment the private sector is doing pretty well. With a shorter commute time there'll be more time to do hobbies and make friends outside of school. The danger with school 1 also is that if he makes friends with kids who live 50 minutes in the opposite direction to you it will be really difficult to see them outside of school.

Fleabagster · 09/10/2020 16:32

The private sector is not doing well when it comes to small prep schools I’m afraid. 8 in a year is very small and I’ve known bigger schools to close recently. I would be nervous about school 2 for this reason.

How is the current school changing or would you rather not say @angrysquirrel73 ?

Madcats · 09/10/2020 16:46

Neither option sounds great. Extra curricular is such a big part of many prep schools.

In the first school anything before or after school is going to make a very long day (would there be Saturday school and fixtures too?) and would probably rule out m(any) out of school activities. Would DS be able to do some homework in the car? Do you really want to have a 96 mile/day commute? Wouldn't most of his friends live miles away too?

The second school would barely be able to muster a football team or orchestra?

Your DS will have 4 or 5 more years in prep; wouldn't it be easier to move house to be closer to the new school?

DeliaOwens · 09/10/2020 16:55

I want to a private school over an hour from home. I rarely saw my school friends outside of school and spent so much time travelling to/from school I wish I had boarded.

I would choose the closer school.

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 09/10/2020 16:59

Is weekly boarding a possibility? That might be preferable to a 3 hour daily commute.

reefedsail · 09/10/2020 17:09

Could you stay at current school until the end of Y6? I'm speculating that the problem is that they are dropping Y7&8??

If so, maybe stay until Y6 and then weekly board at School 1 for Y7&8.

teta · 11/10/2020 00:07

I think I can hazard a guess as to what school this is - ahem.
Two of mine went there.
Can you stick it out for as long as possible?
Surely not all boys will leave eminently.
Living in a rural area sure does limit your choices for sure.

Original poster

angrysquirrel73 · 12/10/2020 08:27

reefedsail you have hit the nail on the head.
The issue is that they are stopping year 7 and 8 for boys and not admitting any more into the school (i.e. its becoming an all girls school). TBH the education is very good and all things being equal we would stay until year 6 if it is on offer. However it has created a stampede of boys parents for the exit, a couple of families are leaving at Half Term already and some more will leave in January. My guess is by the end of the academic year about a quarter of the boys will be left and this will mostly be in the final year 7/8 and so will not be of assistance to us. My expectation is that sometime next term my son will realise that many of his friends are leaving and due to the lack of numbers for sports teams etc we have have to move him. His best friend is giving notice today.. The school has badly underestimated the strength of feeling of parents.
Update is:
School#1 are looking at whether there are enough families in our area to warrant a bus
School#2 I am asking about scholarships.

OP posts:

CrotchetyQuaver · 12/10/2020 08:36

Neither of those sound ideal, I'd be researching weekly boarding costs vs the daily commute at some good prep schools a bit further away.

EachPeachPearSums · 12/10/2020 10:18

What about weekly boarding from year 7? That would open your options considerably as neither of the 2 sound great.

EachPeachPearSums · 12/10/2020 10:21

Or move. If you really want a day school I'd move house. That's a HUGE amount of driving to be doing and the petrol cost plus wear and tear on the car will be very expensive.

littlemisslozza · 12/10/2020 10:29

School 1 sounds better as I'd be worried about school 2 being too small for more than just financial reasons. Not enough for a decent sports team or much choice of friends. Can you move closer to school 1? Is that an option?

teta · 12/10/2020 10:45

There's the other Prep school a couple of miles down the road.
Is that not suitable?
I really liked it when I had a tour.
I do agree the school have handled this whole situation very badly and have lost a tremendous amount of goodwill. The Facebook comments have been illuminating .

Malmontar · 12/10/2020 10:58

School 2 just sounds like the same set up you will end up with if you stay. I would personally move to state and supplement with tuition and than look at weekly boarding from y7 and possibly do early ISEB testing if the senior school offers it to have some security.

PersephonePromotesEquanimity · 12/10/2020 11:03

Did you really say 8 in the year???

That's not a school ... At least, it doesn't provide what a 21st century school should. I really wouldn't advise you choose that one, even with a scholarship ...

Fleabagster · 12/10/2020 11:05

I don’t know which school you’re talking about but it’s really surprising a school is going single sex in this climate - definitely goes against the trend!

Original poster

angrysquirrel73 · 12/10/2020 14:17

teta the other prep school down the road doesn't offer anything like the same minibus network - so we have asked if they can put a minibus on and they are 'looking into it'. Whether anything will come of it or not I can't say.. so although the schools are close to one another the current one is more accessible (IYSWIM). We liked it enough when we toured it last week but transportation is a big issue. I agree with you the communication to parents (and staff) was dire. It looks like the majority of the boys will be gone by the end of the year and some are leaving this half term!

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