Hampton/LEH vs City Freemens vs Caterham vs Eltham College/Bromley High/Colfes

[Pluuuto]

We're looking to move a bit further out within South London in the next few years and not sure what school to aim for. DCs 6 (girl) and 8 (boy) in local state school. Bright enough, but not musical nor sporty! Boy likes football and grudgingly goes tennis.

Appreciate these schools are not usually grouped together but it's based broadly on the areas we are looking house-wise. We're not tied to any locale aside from a preference for South London for work reasons. However it also means I don't really know what we're aiming for, schooling wise, to work backwards from. Not from the UK so grateful for more experienced parents' insight.

For Hampton / LEH are your dc on the top table at school? If so that is a pointer that they are going in the right direction but both schools, esp Hampton, are difficult to get into and you need to be an all rounder (and a quite assertive personality for LEH). In the area you also have the option of Tiffin grammars (State) and Kingston Grammar (private). For dd there are many single sex options too but far less for ds with some travelling to Reeds in Cobham/St George's in Weybridge and even St John's, Leatherhead.
Both Hampton and LEH have feeder preps that you could investigate too.
Ps - train from Hampton to Waterloo is slower than other areas like Twickenham/Esher.

DH does not like Kingston Grammar for some reason i don't know, St george's and St John's a tad too far i think but worth considering, thank you.

Hampton prep - do most go to senior school at Hampton and LEH? Or is it equally competitive at 11+ regardless of the prep you are in

I don't really know where dd stands in school, she's still young. It's hard to tell at this age! DS is stronger in maths, chess. He's lazy... like me!

Not many private schools play competitive football especially at senior school level. Caterham is mainly rugby/hockey for boys, lacrosse/netball for girls.

Bromley is a nice area to live and you would also have the option of grammars later down the road.

Re feeder preps, Hampton prep indicates during years 4-5 if your ds will get a place at Hampton boys, the ds they choose automatically get in - it's @ 20 each year. The rest of the year have to either sit the entrance exam and see if they get a place or go to schools like Reeds/Kingston grammar. There is a reeds school bus from Hampton train station to give you an idea of the numbers travelling.

For LEH juniors, they take at 7plus with a competitive entrance exam, most of the year stay and go to the senior school. They only have a few places between age 7-11 and you have to sit an exam to get in. It's quite a high pressure prep - I don't think nurturing and cosy are words used to describe it but for many dd they absolutely love LEH juniors.

Hampton year 7 you can choose football for the autumn and spring terms which would suit your ds. (Some schools want you to do Rugby for one of those terms). Being good at Maths and Chess is a definite plus for Hampton.
Shame dh doesn't like KGS. Excellent reputation and they could both go there! Also Ranor House (mixed) and St.Catherines (girls) in Twickenham are other potential senior schools in the area if dc dont achieve Hampton/LEH offers.

Hi - have experience of the Bromley area and options but can't compare to the others am afraid. All three are good schools with their own characteristics and as a PP says there are good state and grammar options too if you position yourself in the right areas. Feel free to PM if you want anything more. Eltham particularly performs v well in the league tables and is a great (non football!) school and has just gone co-Ed.

If you're in Bromley then the Whitgift schools (Whitgift Trinity and Old Palace) are also an option.

Avoid City of London Freemen's like the plague. Lots of bullying and non existent pastoral care, deeply sexist environment where boys get, for example, much better sporting provision than the girls. Teaching, particularly in the junior school, is lacklustre and uninspired. Caterham is a great school, inspiring head, great pastoral care, good sporting provision, great drama, children really encouraged to participate and lots of different activities to try out. I'd also highly recommend Downsend. Great school, inspiring teaching (the maths teaching is wonderful), huge enthusiasm for fun and enjoyment of the curriculum. The music is rather good - they have rock bands for example!

I would not recommend Freemen's having our child there for several years. We used to like it but sadly it seems to be going downward. You can search for other Freemen's parents' comments which I find consistent with our experience.

Anyone with experience of Hampton able to give me an idea of what extra/co-curricular life is really like?

Are the opportunities only for the ones who already excel at art/ drama/ music/ sport.

@Thisonesfortheroad , I've seen your other thread and my ds had similar school offers and we live in Esher so also near all the schools. Yes co-curricular in year 7/8 is important but overall most decisions come down to gut feeling and journey time. Also for me the fees jump at year 9 at St. John's wasn't something we wanted.

Re Hampton co-curricular - the clubs take place at lunchtime. There are matches on Sat, the rugby and football have several teams. The rowing starts in year 9 and is based in Sunbury and
involves Sunday sessions.
The music is high Level, my ds is grade 5 piano outside school but has refused to get involved. I think there are drama opportunities in first couple of years.

I know my ds would have played more matches, sang in more events, been more involved due to the smaller cohort if he had gone to St. John's or KGS but academically Hampton has really stretched him and I know he is going to get good grades and have excellent preparation for uni, he has good friends too. It's so difficult to make a decision but revisiting really does help.