Merlin School or Fulham Prep or Falkner hour or Parsons Green prep

[humilit141]

Hi, we are trying to choose a school for our little boy and we live in fulham. Any advice on any of the schools would be much appreciated. The only reason we are including Merlin as it is a good school (from what we have heard) but with Putney bridge commute it might not be most practical. What are your experiences with any of those schools?
Thank you

All quite different schools with different longer term outcomes. What are you looking for?

i am trying to understand is the commute to Merlin worth it for 2-3 years (from reception until 7+ or 8+) as compared to Fulham prep or Parsons green prep. Our boy is a little shy but i assume he will fit in any of those schools.

Lots of people in Fulham think the commute is worth it. But they are looking for focussed preparation for proper prep schools beyond Merlin at 7+ or 8+. Other families don't want to move at that age and therefore stick to a more local school to move at 11 or 13, or indeed stay on at Fulham Senior.

@humilit141 : have you got offers from all four schools already?
Tbh, I would have consider Merlin if I had a mature autumn or winter born girl.
I got a summer born boy and I cannot predict if he will be mature enough to sit 7+, more likely 8+.
@FamSender: Some parents are not interested in hot housing focused preparation.
Falkner House will be sending offers on 15th November.

@Lily7050 not offers from all, just merlin and fulham prep..but i wonder how much better is really the 7+ or 8+ results from merlin vs fulham prep...
our boy is born in feb so..hard to tell how he would do academically..he is a little shy..
@FamSender ideally i would like a great academic result too..but i am not sure it would be possible. is the preparation at Merlin that much better than the one at Fulham Prep or Parsons green prep. This is what i am trying to figure out, so i can justify the commute from fulham over putney bridge

So at Fulham Prep they would not be preparing for 7+ or 8+ at all. There wouldn't be any official 7+ 8+ results to compare... I don't know about Falkner House. They will be focusing on it at Merlin, as the school finishes at that age and they all have to move on. So that's what I was asking you, what are your longer term plans? If you definitely anticipate a move at that time, then Merlin and prepare for the early slog that is 7+. If you are not sure, I would think a more local school and one you don't have to move on from would be more sensible.

@Lily7050 that's what I think I said, some parents want the 7+ prep, some don't. I didn't personally but I know people who thought the commute was worth it.

Hi OP - my boys were down for Merlin but we moved away. I loved it and I looked pretty much everywhere! The thought of the 7+ did make me a little nervous though! What's your plan for the next step? What would be the target at 7/8+ - both target and fall back? What's the plan at 13+?

Merlin did have very long hols from what I recall - and a half day on Fridays.

@FamSender : I looked at Merlin's leavers' destinations but did not find year by year results. They just list the school names, that include Fulham School and many other schools where children can get at 4+.
Parsons Green website shows offers and accepted offers, though for 11+.
Falkner House publishes results of 7+, 8+ and 11+ for every year and also shows offers and accepted places.

@humilit141 : I did not register DS with Merlin because I started registering when he was about one year old so I thought it was too late.
We got offers from Fulham Prep and Parsons Green. I was under impression Parsons Green has already sent their offers. Are you on their waiting list?
Fulham Prep has started their senior school so not sure how keen they will be to prepare for 11+. They do not prepare for 7+,8+.
Falkner House is my favourite but DS is yet to attend the assessment next week.
Falkner House prepares for 7+, 8+ but only those children who they think are mature to sit exams at 7 or 8.

@Lily7050 it's definitely never too late to register them as a lot of people seem to drop out. We went to visit merlin and it seems lovely..but the commute is quite a bit for us and also they finish at noon on friday. no clubs until year 2. + the putney bridge situation could take 10 min or 1:20min, depending on the traffic. The tube works but for 4 years to do the commute, when he would get frustrated just by how long it takes. We went to try the commute on a real day like today (rainy and uphill): we tried both with the tube from parsons green and the bus and both it was exhausting..even for me:-) so it might be fulham prep. we didn't get into parsons green prep, but i guess fulham prep is a good school nonetheless.

Hello,
Can I ask you if you are happy with Fulham prep? Im trying to choose a school for my little boy.
Thank you

The heads of the prep and preprep left very recently, along with a large number of the prep teaching staff, which was not a good sign. The heads were very popular, whilst the management team - owner is Inspired - is widely considered to out of touch with parents with a profit-focused ethos (admittedly not unusual) clearly on show. Teaching was generally good and our kids were happy, although you won't get a smart child through the 11+ process without a lot of tutoring. The school changed over our time and seems more focused now on pushing kids through the Inspired network of schools. The new prep head is from a Hong Kong international school, which shows their direction of travel. They moved years 9 and 10 from the senior school to the prep school for reasons that no one understands, and we didn't like. We found the school lurched from one problem to another and significant changes impacting our kids were made without any consultation so we left.