The Hall School v Wetherby Prep

[Toltori]

We have acceptances form both of the above school for our Year 5 child. Which school is the better choice for academics? Also what are the differences in the two schools on a general level? Thanks.

The Hall School will prep your DS for top secondary schools whilst Wetherby has its own secondary school which is not perceived as being amongst the top tier in terms of academics. I cannot comment on whether W preps kids wishing to leave in year 7 or 9. All I can say is that The Hall is one of England’s top primary schools

But both very reputable Primary schools

Thanks. This is very helpful. We are US expats so we actually also are interested and care about how well reknown the schools are from a non British perspective. Would you have an inkling on this? Our impression was that Wetherby is more prestigious because Prince Williams and Harry went there! But I may have this all wrong in terms of prestige even within the UK!

I have a friend with DC at The Hall. They used to rate it as a non selective, happy coed option. But recently they are less happy. Behavioural problems, lack of pastoral care, good staff leaving and not being replaced etc seem to be the issues. They are just one person, but I’d be asking questions about those things.

It depends what you mean by prestige

For bragging rights with other expats and the ‘general public’, Wetherby is the better known and still carries the royal connection. (Although I think it faded a lot when William and Kate made the deliberate choice to not send their own children there)

For secondary schools and the PLU crowd locally, The Hall is better regarded IMO

Thanks. I didn't know it was non selective. I thought it was highly selective. That's disappointing to hear that care is a bit lacking. Did you get the sense that kids are divided into 1st tier and 2nd tier students where the less achieving ones are basically just there to provide a lowest common denominator for the excelling students?

That's super helpful. Though it's vain, these bragging rights can translate to better acceptances by US schools I'm wondering...not sure if those in the US would know the Hall School at all.

My friend was talking about a school in SW London - maybe it’s a different school with the same name? Anyway, they didn’t say more than I mentioned above, I’m afraid.

If you are talking about The Hall school in North London it is extremely selective and highly academic.

Do you want bragging rights or academic excellence? The Hall used to get more boys into Westminster than any other Prep school in the country (by some margin). But no, William and Harry didn't go there 🤷‍♀️

(I'm not saying Wetherby Prep is a bad school by any means but I would do some serious research and if necessary you can always engage the services of a private education specialist as they tend to work with many expats)

And other than Eton etc which is secondary anyway I wouldn't imagine many/any London prep schools trip off the tongue of US school admission personnel so no, I don't imagine they've heard of The Hall

Thanks a lot. This is exactly what we needed to know. Our thought process was that with bragging rights comes more recognition from overseas (ie US School admissions officers), rather than an academically excellent but lesser known school from a US perspective.

My DS has a friend in Year 2 at The Hall. Exact same feedback from the mum. He is far behind in maths and they didn't highlight it to her to help get him on track. Probably to protect their own backs that they had failed a student.

I would imagine any serious US school (indeed any school worth its weight) would set an admission test. I can't imagine they'd be more likely to offer a place because someone went to a primary school that someone in the royal family went to 30 years ago. And if that was the case I would rather my child didn't go there!

Is this the Hall School in Hampstead in Belsize Park?

Yes. There will definitely be a standardised test for entry in the US school. Then it was just an analysis of when "all things equal". Basically school name brand recognition.

Don't get me wrong, Wetherby is a really good Prep school, it's just that it's got a disproportionate number of kids who are there precisely because of the Royal, and maybe even Beckham connection. The Hall has been selected by most parents because of its academic reputation

Yes

Go look round, get a sense of the parents (or nannies!) at drop off. See which is your tribe.

(Or chauffeurs!)

We wish we could but logistics don't make it work ! Anyway, thanks a lot. I'm also weighing the comments of the unhappy parents at the Hall School like above. I havent seen these types of comments very often for any other school so it really stood out to me.

The other lady is talking about a completely different school!!!!

Oh that's good to know!

There is a different Hall School in Wimbledon which is a v small, gentle, co-Ed option. Night and day from The Hall School in north London!

Haha. Which we don't have! It sounds like you are wholly in the Hall School camp?

Well the north London one is too far away from me, but the one in SW London has had a bit of an up and down ride the last decade which may explain some of the comments (changed location, poor inspection reports, taken over, rebuilding). From my v limited experience Wetherby absolutely does prep for other schools though