Private Schools in Isle of Dogs E14 for Primary Education

[EasyDad]

Hi
I am looking for schools near Canary Wharf area for my LO. She turned three this September. I have visited some public schools like Woolmore and Canary Wharf College, and have been impressed by their standards. However, I also wanted to consider some private schools in the area. Does anyone have any suggestions of some good private schools I can visit?

My aim is to find a school which also has a nursery so my LO can join nursery and then move to primary within the same school. However I am not too stressed about this as long as I find a good primary school.

I used to live a few minutes' walk from Canary Wharf; I didn't have any contact with schools at the time, though.

I've had a quick look, though and there seems to be a nice school which might fit the bill for you at Trinity Buoy Wharf; it's called Faraday.

https://www.faradayschool.co.uk/

I've heard good things about River House:

www.river-house-montessori.co.uk/

Thankyou for checking guys!

worth being aware that several private schools not on isle of dogs run (or did a few years ago) a minibus service with various collection points on the island. Gatehouse school, Colfes, maybe Blackheath. Gatehouse was at one point very popular but seems to have gone downhill.
Re: state schools, CWC - not good for any child with special needs and the head is marmite. St Lukes had a better reputation. Look for old threads here for more info.
River house has pros and cons. Some of the individual teachers were great. Good choice for pre-school/reception/EYFS. For upper years, less so. Organisation and management were haphazard.
I visited Faraday school and didn't get a great vibe but that was some time ago and it has a new head so maybe things have changed.

We used to live in the area too but moved out after we had a child as we didn’t like any of the nearby state or private schools - we had registered my child for St Paul’s Cathedral and Lyceum in the city as we have heard they are the better private schools around but they are in the city. We didn’t register for Charterhouse but heard that’s pretty good also.

We looked into Gatehouse but the school seem to have gone downwards and when we enquired about Blackheath, they said that we would be waiting list only so we didn’t bother. The River Montessori wasn’t really our type of school so we didn’t consider it.

We were at both Gatehouse and now Riverhouse. Gatehouse was just not a right fit for our son. It looks good on the outside, but you get very little teacher contact (all emails go through headteacher). If you live far away but your child takes the van, your child can’t attend afterschool clubs. They push your child hard from the age of 6 and give about an hour of homework a night. My son was in tears most days and hated learning. We looked at Faraday and it was okay but lack of green space and again, a commute from home. I wouldn’t mind the commute if my son was older, but even from Isle of Dogs to gatehouse, it was 45/50min each way. Blackheath and Colfe’s I’ve heard mixed reviews, but don’t know enough to say. We ended up at Riverhouse. It has some admin issues, but like all schools. We get a lot of communication with staff, parents and teachers. It’s a short walk from our place and he loves the afterschool clubs. There’s also a hot lunch provision now. I have to admit I’m not a fan of the state schools in my catchment mainly because there are a lot of government cuts, SEN is non existent in most state schools, the class sizes are a lot bigger and the bullying is terrible. My son is very happy here and he has an enthusiasm to learn. I would say some leave because they want to push the academic side with their children a lot. I feel I don’t need to do this and he’s finding learning really fun and interesting. Which I think is more important.

@extrastrongmints
We explored Faraday School during our school search and ultimately decided not to pursue it. While some families may have a positive experience, we had serious concerns about the leadership style, the clarity around staff qualifications, and the school’s approach to inclusivity and communication with families.

It’s worth visiting and asking detailed questions about staff credentials, how the curriculum is delivered across year groups, and how they support children from diverse backgrounds. We found the ethos and tone during our interactions quite concerning and would recommend doing thorough due diligence before committing.

You made the right choice. I am talking about our personal experience only. Despite a positive start we had a bad experience overall at Faraday due to the same concerns you have highlighted. That alongside a lack of openness and transparency from leadership, and low quality teaching experiences. Concerning that reviews on Google have been disabled by the school. Avoid.

Actually, Google reviews have been removed for all schools by Google. But my other comments about faraday prep being a school that we would not recommend remain.