Dulwich prep London

[Undecisive]

Could anyone share their experience and thoughts on Dulwich Prep, London?

What are they like at 11+, what the head teacher is like, are they academic enough as they say that kids knowledge at 7+ is enough to take 7+ exam with minimum tutoring?

Do they frown upon kids trying to leave at 7+ or even at 11+? Especially with the recent news on opening a senior school.

How are the parents and kids in general?

We like what we hear, but I understand the only school they properly feed into is Dulwich College. While Dulwich college might be ok, we might try more academic top schools at 7+ or 11+. Very unknown though at this point.

However, I guess it gives a safety net if the child doesn't get to one of those schools at another entry point, they can always stay where they are at Dulwich Prep? Or am I missing something here?

Well things are changing because soon (next year? Not sure) it's going to start going all the way through to 16. They have assured current parents they will still prepare kids for exiting at 11+ and 13+, but I suspect in the long term it will stop sending so many to DC at 13. It hasn't been a formal feeder to DC for years though, there's no advantage for prep boys applying to DC (although they do tend to get lots in, I imagine ethos is fairly similar).

But I'm guessing from the scattergun of questions you have a very young child? Not sure how to answer all of them, but in short, yes it's a great prep school, the head teacher is lovely, it is strongly academic with some very very bright boys, some parents are nice, some are nasty just like everywhere 😀

2 friends with children at the prep ended up at Dulwich College, DC struggling with numbers like many schools but a popular option for boys with SEN

@OneTidyMember I’m astounded to hear that, do you mean they are struggling to attract students (which I can sort of believe, given the fees, but then on the other hand, it doesn’t seem in any danger of closing down!) or that it is overwhelmed?

The whole saga of Joe Spence stepping down after “losing his temper” at the staff party is pretty salacious though and I’m surprised no details have leaked!

Hi - we are looking at both Dulwich Prep and DC. Did you mean Dulwich College is popular with kids with SEN? Is it because they have a good provision or because it is such a big school that they take a very diverse intake?
Thank you.

DC is v supportive of dyslexia - they do a general screening in Y7 and have an amazing support team. Not aware of them actively supporting other SEN (or indeed having an issue with numbers?)

DPL has been an informal DC feeder for many years but a minority have always gone elsewhere with Eton, St Pauls et al included in the leavers lists.

Longer term this has to change otherwise their senior school wont' survive?

DPL has been an informal DC feeder for many years but a minority have always gone elsewhere with Eton, St Pauls et al included in the leavers lists.

I wouldn't say it's a minority, only about 50% go to DC, the rest go to other schools. The school is very much geared towards supporting any choice of school.

I don't know how the senior school leavers system will work at DPL, but I assume it will be similar to the 11+ vs 13+ split happening now. Out of 100 students in Y6, around 20 leave at 11+ and 80 stay on for 13+. In the new system, maybe (I am guessing), they have planned that 20 will leave at 11+, 40 will leave at 13+ and 40 will stay on till 16. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, as prep schools are struggling all over the UK.

@OneTidyMember as far as I’m aware DC is still highly competitive and oversubscribed. For example they’re not even doing 8+ anymore!

Hi,

Jumping on to this thread with a slightly different question. My son has got 4+ offers from both Dulwich Prep & Senior and Bickley Park school. DPS fees are about 15% more per term may be the difference is a bit more in senior years. But that’s not necessarily a deciding factor for us. Any views on which one should we choose and why?
Our main points of consideration are academic rigour, general nurture and care quality, 11+ results / preparation etc

TiA

At that age, I’d be very tempted to prioritise the commute. I’d go for the local option, it’ll be less tiring, he’d have more local friends and it’ll be easier to go to school events like sports day, concerts etc.

You can always move him later if it’s not working out.

@ghislaine sorry forgot to mention irrespective of the school we will have to move house. So we will move closer to the school that we finalise - so travel will be pretty much comparable.
So I am really interested to understand pros and cons of both the schools, what the general feeling is and any obvious red flags for either of them.

Bickley always used to send most boys to Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, while DP now has its own senior school so there will be a v different vibe?

Also depends where you fancy living - Dulwich is lovely but fairly urban compared to Bickley?

@Charlotte120221 thanks that’s an interesting perspective. By different vibe do u mean DPS will stop preparing boys for 11+ / 13+ and there will be less academic rigour now?
In terms of care (especially in early years), academic focus etc do you know how these two schools compare?

maybe not lack of academic rigour as they still want the boys to do well, but if leaving at 11 or 13 stops becoming the norm then they won't prepare the boys for those exams - so it might be hard to leave?

I think they've always been quite similar schools? DPL traditionally fed DC with a few going to Eton/City/Westminster - similar to Bickley's target schools.

Very different places to live though?

@Undecisive no experience of Bickley however we know a few boys who have moved from Bickley to DPS asthey didn’t feel Bickley prepared the boys for 11+. Our DS left DPS at11+ last year. Very nurturing school and our son was very happy at his time there he made good friends. Do they prepare the boys for 11+? Personally in our opinion they did the basics (and I mean the VERY basics) so therefore we had to hire a tutor from year 4 (as did everyone else) but I do think that’s just how it goes at this stage if you are aiming for certain schools as it is such a competitive market.