Eagle House School - Berkshire

[babybee12]

Hello all, are there any current or previous parents that could give me their insight into Eagle House School. What they did or didn’t like? How the student environment is and how you felt about your child’s education/ additional needs that came up and if they were dealt with to your satisfaction.

It’s one that we have a keen interest in but would like any current parents with an open view to assist!
Thank you

Hello,

There are good and bad things -
Good -

• If you are very keen on Wellington, its worth considering.
• The long days and general ethos of the school, prepares you better for boarding school culture.
• Teaching generally OK but a bit slow-paced. The more academic kids may not feel sufficiently stretched. Good for kids who need a slower, more relaxed pace. They are not big on giving lots of homework etc.
• Till year4, its more a pre-prep kind of environment - no specialist subjects, more topic based learning, no homework.
• Year5 onwards they do specialist subjects like science, history, geography, french, latin and do assessments every half term. Its quite a sudden step up in year5.
• Compulsory Saturday school from year5 - you can consider it a plus or a negative.
• Food is excellent.
• Good teacher:child ratio

Negatives -
. Fees Comparable to Lambrook but not as switched on and professional as Lambrook. The level of coaching falls short in every department. Its not bad in any department but not great in any either.
. If you are looking at senior day schools, steer clear. The school does not encourage day schools - the push is clearly towards boarding/wellington.
. Prep for 11+ or senior school exams is minimal compared to other prep schools in the area. So if you are targeting very competitive day schools or boarding schools with tough academic tests, it's really not the right choice of school.
. Sports coaching is very average.
. Be prepared for long days - some parents like it, some dont - quite a busy school and that aspect can prepare kids better for boarding schools.
. Reluctance by staff to deal with "certain" troublemakers - not always the most fair.
. Not the best school for kids with special needs.

Hello Brittany11,
Thank you so much for your detailed message, I really do appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Interestingly our child was also accepted at Lambrook and we thought we would be based in the area. We absolutely loved the school but the commute would have been far too long from where we have actually ended up living now.

Because we are quite close to Wellington we would possibly go down the day option rather than them boarding.

I did wonder about that Wellington connection and how strong the push is for the children to attend rather than other day/boarding schools.

It’s great to actually hear from a parent of the school so that I can have a clearer picture.

After Wellington where are the next top 2 senior destinations for children from the school?

After Wellington, it is really hard to pick a second school that stands out as a school that many EH kids go to.
For boarding a handful of kids go to Bradfield or Lord Wandsworth every year.
Day schools - Every year 1-2 kids go to the likes of Guildford High, RGS, BlueCoat, Luckley.

Thanks so much for the information!

Agree with @Brittany11 review. Whilst no school is perfect, the biggest problem with Eagle House is the pastoral care. I am glad my two have now left the school. My older ds didn't have a great time there. The younger had a better time though.
The pastoral leadership at school needs a complete shakedown. As mentioned there is reluctance by the staff in dealing with certain troublemakers (kids of Wellington/EH staff, connected parents, more assertive/aggressive parents). Path of least resistance is taken in dealing with bullying which means that the weaker children (whose parents are seen to be less resistant or who don't have the connections) take more blame than they deserve and the real bullies are not dealt with in a timely manner or not at all.

Having said this, there are some brilliant teachers as well who can make your child's school journey more palatable.