Please can anyone recommend or give feedback on private schools in Hove? - Deepdene, the Fold, St Christophers, Lancing Prep, Windlesham?

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All the Hove primary schools are oversubscribed so we are looking at private options. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I can't really help but my mum teaches music at Deepdene, so I know they have an excellent music department!

Thanks kittywise - Deepdene seems a nice school. Does anyone else know of it? Lancing Prep looks lovely but not walking distance and very expensive.

I went to look at Lancing Prep and really liked it, v traditional though and I would also be concerned about it being connected to Lancing.

St Christophers is meant to be good at getting children into schools, particularly Brighton College - the parents there complain that the St Christopher's children get all of the scholarships! I know someone with a child there, and they like it, but don't rave about it.

I have heard good things about the Fold.

Deepdene are excellent - I can recommend them as a member of staff and as a parent. (I was a parent before I became staff.) Both my children have attended - my oldest is now at Roedean and my son is still at deepdene & loving it. The results are good because class sizes are small and kids get individual attention. As Kittywise says the music is excellent - this is an area I am experienced in. They are also very strong on maths & reading as well as drama. A good all round school with a family atmosphere. Its isn't big so don't expect huge facilities but it does a lot with what it has.

Thanks so much for your feedback - it is a huge help to me.

Beattiebow, Lancing Prep looks lovely but think it would be too expensive as it jumps to £12k pa at year 3 (arghh!). St Christophers do get lots of scholarships but I wonder if children would be happy with all that pressure. They have a new Head so maybe it will change. We are thinking about the Fold - but it seems to get very small at junior school age. I think most of the children are on waiting lists trying to get into local state schools.

Abracadebra, thanks we like Deeepdene. Our only concern is that there isn't much outside space. We have a son and he likes playing outside. I guess we need to compromise on something. Has this ever been an issue for your son?

My DS went to Lancing Prep from a state primary and I would highly recommend it. Don't be put off by the tie up with Lancing College; the headteacher is brilliant and will help you to select the right senior school for your child.

We also looked at St Christophers and were keen on this school until our look around LCP. The cost was an issue, but you can always ask about bursaries? Must add, my neighbour's daughter went to Deepdene then St Christophers and was very happy with both. I guess it's a case of picking the best school for you as a family. Good luck.

I am a little out of the loop, but isn't it the case that at least 2 primaries are having additional intake classes this year? Goldstone and one other I think are adding an extra reception class. Sorry if you already know this and the schools are still oversubscribed.

Have you also looked towards Portslade? Peter Gladwin is liked by a lot of people, and has had spaces every year in the past.

Thanks for your advice - it would be much easier for us to send him to Deepdene or one of the other schools on New Church Road as we could then walk to school and he would have local friends. Anyone else with experience of Deepdene? Cheers

Not personal experience but I also knew a member of staff at Deepdene and going by that would be a huge recommendation. I hear the children are very happy there.

Did a fair bit of research on independent schools myself (opted for one nearer me) and in this time visited Fold and thought it was lovely - very small, family like atmosphere. Lovely dining room. Not a typical independent school - more like a dream state school if that makes sense. Cross section of pupils but small and one to one attention. Based on Montessorri principles to a degree but not officially. Bad outside space but they do outings. Very strong community feel - parents are all friends etc.

Again - just word on the street but I hear St C is v. pressured. Quite a "male" environment better suited to boys than girls. As it has a reputation for being a feeder to B.College I'd imagine heavy work loads to tie in with what would be expected from them in BC.

I'd visit them all (not with children in tow) and get a gut feeling for the atmosphere as this is the best way to judge a good fit in my opinion. Good Luck.

...p.s. just re-read your post. My dd is at Windlesham and loving it. Lots of outside space and sport/pool etc but on the downside it's a drive from where you are. My friend chose Windlesham and she is v near you by the sounds of it but is happy with her choice.

Having said that (last post I promise!!) if I were in your shoes I'd probably favour local friends/walking to school over outside play area. I never thought I'd think this as it was one of my initial criteria for a school but I think being local / easy after school playdates etc overrides this. They can always go to the park after school!

Thanks so much - lots of decisions to make! I keep changing my mind about what is more important - the locality or the school itself. I think it's between the Fold and Windlesham. Just to confuse matters the Council are producing a New School from somewhere but how on earth can you make an informed decision when you can't visit it!

ps Nettlefairy, are there many children from down my way? - I like the sound of Windlesham but would be nice if he had local friends.

St Christophers is owned by Brighton College, I guess thats why they get a lot of the scholarships!

My family and I have just moved to Hove and my daughter has started in Year 2 at Windlesham. Considering she loved her old school, she has made THE best start at Windlesham and is loving every minute. It's a lovely school, not too big, not too small and I am very happy with the decision we've made. Good luck with the decision making....it's not easy :)

Thanks internetaddict, hope you are settling into Hove well. Do many from Windlesham live in Hove / West Hove? Just wondering about where his friends would be if he went there. thanks

To be honest it's a real mix. There's children from Brighton, West Hove, Hove, Fulking. My daughter has been to 2 friends houses so far and there's the lovely Dyke Road Park opposite which quite a few mums and children go to after school. My 3 year old son goes to the nursery at Windlesham too and has settled well. When does your son start Reception, is it next September?

I have only ever heard good things about Windlesham, both the school and the nursery, also my friend works there and enjoys it.

He will start next Sept 11. We went to see the Fold today and we like it. The facilities aren't as good as Windlesham but we really liked their approach to teaching and the teachers all seemed really nice and caring. The big plus is that we could walk there and most of the children are local. I haven't heard anything negative about Windlesham either but we can't change where it is! Thanks again for all the useful advice.

I'm glad you liked the Fold - it seemed a lovely school to me too, but not local. Must be a relief. From what a know, quite a few from Windlesham live near you, but not as many as live near the Fold - most walk to school.

Thanks nettlefairy, we went to see Lancing Prep today and that's fab too! The Head was great. He may still go into a State school - but once you start looking at the independent ones the class size in State schools seem huge! I worry about my boy being summer born and also he's a bit shy and I guess that's why the Fold appealed. I'm not sure how he would cope in a class size of 30 but maybe I underestimate him.

Hi any Windlesham parents online? My daughter will be joining Windlesham Yr 1 after half term, I just came across this old thread. I have the same concerns as Nettlefairy in that I really would like my daughter to go to a local / walkable school but none has a place which we are gutted about (we will live very close to Downs infants / Balfour primary, moving to Blakers Park). This is an old thread but wondered if anyone is still about or any other parents with children at Windlesham could tell me their experience of the school / whether children come from Fiveways area at all? Seems a lovely school but I am concerned my daughter won't have local friends.

Windlesham has a really broad scattering in terms of where the children live so there is a good chance that at least two or three in the year will be near. Also, when they are in y2/3 the kids tend to go home to each other's house after school so it doesn't matter so much where they live. Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions.

If anyone is reading this old thread and would like parent feedback about Deepdene School then please let me tell you that it is an excellent school! All my children are very happy there and achieving really well academically. Deepdene has just had an amazing Ofsted report which is worth a read !

Thanks for all your school feedback. It prompted us to add Windlesham and Deepdene to our list of schools to consider. Deepdene School turned out to be the best option for us. We didn't like the atmosphere at St. Christopher's School at all, and although Windlesham and Lancing Prep seemed like nice schools, their academic standards didn't compare to Deepdene. Deepdene was the best of both worlds. The children there were clearly working at a very high level for their age and all seemed to be enjoying their time at school. You're right Gardner321 their Ofsted report really is amazing! Such a relief to have made our choice! I'll back for feedback about senior schools in a few years!