Marlborough House and Dulwich Prep

[Trufflette]

We are new to the area and thinking of sending our DS and DD to one of these schools. We have seen them both and like them both. However, we don't know anyone yet who has kids at either school to get a better idea of what each school is like. We are quite down to earth folk and we want to ensure that wherever they go that they fill their potential academically are happy and are also very grounded. Any comments from people in the know would be most helpful.

I went to Dulwich (I'ma assuming you mean the one in Cranbrook) but it was (ahem) a few years ago so not sure how relevent my experiences are...

It was very, very sporty and if you weren't in the teams you were given no attention or help with sport. It's only in later life i discovered that I'm actually not that bad at teams sports, I was made to feel like I was terrible at them! My sister set records in running at a previous school and again was ignored because she didn't fulfill the 'captain of the netball team' mould at Dulwich.

Academicallyl you were only really pushed if you were intending to go for a scholarship at 13+ as it makes them look good if they get loads of scholarships. It's a feeder school for Cranbrook (where we went afterwards) and on the whole the majority of pupils get into cranbrook so I don't think they push these pupils so hard academically - just enough to ensure they get in.

on the whole if you weren't in with a certain group of mums who were pally with all the staff, you weren't popular!

If my parents could do it again they wouldn't have sent us to Dulwich or cranbrook (which had similar problems) but this was a long time ago and I think there have been a few different heads since then so it could be completely different. they've also done a lot of building work on the lower prep since i was there and it looks great!

Have you looked at St Ronan's? It's just down the road from MH and might be a better fit for you. Great academics and beautiful facilities and grounds plus other down to earth folk. :)

Hi
Sadly Dulwich Prep remains utterly unchanged in 2013 from cogitosum's description posted above. Have heard great reports of both MH & St Ronan's.

We are very proud of our school and were sorry to read several of the comments in this thread. We would much prefer parents talk to us about any concerns or issues and would be delighted to welcome you to the school.

Can only speak from experience re MH - have 2 small children there. Staff and environment are fantastic, DC love it. Good balance between academic focus and fun. It feels like a family. Lots of range rovers and mums who lunch, as you would expect, but lots of down to earth people and working mums too. Can't recommend it highly enough.

My son has been at Dulwich Cranbrook now for 2 and a half years and I can honestly say the school really has exceeded our expectations. Our family has been made to feel so welcome, there is a real sense of community and most importantly our son is truly flourishing. We are not a very wealthy family and are totally down to earth, as are the vast majority of parents there! I would highly recommend DCPS to any parent considering a prep school.

Well I'm not sure what happened there,I'm not usually quite this chatty!!!

wow! certainly not the same at my TW school where numbers have soared, new head arrived at the same time as DCPS head, and parents and pupils seem genuinely happy.

I think the head of DCPS Kent is doing a great job. He has turned the school around from been run by bully parents. Now every child gets equal chances. It is great to see different children been given a chance to shine. Our eldest left a few years ago a happy, confident child and this is thanks to Mr David sorting out the bully in his year. I think you will find the Sports Dept do the teams and not the head. My youngest is going for Cranbrook and has full support and help from the fantastic, positive teachers at the school. People should only write about personnel experience and not Chinese whispers. I am not a member of staff, just a happy parent. I know lots of people who have good things to say about the head.