Wimbledon. How early to register for Pre- prep and prep? Chances of success?

[Spencerette]

Does anyone have an idea of how early you need to register for schools like Squirrels, the Hall etc to have a good chance of getting a place?

After a terrifying conversation with a neighbour when ds was tiny I registered him with Squirrels and the Rowans when he was only about 6 weeks old. Sounds totally bonkers but it seems to be necessary - or was she just scaring me? Now that he is nearly a year I'm realising that there are other schools I should have perhaps registered him for - the Hall for one and perhaps others.

Does anyone have any insight into how early one has to register and if there are other things I should be doing. Said neighbour advised that I effectively suck up to the admissions people, but for goodness sake how are you meant to do that and isn't it a bit odd? (I accept my neighbour is a loon)

I'm not sure I can answer this, having had children go thro' the state system BUT it sounds to me as if your neighbour has been scaremongering....

Take a deep breath and I would contact the other schools you are interested in to go and look round etc......I'm assuming that you haven't parted with any money to register your DS? I'm sure all is not lost....

I know that for some of the elite public schools one has to be very quick off the mark but I think your neighbour is extremely deluded.

Perhaps it would be worth investing in one of those schools' guides to get an unbiased perspective....

Incidentally where did your neighbour's DCs end up going to school????

As we have learned ourselves with the minefield of 11+ grammar school exams, there are a lot of parents around doing a lot of 'spin' without really knowing what they're talking about!

Good luck!

Kings feeders as soon as you can I.e. As soon as they are born if you can.
The Hall no need to register early they apparently will open another class if they need to. Donhead not ridiculous the year or 2 before reception starts I think. I assume you are looking a t boys schools.

By the way you do realise that the Hall is he antithesis of SQuirrels? You are probably just keeping your options opened just strange to see those 2 schools in the same sentence.

Thanks for the replies.

Um, hadn't realised that the hall and squirrels were so dissimilar. It is so hard to tell from the prospectus what sort of ethos a particular school has. Is it the fact that squirrels is very academic and 'hothousey'? What is the best way to get a feel for these things? Is it just chatting to people?

I thought Donhead was catholic and so haven't registered. Have I got that wrong?

Hi Spencerette

I would suggest that you keep your ears to the ground and wherever you are, if you hear anyone talking about any of the schools in which you are interested, prick up your ears and don't be shy to actually ask them questions directly (unless it seems very obtrusive).

Mothers of school-age children are usually quite happy to share info, although you do need to go with a number of views before forming an opinion (there are parents out there who may spin you a yarn to throw you off the scent of a good school!).

The other thing to do would be to hang out in closest coffee shops to the relevant schools.

After a while you just start to absorb the relevant info without really knowing how!

And go with your own instincts when you visit the schools - although on paper (or in a glossy brochure) there may be little to distinguish twixt the schools, radically different approaches will be obvious virtually from the moment you step over the threshold!

And keep monitoring talk threads.... It may be worth asking the same question on neighbouring Mumsnet Local websites (or asking the question and then posting the thread link to direct them here) - I presume some of the pupils of the schools you are interested in could come from Wandsworth (Putney direction), Kingston etc.....

OP have you considered Willington . You don't need to register early maybe the year before.
Definitely Big difference between squirrels and Hall , 2 extremes of a spectrum. My advice would be to gave a clear idea of what you trying to achieve e.g. To get into Kings or to stay in same school until 11 or 13?
Do you want to be trying to sit for 11plus or 13plus common entrance. Although this may seem far away for your Ds it is important in choosing a school.
The Hall has a senior school, Donhead finishes a 11, Willington at 13 and the KIngs feeders finish at 7 .

Go visit all the schools
Things will definitely become clearer then

I can really recommend the Hall School, but obviously it depends on what type of school you want for your child