Fulham prep

[sarahlo10]

Hello, I am after honest reviews of Fulham Prep. I went to visit and thought it was lovely and would be a great school for my Boy. But have since heard some mediocre reviews from parents about it. Also there is no Head for pre prep atm and the website is outdated which looks a bit sloppy. Cause for concern? Any advice or experience much welcome!

Hi!@sarahlo10, do you have any feedback n Fulham Prep? They are an option for us and I want to know if it is worth adding to the list. Thank you!

Did you get any feedback on the School? I am thinking in trnasferring my son to this School as well.

Thanks
Maria

The heads of the prep and preprep left very recently, along with a large number of the prep teaching staff, which was not a good sign. The heads were very popular, whilst the management team - owner is Inspired - is widely considered to out of touch with parents with a profit-focused ethos (admittedly not unusual) clearly on show. Teaching was generally good and our kids were happy, although you won't get a smart child through the 11+ process without a lot of tutoring. The school changed over our time and seems more focused now on pushing kids through the Inspired network of schools. The new prep head is from a Hong Kong international school, which shows their direction of travel. They moved years 9 and 10 from the senior school to the prep school for reasons that no one understands, and we didn't like. We found the school lurched from one problem to another and significant changes impacting our kids were made without any consultation so we left.

Hi everyone,

We are choosing between these 3 schools and would appreciate any feedback.

Our daughter did not get into Ken Prep even though her nursery manager and other feedback we got was that she is a very strong candidate. Might have been an off day as her brother woke her up very early etc and she looked quite tired, not sure. We are now choosing between these 3 and my gut feeling says PGP but I wonder what any recent opinions are.

Pros and cons that I see

PGP - great facilities (better than most top schools tbh), outdoor space, small classes, convenient commute, seem to have good results for its size
FP - goes to 18 (which concerns me if they would bother prepping for 11+), seems popular, I did not love the facilities though seems a bit dated
Thomas's Kensington- new building coming up, results do not seem better than PGP but has stronger reputation, more posh, commute would be harder though and significantly more expensive

Thanks!

I’ve had two children in Fulham prep, moved away now. We looked at PGP and Thomas’ as well when deciding.
We loved the pre-prep under Di Steven (former headmistress) and teachers were lovely. Lots of handholding for parents and great school community. The fact that the pre-prep was separate from the prep was great for little ones starting school. The prep under Neill Lunnon was great in my opinion (we left before his departure so can’t comment on that). Online schooling during Covid was amazing! Academically, there was something for everyone. From memory they had maths sets from Year 3 or 4 so academic DCs were pushed further. Clubs were great. Friends who still have DCs at the school were very disappointed with Lunnon’s departure and did not approve of the new head but I think he’s being replaced. They do prepare for the 11+. You’ll find that most kids leave at 11 (or 13 for boarding).

We also loved PGP when looking but were told that the class size dwindles down significantly in the older year and end up with a very small class after year 2. Lots of DCs move to Fulham prep in Year 3. That put us off.

Thomas’ is a bit marmite. Lots of parents love it. What dissuaded us at the end was that it looked too busy and all over the place when touring especially for a 4 year old joining. Also haven’t heard great things about the parents culture. If that’s important for you at all.

All in all, my kids loved Fulham prep and so did we. I would advise asking all the hard questions you might have before accepting any place, including the school’s plan for the future.

Hope this helps!

Thank you, we settled on PGP after a long talk with the head and approaching some mums on the school run who gave us a lot of useful info. Fantastic that you had a great experience in Fulham Prep but yeah I think there has been a lot of changes and I did not like that they do not publish results anymore

I’ve had my kid in Fulham Prep; he joined from overseas. The VISA process was a bit fussy, but when at the school we found a great community, parents culture is above average for the area, my 8yrs old was happy at all times.
It’s true there’s been a peak in turnover both at headmasters’level (apparently, 3 different HM in 3 years) and teacher, but the climax in the school is still great. The teacher was very professional.
I’ve heard from other parents with older kids that they aren’t apparently very supportive throughout 11+ process, though I believe that it’s related more to the ‘sponsor’ factor than to the academic itself.

There has been more changes in heads at Fulham. They have had 11 heads over the past 4 years and it seems very unstable. I have heard lots of parents looking to move their children from the school.