sw3 private school admissions - pls help!

[allag]

hi

i badly need some advice please!! we had two little girls in quick succession and hadn't realized just how competitive private school reception entry can be - didn't do enough research. We applied to three schools, all of which required an assessment or interview, and have now been turned down by two (francis holland and garden house - although the latter say they have put us on waiting list and places may become available). Waiting to hear from another but not too much hope - it is a very small school so i guess the odds are not great. Now it seems we are out of options!!! What would be the best thing to do in this situation - call around all the schools in the area? do we have ANY chance of getting a place at this stage - DD is due to start Reception in September? I would be very grateful for ANY advice. THank you so much

tell me about it i have absolutely hated it too - from the very concept of a child being asessed at this age, to the interviewing of parents and the elitism - i had no idea.
we were total idiots with FH - first we applied too late, then we got invited for assessment but my DH got FH confused with Cameron House and got the assessment date wrong - so we missed it!!! so wasn't to be for us either. our nursery headmistress said something to the effect that my DD was more of a "watcher" than a pushy girl so didn't think FH would be the best place for her. so i have convinced myself it's for the best.
congratulations on glendower though - your DD has and will do very well!! i will find out more about post-Hill House destinations - they ahve all the good school names on the list but of course no numbers.

Hill House do give numbers this year. I saw it on the internet. They get very good results. i believe (HH moms correct me if I am not right) they stream the kids into six groups in year four. From these the top group are taught at a very high level and all the kids seem to get the most academic schools. The children in the lower sets are given the help they need to make it to the best schools for them.

Hi, we moved to the area you live in when DD was just finishing her reception year in North London. We hadn't been on waiting lists or had her assessed for reception in South London.

Newton Prep had places available in year one, she spent an afternoon there and was offered one, and in the end Thomas's did too (having said there were six on the waiting list, when I called again a month later there was a potential spot)

It sounds like you have some options lined up, but if you aren't happy with the school your daughter attends it may be worth applying for a place in year one at the school of your choice and calling occasionally so that you are in their mind.

good luck!

thank you very much Emo - it is great to know! We have accepted a place at Queens Gate now - as me, DH and DD all love it - but i still worry, just because i hadnt been organized enough about it all and everything sort of happened very quickly and in panic in the end. And i am also a bit worried about the journey to South ken every morning now (my latest pet worry). So thank you, a very useful post - i guess we'll make a start and if it doesn't work out for whatever reason, it's great to know there is an option to move.

345 or 49 bus - if traffic is flowing, it can be pretty quick. But it can get very badly snarled up, particularly over the bridge.

i know - i am wondering if we can walk some of the way as the bridges really can be awful. . not sure if it gets better if albert bridge reopens. thank you - i feel like i have been going on forever about all this!!!

Congratulations. It is a relief when you finally accept a place, even if there is still a bad feeling about how it all happened.

I was a nervous wreck hoping until the last moment that we?ll clear the reserve list at our 1st choice school and when we didn?t accepted our 2nd choice grudgingly. Since then I heard more parents of older kids talking of moving their kids around at a later stage. And found another school that I really like that gets girls in at 7+ after assessments.

So I decided to make peace with where we are for now. ?Making peace? is not working so well so far ? still have trouble sleeping. And worry about learning to drive ? as I will need to so that I can get DD1 to/from school in Sept. I guess once a worrier, always a worrier, right? I wasn?t like that before kids, though?

Our friend?s daughter is at QG and she is an introspective, quiet child. And they absolutely love the school. So I am sure your daughter will love it there! BTW you can also drive to school ? they have an option to do a drop off before non-resident parking restriction kicks in at 8:30, so you won?t need to deal with busses with 2 kids in tow. My friend says she always manages to find parking around there.

Thank you. this is exactly how i feel - i should be relieved but i can't seem to let go and i worry. the thing is that i had got QG prospectus ages ago and just didn't get round to applying - if i had seen it i may well have decided on it as first choice. But now i am finding new things to worry about all the time.
I can't drive!!!! driving does seem to be the best option, so DH will have to do it to start off with and i need to learn, now.
i am so happy to hear your friends love the school - my DD is fairly quiet so it's great to hear. and it's very helpful to hear about the parking!
I hope you manage to worry less and hopefully your will love the school you are going to and be very very happy that things worked out this way!!! I wonder if there is a thread on MN about learning to drive!

Hi,
Some Hill House Mums in Battersea (and at least one I know on Prince Wales Drive) either drive down to the Battersea Park car park nearest Albert Bridge (where you can park for free before 9am) then walk over Albert Bridge to Flood Street (where the kids are at first age 4 to 5)
I see you can't drive, some of them walk through the park and across the bridge (kids on scooter to get them there quicker). Or cycle through the park then across Albert Bridge.
Or go to roundabout and catch 452 or 137 then walk through to Flood Street from the stop before Sloane Sq (very short bus journey followed by ten or fifteen min walk)

In the second year they're nearer Sloane Sq in either Cadogan Gardens or Milner St so either of those buses takes you straight there, no long walk at the other end..
And good thing about Hill House is NO assessment, (I HATE idea of assessing tiny kids!) and NO elitism. And fees less than half of Garden House AND no extras (Except for uniform which is less than a quarter of price of GH's)

i know - i love HH for that alone - no assessment and how accessible it is, both financially and in terms of getting a place. and I have got myself a scooter to try and walk/scoot at least some way with DD - to avoid getting the bus if traffic is bad. i feel like a bit of a plonker on it, but it is SO quick I am quite excited!! Thanks for all the advice. :)

Because HH starts so early (between 8am and 8:30am) the traffic over Chelsea Bridge isn't all that bad. LOADS better than half an hour later...
Good luck with your decision.

My friends girls go to queensgate and they are very happy,. Academically the senior school is doing very well. My daughter is a little old to change now, but I would have loved for her to have had a place at queensgate. The past two years from the junior school more girls went on to st pauls than from many of the other girls schools in the area that market themselves as very academic. Given a lot of the junior girls choose to stay on at queensgate senior I think this does say a lot about the school. They don't seem to market themselves as being pressure house, but they are getting better results than some of the schools that market themselves as very academic. Lucky you!

thank you lorikeet - that is so lovely to hear. results really have been great recently. DD has done two days now, and - although of course it is too early to tell - she seems very happy. Fingers crossed she carries on enjoying it. At least, all being well, it will all be very straightforward for DD2! :). I hope everyone has had a great start to the year. :)

Hi- I've just started looking for schools in Chelsea and found this thread REALLY useful ( and scary!). Few questions.. Hampshire School you mention, is that the Gems Hampshire School? As there seem to be 2. Also, can anyone recommend good nurseries. I didn't realise I needed to get DS down for that too.

They do mean the GEMS Hampshire. You may be confused by their first couple of years being in a distant building.

Getting names down for nurseries is much more urgent in Chelsea than schools. To be sure of having a first round place you should get names down by the summer of the academic year of their birth. Whatever age you little one is, do it at once. Bet that cheered you up! The consolation is that it does seem to sort out - there are few toddlers roaming the streets of Chelsea withough nursery schools, but it is less stressful if you get it done more smoothly. And don't forget Chelsea Open Air, the only state run nursery school in the south of the borough. I've used 3 nursery schools and it was the best in my view. (as always, for the right child...)

Thank-you Michaelapurple.... I'm due in April so not panicking yet but good to know I should choose nurseries too. The one's I've heard of are...ringrose, pooh corner, Chelsea open air, and then the ones attached to schools like thomas's, GH, EH etc. Do you think it makes a big difference for getting into pre-prep (meaning should I prefer a school linked nursery? I'd planned to keep that close to home).

I don't think there are huge benefits to being at attached nurseries, and many of them, eg garden house, only do the second year, which is a bore. There is also Tadpoles, on Park Walk, and Chelsea Kindergarten across the way in the church. Ladybirds gets good commentary I think, although I don't know it. Finding one with good outside space is one of the challenges. Definitely stay close to home - walking to school and easy playdates are a key part of the whole experience. Think about what you want in terms of style too. Ringrose is quite formal, Chelsea Open Air is v modern, Tadpoles in the middle, but more towards the Ringrose end, to speak to the ones I know. Well done being on top of it - it will spare you angst later. Sadly you are best thinking about the registration fees as a local tax, so brace yourself and register for about 3.

Streaming in year 4 would be a big turn off for me . I've seen how boys especially do not start to 'perform' until later. If nothing else it sends the wrong message to the child (who is not in the top set) at a tender age. Hopefully there is a continuous re-evaluation process at least.

Hi, we are moving to Battersea Park and have just started to look at the schools in the area. Newton seems quite nice to me and I'm especially impressed by the facilities and space they have. But after reading some threads on mumsnet, I have the impression that many families living in the area would rather choose a school across the river. Can someone please tell me why Newton is not their first choice?

Hi, I do not know Newton at all....but I know in your area there is also Thomas's Battersea, a bit further is Hurlingham School, Eaton House the Mannor.... I am sure that there are good schools in your area. If you like Newton a lot, and you feel it is the right place for your child...then go with this instinct. My dd goes to a lovely school in South-Ken called Queens Gate Junior School (there is also QG Senior School), and although not necessarily walking distance we love it and works for us. Many of my neighbours are surprised we did not select other schools closer to us like Ken Prep, but again, sometimes you need choose what you like and not what others prefer.