Help: Anyone have experience with either St. John's Wood Pre-prep or Eaton House Belgravia?

[vivian78]

We have recently moved to London from NYC. DS is starting reception this September and we need to make a decision b/t St. John's Wood v.s. Eaton House Belgravia SOON. Can any one give us some advice? TIA

i would definitely choose Eaton House. There are many more kids, more space, more facilties and more on offer at Eaton House. Also, although SJW preprep would get your ds into a good school at 7+, to say he went to Eaton house is very good and they will prepare him excellently to move on.

Thank you 100liligreen! Did you send your child to either school? I heard Eaton House was notorious of been a hothouse. Is that true? My child is bilingual and would hope to pick a school for him that is fun, nurturing, and challenging at the same time. Of course...academic is very important. Do you know anything about the school/teacher & parents relationship? (DS previous school in NY was lack of the communication and I felt not knowing what he's been doing most of the time.)

SJW seems of getting more "outstanding" notes on the Ofsted report where as EHB just overall "good". On the Ofsted report it states that "more able pupils are hindered from making as much progress, due to over long introductions to the whole group."..."There is limited use of informing pupils how they could improve "..."Children do not have regular opportunities to explore ideas for themselves in depth because time is not allocated specifically to this aspect of learning." are a few notes of concern on the EHB Ofsted report.

Are these the only two schools you are considering? You might also look at Garden House, Wetherby, and a bit different but also good Hill House. I don't know anything about SJW but do have friends at EHB. It is a good school but is very focussed on test preparation.

Eaton House i would not consider a 'hothouse' but it is a school which is widely regarded as excellent, whether or not judged by ofsted. When he is 7, if you are still in London, if he was trying for example to get into Colet Court, it immedaitely sounds great as EH prepare them so amazingly and the head has good connections. I'm not saying that if he went to SJW he would not get into the same school at 7, i just think to be at EH is great and they have so many more facilities and i would say it would be a more interesting enironement. He could even carry on at EH prep. i myself don't have kids but alot of my friends dc go there and are extremely satisfied.

Yes. Unfortunately, our relocation was a bit hasty. When we started applying most of the spots are taken. We got lucky that EHB got a space open up.

Places seem to open up at the last minute, so you could always try again at the end of the summer if you think you might like another school. Also, there is a lot of movement between schools after reception so if you start at EHB, for example, and then decide you might like another school, you could move during the year or in Y1. I've seen lots of boys move between EHB, Eaton Square School, Garden House and Hill House during the last 2-3 years -- it's not neary as static as the heads make you think. Now you've at least got a school for your son to attend, you can relax and focus on other aspects of settling into life in London. Most likely, he'll be happy with the school (he won't have any point of comparison!) and if he's happy you'll be happy, too.

You have a place at an excellent London school. IMO, for a pre-prep you can't really get better than EHB as they prepare the boys so well for transit. Take the place and I am sure he will be very happy there and settle in quickly as it is lovely

Thank you for the wonderful advice. EHB is an excellent school. My only concern is that the school seems very local (which is a good thing, I wasn't looking for a transient school.) but at the same time may lack the experience with kids coming from homes that English is not the first language. I think we have decided on EHB just hoping DS will be able to fit in.

vivian78 what is your DS's first language? London is brimming with bilingual children.

At a school that is so in the centre of London, there are bound to be loads of kids who aren't English or haven't lived in England their whole life. Don't worry and good luck

We speak Mandarin Chinese at home. DS speak some English as he has started pre-school in NY.

My son is at Eaton House Belgravia. I would not say it is a hothouse, more of school focused on preparation for 7/8+. Facilities are limited but the school makes use of Battersea and Hyde Park. Very multi-cultural. I would agree with some of Ofsteds remarks.