putney park school v merlin school

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This is my first time using mumsnet and I dont know how to change my nickname to something more appealing!

I have to make an important decision by Friday. Do i send my son to reception at Putney Park or Merlin? He is very bright (his teacher say too bright). I want him to have fun but to also flourish at the same time. I loved PP but recently there have been lots of changes ie new headmistress (lovely lady) but lots of staff have left (or so i'm led to believe). Some reviews further, make me a little nervous ie its a school for hanger on brothers, boys didn't get into their school of choice and that it used to have a reputation for being a sleepy school.

On the other hand, I didnt get such a strong vibe from Merlin yet, i have friends who have children there and speak highly of it.

I would be grateful for any views, comments, experiences of PP and/or Merlin

many thanks

Merlin is FABULOUS! Gets pretty much everyone into first choice of school. PP didn't get my neighbours DS into KCS even though his brother is already there.......

Perhaps the child genuinely wasn't suited to KCS. A school only gets all children into their first choice of school if the school has determined what the right first choice should be. There are plenty of aspirational parents in London who are fixated on schools that aren't right for their child. So perhaps Merlin does a better job at convincing the parents not to try for the 'wrong' schools. I know boys from PP who've gone to KCS, Colet, Latymer....

Yes good point singersgirl, and they always said "he's not like his brother!". Also PP has a new head who is apparently excellent so all could change.

Thank you for all your helpful comments.

They are much appreciated. Decisions, decisions!!

Think about where you want him to go at age 7 ... IMO whatever school you think he is most suited to at age 7, he will go to. At the end of the day, both schools are very good and will equally prepare him for his next school. If he is bright, he will do well wherever. He has to move on at 7 from both schools. IMO, I have heard sooo many great things about Merlin, no one has said a bad thing about. Same about PP but slightly more negative maybe more to do with the girls it have being the ones who didn't get into PH. I would take Merlin if i was you

Does he look better in green/blue or grey/yellow? [shallow]

What does he like doing? Merlin is excellent at science, drama and music so if you think those are likely areas of interest I would lean towards Merlin. Otherwise he'll probably be fine at either. IIRC though Merlin just takes the first [however many there are in a year group] in date order of registration while PP has some kind of assessment on top of that (? I may be completely wrong, or things may have changed since the period on which I'm basing my recollection) so that may impact your choice as well.

(...except that from your OP you've clearly been offered places at both, so that won't be important at all. D'oh! [engage brain before posting, Bertie...])

Thanks for all your helpful comments.

Son will definitely look better in Pp uniform!

He loves drama, music and swimming.

Will look into schools for 7year olds in more detail.

Going back to Merlin on Thurs them it's crunch time!

Have to decide by Friday.

I have dc at a similar school in the area. I do know that there was a big outflow of children from Putney Park recently - the dcs headteacher said it is interesting when they see in-year applications for places and you can see a clear trend emerging, and currently/recently it was Putney Park. However I do think that change of head is an "acceptable" reason for this happening if you like the new head and think they will be good for the school - the previous reputation shouldn't matter to you, nor the fall out, I think the only thing you need to be concerned about is whether the changes in general will be unsettling on a prolonged basis. I don't have any other particular views re PP.

I have never liked Merlin, but it is purely personal. When I was looking at schools they were extremely up themselves (LOL: we had a bit of a standoff when they said they would not send me a prospectus and would only do so in consideration of meeting my child because they wanted to ensure that I was choosing the school to fit the child, not for my own convenience. I pointed out that my views and my convenience were actually quite important in the scheme of things given that I was the grown up and the child in question was about 18 months, whereupon the person on the phone told me that in that case it probably wasn't the right school for me. This rather strange conversation ended with me saying in a slightly bewildered voice "Can i be clear - are you saying you are refusing to send me a prosepctus?" and th eperson on the phone saying "Yes, that is what I am saying"). From what I have heard from other people it suits the type of child/family it suits very well, but not at all those who it doesn't, IYSWIM.

Also - I do not like school where the boys wear knickerbockers.

I am not surprised to learn of your unfortunate conversation, I've just had a conversation with a lady at Merlin and she actually did me a favour. She helped me to immediately decide that my son will not be going there but to PP.

I am in the legal profession and therefore lead a very unstructured life. Although I had marked myself out tomorrow to see Merlin again (last open morning this year) a case of mine has been listed and I have to attend court. It's not far and I'd be back in Putney 1130.

I telephoned up Merlin rather apologetically and explained. I asked if I could come and see the head just for a quick chat and quickly see the school again. This lady simply said no. I explained I had to make a decision by Friday she still refused and said that doesn't work with them.

Everything happens for a reason. I'm glad and happy at the thought that my son will be attending PP, where the new head didn't even have her lunch so she could meet me and show me the school again. Kindness, understanding and helping others is important in my book, PP appears to have that.

Feel very happy, decision made!

Thank you to all for your valuable input.

How funny!

FWIW, I do think that the attitude of a school's office can be quite telling, and while I certainly wouldn't base my decision solely on that, it is one thing to throw into the mix in your decision-making. Plus you end up dealing with them A LOT when you have children at the school (and cannot rely on a garbled message from a small and easily confused 6 year old) - I've had contact with my dcs school office in the last 2 weeks re mouthguards, judo grading, a teacher catch up appointment and a piano exam and they are always extremely prompt, efficient and kind, which is a big help.

Have been lurking on this thread! The lady in the marlin office was very rude to me when I phoned up too - put me off even going to the open evening!

You have to consider all factors. I found the reception staff at PP so warm and welcoming. The head went out of her to show me the school. Just didn't get the right vibe about Merlin, further confirmed today. I have learnt your gut feeling is important, don't waiver bec others are doing something else!!

Didn't realise how much involvement you need with 'the office' but thanks SB from your reply I can see how important it is.

Going with gut feeling so am happy!

Plus the uniform at PP would look much nicer on my son!!

It is worth bearing in mind that the head at Merlin actually has a teaching load herself and spends most of her "free" time in the second half of the autumn term having individual meetings with the parents of all the Y1 children to discuss the next schools for their children. So "just" finding time in her schedule for one prospective parent at 24 hours' notice would be likely to involve letting down either existing pupils or existing parents.

But it's good you've got a gut feeling you are happy with. PP is a very fine school.

SonorousBip, are you sure they didn't say that they wanted to meet you (at an open evening), rather than meet your child? Merlin doesn't normally see the children at all before offering places. It's certainly true that they don't mail out prospectuses, though, just hand them out at open evenings (but they have a lot more open evenings than most schools).

Hi BNYBertie, I appreciate sometimes things can't happen at short notice but there are those who try and those who just don't. The lady who I spoke to was dismissive and had no desire to help. The manner you convey messages can give an indication (in my view anyway) as to how you are likely to handle other situations.

There is no doubt Merlin is a good school due to so many parents speaking so highly of it but I much prefer a helpful approach. I could see PP's head was very busy too but she made the effort, that's the difference.

I'm happy with my decision. Relief!

BNYBertie - this was quite some time ago. They may well now have a website or more information available on-line than they had 8 or 9 years ago. But it is not unreasonable, IMHO, to gather together a lot of information on a number of prospective schools and do a bit of research before going to an open day at a smaller number (I work full time), but that was not the approach they took. Which is a bit odd as there is A LOT of choice if you live in the area for reception (PP, Merlin, Lion House, Putney High, Prospect House, Hurlingham, Roche, etc plus some v good state primaries as well) so to a certain extent there is an element of competiton for children. Of course I did go and look round 3-4 schools, but Merlin is probably one of the closest to where we live and it felt a bit annoying not to be given the preliminary info.

To the extent I can remember the conversation, the point made to me was that she (the person in the office) didn't want me choosing a school based on "my convenience". Bit odd, no? I would have thought "my convenience" factored fairly highly in a decision as to my children's schooling.

Anyway, was never intending to - and am not - dissing the school, just repeating with a wry smile a single experience from years ago which I did caveat as v old ! As I said in my first post, from what I have heard locally the view seems to be that the people who Merlin suits it really suits. Which is a good situation all round.

I have a son at Merlin School and one of the reasons I chose the school was the fact that the school office is run by a fantastic lady ! I have only ever found her helpful and never rude. I really disagree with some of the comments on this thread as the school is very open about what it does and I think its a good policy not to post out prospectuses unless parents turn up otherwise it can be a real waste (not to speak of the trees involved!). If this upsets you then you are right Merlin is not for you but you have missed a cracker of a school.

Also I cant speak highly enough of the head teacher who works ridiculously hard to ensure that the school runs so well and BNYBertie you are right about the meetings in year one with each parent and the personal interest the head takes in each and every child. This is also seen in the attitude of the teachers as well there which is not prescriptive but they try very hard to do the right thing by each child whatever their ability. They don't have an entrance exam which is a great advantage as you know that they will educate your child towards the next school which is right for them rather than trying to squeeze everyone in one direction.

Clothqueen
I'm glad you are happy with Merlin. However whether you disagree or not, some of the comments posted arise from direct experiences. I, for one, did not find the lady on the other end of the phone helpful.

I am very happy with my decision. My son will love Putney Park.

I certainly do not feel I have deprived him of an education "at a cracker of a school"

Good luck to your child, my son and the other children whose mothers replied

Hi Irisha,

Sorry to learn of the difficulties you encountered. Glad you and your child are happy with the new school. As one mother said, it's a great school for some but it's not everyone's cup of tea (my wording!)

You are so right, your gut feeling is so important. I have ultimately gone with mine.

I did wonder re boarding school ....

To clarify, did wonder about head sending children to boarding school...

Hi, just seen this thread while searching for something else & thought I'd share my experiences...we considered Merlin for my DS. My husband rang up & subsequently mentioned that the woman in the office was quite rude. Later I rang to confirm a place on the open evening -she was rather abrupt to me too. Anyway I went along - evening was great, lovely staff & I was v impressed. As I left I heard a parent ask one of the nice, friendly helpful teachers for a prospectus. This teacher went and asked a lady sitting at a desk. Without acknowledging her, the woman more or less opened a desk drawer, picked up a copy, & flung it at the teacher. Parent looked aghast - teacher just ignored it & carried on! I said to my dh later I was pretty sure that was the dragon lady...!! Seemed a shame to be honest when rest of staff were all making such an effort. I guess they are aware of her though & choose not to do anything about it...!

HI,

yes sounds like the same person! Did you eventually register your child there?!