Independent prep schools in Worcestershire

[Mumsfret]

Does anyone have anecdotal experience of the following independent prep schools in the Worcestershire area?

Abberley Hall
Bromsgrove School
King's Hawford
Winterfold House

Any information gratefully received. Thank you!

yes we are at one of these now (wont say which here) and have seen the rest; AH is def the premier league of the group, and more leavers go to top schools nationally; second was not for us and never will be; other two fine but different to each other - K benefits from the senior school connection ; WH is a slow start school with the intention of keeping as many as poss to 13 with a fairly limited set of destinations afterwards. All have pluses and minuses and three of them have super facilities (not sold on the split site and town centre venue of B at all)

That's all very interesting and helpful, thanks janet41.

Was just wondering what exactly you meant by 'slow start' in the case of WH.
And (if you don't mind me probing a bit further) am I to infer that BS doesn't have as good facilities as the other three or was it just the split campus/town centre location that bothered you? It's the one that DH is most keen on at present - largely for practical and proximity-related reasons - but he favours AH at a slightly later stage (possibly even for boarding - although I am much less keen on that idea for DD and have no idea what the day/boarder split is).
Must admit, I had reservations about BS but couldn't for the life of me explain why... Perhaps seemed a little ... er ... aggressive/haughty?
Wasn't sure about WH. Seemed like a nice, nurturing environment but wasn't wowed beyond that. KH struck me as impressive and am in favour of the continuity aspect (personally, I hated school transitions as a child!) but it's a little further afield and DH is not convinced the longer round trip is worth all the extra effort! :-/

Any views on RGS The Grange ? Seemed to have very good facilities ?

ayc - have you looked at RGS Springfield? Both my DS & DD are there & we all love it

Thank you cafco.

We Have been round both the RGS preps and King's Hawford.

All seem very nice but also very different from each other. The hard part is working out which would be right for our boys and which would be right for us.

ayc and cafco - we haven't been to see either of the RGS schools, simply because of distance. We're (considerably) north of Worcester. KH would be a bit of a trek, but at least it's on the outskirts. There's not much in it, but RGS would be even further and the traffic might become an issue.

That said, I've heard good things about both. The Grange's facilities are mentioned a lot and we have friends with children at Springfield who are very happy. I wouldn't hesitate to consider either of these if we were more Worcester-based.

AH only gets a look in because it was DH's old school!

Slightly off topic, but never mind.

It seems that virtually all the children from King?s Hawford go on to King?s and similarly virtually all the children from RGS The Grange go on to RGS.

Does anyone have any views or background on either of the two senior schools (even if second hand) ?

ayc. I responded to your post on Secondary Ed. I dont have any first hand experience of The Grange as my DS went to a state primary school and then passed the entrance exam for RGS. However, I have close relatives whose DD is still there and whose DS has just gone from the The Grange up to Y7 at RGS. Both of them are doing really well.

When my DS joined (now Y8) the proportion of Grange entrants to RGS to other schools was approx 80%-20%.

Cafco. What are the class sizes at Springfield? In particular the ratio of girls to boys? I know that at the Grange there appear to have more boys than girls per class, perhaps to do with that school historically being the prep school for RGS when it was boys only and Springfield the prep school for The Alice Ottley girls school.

Good question, ayc, and not really off-topic if what you suggest is true. A logical consequence of choosing either of those schools, so definitely important to consider the whole package - as it were!

On a similar note, I'd be interested to hear what others think about the importance (or otherwise) of continuity (of school, school setting, friends etc.) between junior and senior schools.

I have PMed you, OP - I have DC at one of those and know other people with DC at one of the others. I can't really comment without outing myself, though..

How far are they all geographically from you?

I will say that I would probably be least keen on BS, at least at prep level, unless the geographic convenience is overwhelmingly in it's favour.

I note that Whitford/Dodderhill is not on your list.
Sensible.

ayc - on the senior side - friends who know what they are talking about (working in the sector but not at either school) seem to favour Kings over RGS at senior level. That may change over the next few years, as the merger between RGS and AO works itself out. We need to go and look at RGS at some point, but for the moment our working assumption is that if DS wants to go to a day school (we are a long way out of Worcester, so not cut and dried as it is a long commute) then he will go to Kings at 13.

I was at AO with (unsuprisingly) friends at RGS, DB2 went to Kings - all, of course, ancient history now

Thanks stealthsquiggle. I've responded. BS and WH are both ten minutes or so from us. AH and KH are 30 minutes approx.

anon, I was concentrating on co-ed schools, although have visited Dodderhill kindergarten in the past and thought it seemed very good.

I've read stuff on MN in past about the merger between AO and RGS having caused ripples. I guess this is inevitable in any school and I've no doubt it will work itself out. A school can go through all kinds of changes even during a child's short school career so it's almost impossible to predict what will happen at any school. We can only do our best! In truth, I'm sure all these schools are 'good' in the broad sense of that description.

I am marking my place on this thread. I also live 30mins or so from Worcester but would consider moving to the area. We are closer to WH and DS currently attends daycare at another Nursery. I have no knowledge of the Preps in Worcester but have requested information from both the above now reading this thread. I work in Birmingham so could commute from Worcester in the same time as I do currently. So daunting as DH and I were educated in state schools and not really too sure what to look for. I do like the look of RGS The Grange from the website.

Hi babyjames. Sounds like you're not too far from me . My DD is currently doing a couple of mornings/week in a local private day nursery. might even be the same one. Agree, it's hard. I'm not from England (although DH is) so find the different school system here a bit daunting/perplexing at times. One benefit of my celtic fringe background was an excellent grammar school system, which (for some) made for a much easier life.

just joining back in...i think convenience is quite a big factor for a prep school - i think we are prob quite close to you geographically:) The one thing i do miss with being in a private prep is the community factor as the intake is quite widely spread; if you then add in a 30min journey to your school you could find some of your DC's friends who live the other side of the school might be an hour away. A pain for after school and weekend stuff in the early years. Of course matters less later on when they stay over more. So possibly an important factor for early years. Re prep/senior - i dont personally think the continuity matters that much, and many children will be switching at 11 or 13, so that isnt a factor for us. In fact i find it hard to imagine now what sort of school would be best for DC in the senior years and would rather make that choice later than lock into a prep/senior school now.

I have to say I have been constantly astounded by the distances people are prepared to travel every day. For most it seems that they put up with it through pre-prep (and there are very few working mothers!) with a view to part or full boarding in prep. Quite a few of the DC who came up with DS through the pre-prep are now at least part boarders. DD's year doesn't seem to have many long-distance commuters though (and a lot more families with 2 FT working parents) so maybe DS's year is just strange.

That said, it really didn't impede their social lives - people just drive further for parties, etc and parents tend to stay, partly to socialise themselves, and partly because it's not worth going home only to turn round and come back again. I guess if you commuted a long distance to a city centre prep it would be very different as the majority of people would live much closer, but with the rural schools everyone is scattered anyway.

My ds is at KH, and we are very, very happy with it. If you need wrap around care, that is excellent with holiday club every holiday too which makes a huge difference to us.
We looked at The Grange, Springfield (there were only two boys there then, and sport for boys far too limited), and KSW St Albans.

A lot of KH children come from your direction - we are the other way, and social aspects aren't an issue. TBH past reception, most children do after school clubs, so socialise then.

I did a long reply to a thread in the Education section in about January about Abberley Hall.

Our DC attended AH from Year 3 and 4. I have been so impressed with this school and how my DC - so different to one another have been able to find their strengths and hidden talents. The head is fantastic too.

AH is run as a Boarding school with a high percentage of boarders but plenty of day children too. More children board in every year group as you go up through the school. They dont do weekly boarding but do Flexi where you opt for either 2 or 3 nights a week at the start of the term. My DC boarded and the care was fantastic. Day children are fully integrated, there is no difference in the treatment and care of day or boarding pupils.

The advantages for day children is the amount of after school activities and the wrap around care. Curriculum is wide and diverse as is the endless list of actvities available. The school own a chalet in the French Alps and children are sent twice (End of Year 5 and start of Year 7) for 2 to 3 weeks to immerse themselves in the French culture and language, as well as outdoor actvities and cooking etc.

I dont know the ages of your children but there is a fabulous nursery and pre-prep department within the school which has the advantage of using the main school facilities.

Hope this helps - Choosing schools is not an enviable task at all.

Rhubarb35 - how old are your DC now [nosy]?

Hi Mrsj class sizes at Springfield differ from year to year, my DS is in a class of 10 with a 50/50 split of girls to boys & DD is in a class size of 13 with 7 boys in the class though apparently there is another girl joining after Easter which would make it 50/50 too. This is our 4th year at the school and among the parents in my DC's class their certainly doesn't seem to be an hangover issues from the merger. I personally love the fact that the school is only one form entry, every teacher knows every child by name & the school has a very familial / community feel. For team sports KS2 join with the Grange so the sporting opportunities are the same I would think. I know a family at the Grange whose DS is same year as mine & they don't swim every week whereas my DC both do & have done from nursery.
Ultimately everyone on here is going to think the school they chose is the best though as otherwise they would move so I suppose it depends on what works best for your family.

Thanks Cafco. DS1 is in Y8 at RGS and joined from a state primary. DS2 is at this primary school at the moment (Y1) and although he is very happy, there has been a change of headmaster since DS1 left and there are a few things I'm not so happy about.

It would certainly be very convenient having them both at school in the same vicinity.

However, it has been great for DS1 still having very local friends from primary school although he gone on to make lots of friends at RGS, these require a car ride from us to enable them to socialise. Plus, of course just having one lot of school fees to pay is another factor!

Can only comment on AH but think it is an amazing school . Great teaching and good spirit with emphasis and reward on being a good citizen. Do very well with scholarships to the major schools but children go off in all directions on leaving. Really can't comment on the other schools you mentioned because I just don't think you can really tell until you are a part of it. Hope this helps!

. DH thinks similarly to you and CMOT regarding the importance of proximity in early years (or rather the diminution in importance the older the DC get). He isn't as worried (as this fretter) about transitions either. I appreciate that some children find these things easier than others, and agree that it's difficult to predict what would be the best in terms of senior school right now. But equally, it would be nice to have a choice at that stage whether to stay on or move schools (although I'd imagine that - where there's a choice - most would opt to stay put?).

Thanks timssister. There can be no doubt that AH is a great school. It's just the thought of that journey...when there are other good (or good enough) schools closer by.

MRSJWRTWR makes a good point in favour of considering our local state first school, at least in the early years. Putting my pathological fear of enforced transitions to one side, that might be our best option. My own personal experience was pretty unique and i perhaps need to get over it to stop trying to protect DCs from the possibility of difficult things that happened to their mum!

I still haven't read anything overwhelmingly positive on MN about Bromsgrove School. Surely some MNetters are sending their DCs there, and happy with it?