please help and advise on choosing which private schools for DD and how many school would you register your child to be sure for a place?

[mummy1390]

Hello everyone, I am new to mumsnet and this kind of conversations. so apologising in advance if I did something out of etiquette and forgive my poor English as I'm not a native speaker.
I've been very silly that didn't do any researches about schools when I was pregnant and now that I starting searching I found out that I am late for registering my DD who just turned 1 (born in July 2011) in many good schools.
I contacted Falkner House and they are full for their nursery but accept for reception.
Pembridge Hall accepts forms but although it has very good reputation I read a thread on mumsnet about demanding fee before being able to visit school. therefore this one doesn't seem to have the right principles in my opinion.
BUT... which other schools do I stand a chance for a place if I register her now? please advise school names.
and how many schools would you register your child with? considering £100 registration fee for each school?
ideally I am looking for a girls school but coed is also ok.

Sorry, not sure of the schools you mention but my kids have attended preps in 3 different areas around the country and I would be extremely wary of a sch who demanded fees before allowing you to visit. Sounds ridiculous!
Are you in London? It may help if you re-post mentioning central or west London or whatever in your thread title that way attracting people with knowledge of your area.
As an aside, I think the schools were you need to register at birth are utterly preying on parents fears. My children started at an over subscribed popular sch in the SE and it mattered not when you put their name down as long as you did it by the cut off date of 3mths before the entrance assessments. IMO, the best, most vibrant schools operate this way.

where

Yes, those are London schools.

Registration at birth is exceptional rare. I can think of one boys school which expects it, but none girls/coed. Early registration is useful for non-selective schools which use it as a way to prioritise their list, and maybe selective as a tie-break factor. But for selective schools, as long as you apply before the deadline, you really stand an equal chance of a place as any (non-sibling) applicant.

It's definitely worth looking at Hill House (an international school) in Chelsea. What parts of London can you easily travel to?

Many thanks lovingthe coast and NiceViper and apologies for late reply. I didn't know that mumsnet do not inform you that there has been a reply on your thread so I thought I haven't got any answer.

NiceViper, our plan is to move house close to the school that DD gets a place. currently renting in Mill Hill and will be renting for next two years (not the most clever thing looking at house prices!) . for this reason we are flexible with the location. I searched on goodschoolguide.com and londonindependentschoolguide.com and gathered that these school are amongst the better ones. so I emailed the one by one and registered 3 of them. but my real worry is now that they all have assessment for entry and they choose 20 out of 200 applicant!

some are not so welcome on bilingual children, some have religion criterias, and some only accept locals.

will email Hill House tomorrow. hasn't got an assessment and it's first come first serve, so I suppose if I get possitive answer means securing a place? am I right in thinking that? do you have any experience in that? the same principle as Pembridge Hall.

Hi OP. If you are renting in Mill Hill now then why not look round there with a view to staying? We live nearby and think its an excellent area. Lots of good schools both state and private, good transport links, plenty of green space etc.

The Milll Hill School foundations is good especially Belmont the jumior school. There are also a number of smaller prep schools you could consider. And its within easy reach of NLCS, Habs, Highgate for secondary if you are thinking of those kinds of schools later on. And the grammar schools of course.

I know a few people with children at Hendon prep who love it, although its a very small school. And they have spaces.

hi flotilla, many thanks for info. in fact the first school I rang was Grimsdell I Mill Hill/ Belmont Junior). they are happy to accept applications and admission is on first come first serve basis so we don't have no worries about assessment. I'm not dismissing the idea of this school but only kept it for last if everything else failed. I preferably want a girls school and Mill Hill is a co ed.

the reason I chose central London schools is that i got the info from goodlondonschoolguide and londonindependantguide, the two websites that list name of of the london schools based on their results, ofsted reports,etc. maybe my search was not broad enough but I kinda paniced when the first school I rang said their list is full! so I rushed to register at a few ( I know costly and prabably wasting my money)

As for living in this area, I would love to but it's not best for our commuting. It would be ideal if we lived west/s west london.

flotilla, could I ask a few question as you said you live nearby.
1- which state school you recommend in this area.
2- do you know of any good nurseries in this area. I read a lot of good reviews about rocking-horse. do you know them? any other ones you heard about with good reputation.

I really appreciate your comments and help.

Mummy1390. I think the first think to do is to stop panicking! Your dd is only 1! I would say it is madness to waste money registering her for lots of central london schools and thereby committing yourself to either living in central London or to a long commute. There are plenty of good schools everywhere. And don't be put off by assessment either. It can be a useful tool for finding a school which suits your child. Also, given that you are going to move house, don't rule out the state sector at this early stage as there are very good primaries. If I was you I would find an area of West London I liked, find an excellent state primary, and move on its doorstep. Problem sorted.

We are not in Mill Hill but nearby so I can't give you exact information about the primary schools closest to you, other then Courtlands seems to be very highly thought of, and I know two people with children there who are very happy with it. There are other excellent schools such as Frith Manor and St Mary's but from Mill Hill you would not be in the catchment area for those. Goodwyn school is a small traditional prep school without assessment in Mill Hill and takes children from 3 years, and you might still be able to register for there. Rocking Horse nursery is apparently good but that is in Finchley Central so not that close to you. There are several good nuseries in Finchley Central actually, but again I am sure there are a number of good nurseries in Mill Hill which would be much more convenient for you.

I think the important thing is to take a deep breath, talk to people and get to know your local area (or the one you are going to move to). You still have time! Hope that's helpful. Let me know if you have any further specific queries.

Don't panic. Some of the best schools in the country (including all girl ones) still accept onto their waiting list/booking for assessment up until September before entry.
Think about where you need to get to for work. How long you are willing to commute to work. How long you are willing to commute for school. What characteristics you want from a school, sports, drama, dance, academics etc. What senior schools you are aiming for.
Do not be panicked by schools,saying their waiting lists are closed etc. Also if you feel really confused go to events such as the private school fair in Battersea. It may even be helpful to get individual advice from either the Good Schools guide or the GABBITAS.

thanks again for your help and support, I will try to continue and expand my search for a good school and will have to make time for a looong conversation with DH to decide on which area suits best for us so we can start planning!!

thanks for tip mummytime I will look out for one of these events.

As a central london mum and if you want central London and all girls, you need to register ASAP. Pembridge Hall is a register at birth school, so places are unlikely. Francis Holland is a possibility, try Glendower, Kensington Prep or Garden House. Faulkner House has a great reputation. Most are assessment schools so you need to register for a few and they will assess your child (in some cases check you out too) about 6-9 months before they begin. This is unique for central London where there are more people going for fewer places. It is also not unusual for people to have their children sit 3 to 4 assessments. A couple of easier entry schools are Queens Gate, Hill House or Hampshire Schools, with the second two being coed.

Bute House is a lottery so you are not too late. Depending on what kindof school you like, arguably best school for girls in west london.

Falkner House, Queens Gate, Ken Prep are all assessments so you have plenty of time

Thomas' is an assessment but only if you register early enough, from my experience you are too late for them.

Pembridge, Norland, Orchard House, Ravenscourt Pak prep you are all officially too late for. However Pembridge has had a lot of churn. We were on the wait list from when DD was born until June this year (she starts in Sept) when we got offered a place. They had been so curt with us in the process that I turned them down (we have another place we are happy about). However when a friend went round to visit (you don't have to pay to visit, you do have to pay to register. You are not invited to visit until you are offered a place, though, and you'd have to pay first term's fees to accept the offer, usually within a week, so that's not far off). So if you are keen on Pembridge it would be fine to put her down now.

But your issue is you are not going to know about either the assessment schools or the 'put them down at birth' schools for another 2-4 years, so think it's a bit odd to decide where to live based on this. Why not look for where you'd like to live (sounds like notting hilly area) and then put her down for all the sensible schools, and see what happens. My strong guess is that she will get in somewhere, although it may go down to the wire.

If you want north west london btw, you've got all the hampstead schools - north bridge house, devonshire house etc. Think you should just go for it!

sorry got distracted part way through pembridge para, when a friend went round to visit having been on the waitlist for years, they were with another family who had only just registered their daughter. So you may well get a place, but you would have to have nerves of steel.

now I feel extremely silly re Pembridge Hall.... reason being, I emailed them and got a confirmation back that YES, it's ok to register your child now! knowing that Pembridge is a first come first serve I assumed that it would be very unethical to accept a disproportionate number of registreations and therefore they must still have places that they accepting forms. now knowing your comments I feel this school has got some real moral issues if they get the form for the sake of £150 fee! any way... can't do much now as I've already sent the form.
what I liked about Falkner House, the way they worded their response. they politely said that, they're full for nursery (3+) but they are happy to accept application for main school. although I've heard they are too keen on bilingual kids but I thought worth a try.

If you like Mill Hill then I wouldn't move for the sake of a school as Mill Hill and surrounding areas are fantastic for schools.

Grimsdell is lovely and IMO is the pick of the bunch. Goodwyns and St Martins's are small traditional prep schools, both lacking grounds, they use the local park, and are better suited to a) girls due to lack of space and b) those looking for a traditional education. Holland House in Edgware is similar but strongly academic, not much focus on art, sports or music but their 11+ results this year were phenomenal, best of all the preps.

Lots of Mill Hill children at Haberdashers and North London Collegiate and you could also do Channing or Highgate from there too. 10 minutes into Herts, Radlett Prep is quite big but has lovely grounds and gets very good results, Manor Lodge in Shenley is quite pushy but again, excellent and a good option for parents who want a bit of everything and Aldenham Prep is a less pushy more nurturing traditional prep with amazing facilities which gets great results for the brightest and supports the less able. The prep though is better academically than main senior school and sees a fair number of leavers at 11 onto more academic schools and to the good state schools.

Best secular state school, but you do need to be on the doorstep, is Courtlands and there are also extremely good state faith schools (catholic and Jewish) who have good numbers of children going on to the top private schools at 11 or to the excellent state faith secondaries.

You are not too late for any of them especially as lots of people use private as a back up option incase they don't get their preferred state school.

Hello Maybetimeforachange, I'm ever so thankful for your comments and advic. sorry for late reply, just arrived back from holiday.

I made a note of all the schools you mentioned and am going to have a look at their websites and maybe surrounding area one by one.

I hope I can eventually manage to make the right decision and hopefully secure her a place in a good school. thanks again for your help.

I'm now on nursery visits in Mill Hill, Finchley, Hampstead and Highgate areas, not an easy one again!

Hello, Have you considered Bute House in Hammersmith/Brook Green? It is an all girls' school, completely amazing; they select via a lottery system. I found out about Bute too late to register my DD. Luckily I was quick off the mark with registering her at Faulkner for nursery.... not that that means a thing when it comes to assessment for the school! Never expected schooling to be such a drama.

I visited Bute a few yrs ago and loved it. I was given my place of registration. From memory I paid up and was told I was no 268. There were 12 places at 4 yrs old as siblings get priority, ballot is for the remaining places. I know about 15 people who applied that yr. We all received the same rejection letter.

I once met a parent at a child's large birthday party whose dd was offered a place. A large group of parents gathered around, exclaiming, "Really? You actually got a place on the ballot?? Well I never!" Then she called her driver, stepped into her Bentley and left. Just saying.

Rye St Antony is an amazing school. Girls only with top pastoral care and ethos. It's in Oxford though.