Aiming to put my 3 year old son into Kings college wimbeldon

[ranjitha]

Hello,

I have recently registered to mumsnet. I have read that kings college Wimbledon(KCS) is a very good academic school. I am very much interested in putting my only son to this school. Also i have read that it's very hard to get into this school.

I am currently put up in east london. My son goes to Kid's Inc nursery. Can any body guide me on pre-prep schools which are good academically. So that they train the kids well to get into KCS's wimbeldon. Also since i stay in east part of london , should i move towards Wimbledon for the pre-prep ? I d'nt mind moving though. Please help me on the same.

Also please guide me on the reasonable and good area where we i can buy a house. Me and my husband both are working , so its really a tough job to drop the kid in the morning to the school. I have read that KCS has a school bus. So i am looking for an area where they have their bus commute.

I am very new to this schooling in UK as i am here in UK from past 2 years.

Kcs doesn't start til year 3 so choose a pre-prep and then enter for the 7plus exam. Kcs has two feeders both very near KCs but people register very early on or join a long waiting list.
Alternative is to go for another pre prep and tutor or home prepare if your Ds needs it. Personally not a Dan of tutoring to get into schools but seems yo be the done thing but at least you don't need to move. Entry to the feeder schools does not guarantee entry to KCs and everyone has to sit the entry exam.
There are also other entry levels.
Have you visited the school or spoken to families using the school?

There is a school known as squirrels (it has an official name but cant remember it) that is essentially a feeder into kings (may even be owned my them). Not all boys go on to Kings prep but a high percentage do. A friends son went from reception, but it might also have a nursery. it is in wimbledon. Not sure any pre-prep in east london will specifically prepare for that school - not an obvious choice from east london. However, there will be schools that do prep for 7, 11 and 13+ entry generally. Out of interest, why so focussed on one school? There are other schools (Westminster, St Pauls etc) which have similar or even slightly better academic reputations.

Hi Wobblypig ,

Thank you for the quick reply. No, i have not visited the school yet. I just missed the open morning of this school. As i started my school search just after that. So do the school entertain us now if we call and book an appointment to view the school and talk about the admission (asking this only because my son is still 3 year old and will be in reception for 2014 sep. ) Since the school intake is from age 7 for Year 3.

Can you please let me know which are the schools which feed more to KCS. I will be very happy to look at those schools as wel.

Coming to private tutor , i d'nt want to burden my kid with extra coaching. As of now i feel he is good academically , which he enjoy's being. But i am worried if i put him for some extra coaching , he if he gets frustrated about his studies.

And coming to my relocation to south west from east london : I am not sure about the good schools in east london as wel so i d'nt mind shifting to good schools near KCS.

Also buying a house with in Wimbledon is out of my budget. Can you please help me on the area which is under there school bus commute and reasonable on the house price.

hi AbiRoad

I have heard about squirrels. Thank you very much for the reply. Why only KCS's I have herd the school culture of KCS is good compared to st paul's and westminister where all kids from much higher economy and status come in. Since we are not from that class of people , but yes me and my husband were very good in our academics(in india) and now after moving to UK (2 year back) We have managed to get into a good job and we both earn enough to send our kid to a private school. Also please suggest me with other private school which are very good academically and reasonable.

Why are you particularly fixed on this school? There are good schools all over London, including in East London. If your son is 3 now, will he start school in Sept 2014 or 2015? If 2014, you have missed all the application deadlines. Have you applied for any schools where you live in case the move does not work out?

In terms of where to live, KCS lists their coach routes on their website so you can look at all the areas from where it is possible to travel. It's an expensive area and the coach routes all come from mostly expensive, or even more expensive, areas as well. What kind of budget do you have for the move?

If your son has to start in 2014 you need to apply for a state school asap to avoid disaster if a public school doesn't work out. Wanting a private education is all good and well but you need to be sure you get a place. Most schools have long waiting lists and may do 4+ exams for which it may be too late.

You can always get your child into a state primary and prepare him privately for the 7+

I am also not sure that committing to a daily commute is the best solution. It takes time during rush hour and it will be difficult for your son to socialise after school and at weekends.

From what I understand KCS is very competative to get into so limiting your choice to one school would be a mistake in my view. I'm not sure that the income levels of people in St Paul's are that much different from KCS. My son's prep sends a fair number to St Paul's and I know people who have children in KCS - they are similar sorts of people. Arguably St Paul's and Westminster are slightly better than KCS but the truth is that all of these schools are very good so you need to find the right school for your child. If you are in East London have you considered working towards 10+ entry at City of London School for Boys which is near St Pauls?

I haven't come across any parents at my DS's prep who have limited themselves to a single school because entry is so tough. St P and Westminster have just introduced the ISEB pre-test for senior entry because they are receiving so many applicants.

You could look at RAynes PArk which can be a little cheaper than WImbledon but very nice with transport and facilities and close to KCs and feeders.
The 2 feeders are Rowans and SQuirrels . One is coed one is boys only can't remember which way round it is.
Otherwise there is Donhead a catholic prep and WIllington a non selective boys prep in the centre of WImbledon, both lovely preps but won't prepare for 7 plus as they obviously want you to stay on with them.

You can download specimen exam papers. Even smart boys can struggle with an exam setting so I would think so preparation in whatever form is likely to be needed. My Ds can answer all the maths questions without problems but might struggle to do so in an exam setting as he has never sat an exam before. The English paper also requires some understanding of how to approach it.

To get more info maybe post on the Merton local site. Someone may be able to give you more info

Hi ChazsBrilliantAttitude

Thank you for the reply. I totally agree with your point. Frankly speaking why i have not looked into other schools except KCS is , KCS is my first choice and as you said i will surely look at some other schools in case if i d'nt get a place in KCS. Can you please suggest me with the good schools around in Wimbledon. Keeping KCS at the top Can you please give me the list of good academic schools in your preference. Since i am new to UK i do not have good knowledge on schools here.

Children will travel further at senior than they might do at prep. So I would look at the senior schools you like and then consider which preps might suit.

I wouldn't rule yourself out of St Pauls or Westminster and both are accessible from Wimbledon. I have a friend whose son did very well at Hampton school which does have buses from Wimbledon. Epsom College runs buses from Wimbledon and Kingston Grammar would be relatively easy to get to.

This thread will help with prep schools
local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_merton/a1738487-Wimbledon-Schools

Have a look at the schools the children move on to to see if the prep feeds into your favoured senior school(s). My sons' prep in west london plays sport against the Mall in Twickenham which seems to have a good reputation.

City of London Boys might be equally good for you, and you wouldn't have to move. Its intake is reasonably mixed. I'd look at it too.

Hi, I came across this post and we are in the same situation. Our son has received the offer from WCPS. And also Hampton Prep. Hampton prep offers the direct entry to Hampton Junior based on good performance and I hear with WCPS there is no direct entry into Kings Junior so will have to go via common assessment . So we are in dilemma on which one to take ? Any suggestions ?

@Lohith , I would start a new thread as this is really old.
I know both areas and have a ds at Hampton but not via Hampton prep.

I would look at where you want to live and be aware that if you live in the Hampton area and your ds doesn't get into Hampton boys there isn't as much choice (Kingston grammar, reeds, St. George's weybridge) compared to if you live in the Wimbledon area on the fast train route - (Epsom college, St. John's leatherhead, whitgift etc).

I would use journey to make your decision as your ds will do well at both preps and senior schools. Well done to your ds!

Thx a lot sharing your perspective Skatingpark97. Very useful and also Have put a new thread.