Prep Schools North London

[TLAF]

Hi there
Our son got accepted to a couple of prep schools in North London. We are leaning towards The Hall in Hampstead, Devonshire House being second place.
Any parents that send their kids to either school? In particular parents with kids at the Hall - we were warned that the Hall is "too pushy". We are up for "pushy" if kids are generally happy & content but don't like it if kids feel stressed at such young age....
Thanks

I've nannied for kids who've been at The Hall and know of other kids there. It is full on and if your son is academic and-or sporty he'll be fine. I would say it's up there as one of the top prep schools in London and one of the pushiest so if you have a child who can cope in that environment then go for it, he's done well to get a place. :-) the parents can be equally as pushy so it can be very competitive.

I have no experience of Devonshire hill so hopefully someone can come along who does.

There is no comparison when it comes to academic reputation between the 2 schools: The Hall is much more academic and has a stronger track record getting boys into top secondary schools than Devonshire House.

By being academic, it is by nature 'pushy" but not any more than other academic schools. If your son has an offer to attend The Hall, he can probably handle to academic load. I would recommend taking it because it is not easy to get a place there.

The Hall would be considered more of a prize offer than DH. The thing to remember is all these north London preps are very, very good and your son will have an excellent education at any of them. The Hall suits academic types who are self-starters, can hold their own, no wallflowers, sporty, robust emotionally. They all know where they are in the rankings, they all know who got the best mark in their spelling test (for example) and are encouraged to be very competitive. This really suits some children - and the parents who send their sons there generally go in for that. They are ambitious for their sons. As a generalisation, most parents want a place at The Hall to lead to Westminster College at 13. A handful will get in and the rest will go to schools they could easily have got into at 4 (UCS, Highgate, Habs) and saved themselves a load of stress and heartache.

Hey ho - yes, I do know what I'm talking about.

That said, you should probably take up the place at The Hall. Everyone I know would think you mad not to. Your child, on the other hand, may well have a nicer time at lovely Devonshire House.

Flip!! Happiness is clearly not on your priority list!!

I mean on their priority list!