How far would you travel for Kings College Junior School?

[Hydeparky]

DS has fallen in love with Kings College Junior School and is sitting the 7+ exam next month. My worry, if he gets an offer, is the length of the commute. I know parents have upped sticks to Wimbledon but we can't justify that. Is a Hyde Park to Wimbledon school bus commute unreasonable for an 8 year old/Year 3 child? No, we are not interested in Colet Court given their child protection problems. Yes, we are applying to WUS but there are far fewer places. Any Kings parents shed some light on how far the KCJS boys travel to school?

Mertonmama, that is exactly what I meant. At some of these schools (ahem CC) yes your son is graded and this is up for all to see. Some parents and boys cannot cope with this. Others view it differently and are perhaps more robust? But in all reality the boys can pretty much work out who the bright sparks are.

By Westminster boys being a bit different I mean they tend to be the more booky academically focused types, and some will specifically have chosen W because of its lack of emphasis on team sports, I think shooting is an option for games. There are obviously boys like this at SP/KCS but less of them.

With regards to scraping along the bottom, I am shocked at the amount of tutoring at KCS. DS went to a very good prep and nobody tutored, it is very common at KCS.

I realise that "scraping along the bottom" sounds unkind, but I am convinced it is an issue.

One poster on a recent 7+ thread suggested her DS was doing 5 hours preparation a day. Say this child gets a place, but towards the bottom of the cohort. And has a coach journey of an hour each day.

The reason these schools get great results is because they move at a cracking pace. So lots of vocab to learn, and expectation that essays are researched and argued etc. Easy, indeed great fun, for those at the top, but for those at the bottom of the class homework will take longer and can start being a burden. I have not been through it, but understand that linked prep schools will flag up when progression to the senior school is not certain. So the poor child will be under pressure to perform week in and week out. Yes self esteem can be gained from other things like sport or music, but not if you are anxious or exhausted or spending your time on a coach. It also depends on the child. Mine was not particuarly competitive and enjoys learning and clever friends (he fits cake's stereotype quite well) so would not have minded where he was in class as long as he could keep up. This is not always true, and it is quite common in London for different DC to be at different schools depending on their personality.

It could be a decade long grind, and some will simply lose interest in academics, others get ground down. Sitting comfortably in the middle of another of London's very good schools can be a better option. Top University courses have international reputations to maintain and it will get harder not easier. For most a school like Westminster, SPS and KCW should nuture a love of learning, which is a huge asset at the next stage, but this won't happen if a child is fully stretched right from the get-go. And yes, there is tutoring. Not much amongst DS' friends though in GCSE year they discovered one boy could not join them on Saturday afternoons as he was being reguarly tutored in four subjects.

School will do a lot to discourage boys from competing against each other. However they can't stop it entirely. We were put off taking up DS' SPS offer when a Colet mother with a son the same age as mine, described another boy as "not very bright". Her's in contrast was in the top three in the year group, and she was able to list class placings for all of the top set. Part of the problem seems to be that some parents are used to educational systems where class ranking is very important, and so the British approach can be quite frustrating. (And can lead to awkward conversations where another mother quizzes you on your child's scores so she can determine how well hers is doing...) Also, I belatedly realised, the British tend to downplay their children's achievements. For a long time both DD and I were quite intimidated by some of the brilliant girls she came across. Only now, with GCSE and AS results under her belt, she realises that though her school was not considered as academic, she was probably just as able.

Its a long game. There are lots of useful things to do aged 7+. Learning Latin is not a high priority. Any school needs to be right for the child. Children learn best if they are happy.

Needsmoresleep and youarenottheboss: It is always interesting to witness how misinformation flourishes!
Grades at CC are most definitely NOT posted anywhere nor are boys (or parents) told where children "rank" in their classes. The person who told you her son was in the "top three" has no way of knowing other than through her own conjecture. When we receive year-end exam results, we are told only our own son's grade and the average for the year group. Any competition or comparison of grades is done by (thankfully few) parents who care about their children's relative performance tather than their absolute attainment. The school itself encourages excellence but minimises competition. Homework is light relative to other London prep schools as most of the learning takes place in the classroom. Exam pressure also is relatively light as there is only one set of exams at the end of the academic year and the number of exams increases gradually from only English and
Maths in Y3 to a broader range of subjects in Y6.
As for sets: boys are set only in Maths and French through Y6 and also in Latin from mid-way through Y7. Setting is fluid and boys can easily move between the two. There is no stigma to being in Set 2 for one or more subjects. The curriculum and year-end exams are the same.
As for "weeding out"... In my 8 years of experience, I know of only one boy who was asked to leave for disciplinary reasons and one boy who was offered academic support when it appeared he wasn't on track to do well at SPS. He was able to catch up and, to my knowledge, is now progressing well. At SPS, in contrast to some other well-known independent schools, there is no automatic "weeding out" after GCSE.

Back to OPs question: i think the differences between good prep schools are not significant enough to warrant a tiring journey for a child nor an exhausting/monotonous cmmuting routine for a parent. I would put location and convenience toward the top of my list of criteria in selecting from among a target grou of schools. Perhaps you should consider adding another centrally located school to your list Wetherby, perhaps so you have a more convenient option if WUS doesn't become a possibility.

cherokeee, I also don't know how she would have known. However she is not the only London parent with children at very selective London schools that I have come across, who has been willing to talk about other children in quite derogatory terms, often comparing them with their own. Its rare but it makes me personally feel quite uncomfortable, and these attitudes do rub off on children.

It does not seem to be a problem at less selective preps as being clever is less of a given and not seem as all important with recognition that different children have different strengths. And obviously by the time they transfer at 13 parents dont know much about how they are getting on.

Progression to the senior school is slightly less automatic at WUS. However I can think of two boys amongst the ones we know who went to Colet who probably did not progress to the senior school for academic reasons, as well as others who went off to board. And is it a good thing to need "academic support" on top of a busy and challenging day. Especially if added to a long journey.

Needs -- very sadly, some parents seem to derive their self worth by pushing their children and/or comparing their children with others. Fortunately, it is easy to steer clear of them!
Re progression: clearly, the ones who leave CC to go to Eton, Winchester, etc (even Westminster!), do not do so because they've been "weeded out" but, rather, because they or their parents have decided they prefer a boarding school. The "academic support" I mention is not a burden on top of a busy and challenging day, but rather just additional guidance to develop study techniques, organise work, etc. I agree that any child who requires intensive help to catch up (at any school) would be better served by moving to a less challenging school.

btw I did not intend to strike out Wetherby in my previous post!! I meant to suggest as an alternative very good school for OP presumably with an easier commute for her son -- if WUS does not become an option.

Thank you for your collective wisdom. Do you consider Wetherby Prep to be a good school for a boy who would be a natural fit for CC or WUS? My only concern with it not being fully selective at 8+ (as the Pre-Prep boys automatically join if they didn't qualify for KCJS, CC or WUS) is that the Prep has to cater for boys of a wider range of abilities and may not stretch the most able boys. Is that incorrect?

I assume but am not sure that most boys who attend Wetherby will not have been offered places at Cc, WUS, Kings, etc. (ie it might be a "second choice; or perhaps some very sensible Wetherby parents chose to simply move their boys up to the Prep school to avoid the craziness of the 8+ scrum). However, many Wetherby Prep boys do move on to SPS, Westminster, Eton, Windhester, etc -- so I think it's likely the school either "stretches" the boys or provides good exam preparation or both. My impression from talking to parents of a large handful of boys is that it is an excellent school and brings out the best academic results from each boy while providing a caring and enjoyable environment.