Kew Green or Falcons

[capetowntolondon]

We are moving back to London and my DS has been offered a place at both Kew Green and Falcons boys prep for Year 3 in September. Any feedback on either school would be much appreciated. Whilst he is academically bright and diligent his personality is gentle and quiet, also more creative than sporty. His older brother will be going to Kew House though we are keen to keep options open at this stage. Any experiences/views to share?

Falcons is quite boy-sy. I would personally have a look around both again and get a feel for the atmosphere. We know lots of children at Kew who are really happy and my children currently attend the sister school which has the same ethos. The children are all allowed to be who they want to be and taught to be kind and supportive of each other. There are lots of children who are not sporty but they are given many chances to shine in other areas. Good luck with the move back

I forgot to say - having both in the same prep does really make it all a lot simpler as well. The only things to consider are - Kew will prep for 11+ which is tough for boys in West London as most secondaries take at 13. At Kew, the 11+ Prep would start in the beginning of Year 5. I'm not sure what system Falcons have for the 11/13+ but these are things to consider as well as there are limited options for boys at 11 in West London.

11+ is tough but KG feeds right into Kew House, so you'd have a guaranteed place taking a lot of the stress away. I don't understand "most secondaries" take at 13, most boarding schools do but most day schools emphatically do not any more, so if you want your son not to board later I'd definitely go for KG as Falcons do not prep for 11+ as friends who don't want sons to board have found to their cost.

We have just been through the 11+ so have more up to date info on the process. Kew House is no longer a guaranteed place for Kew or RPPS children and some children i know were on the Waiting List for Kew House despite being as their junior "feeder" schools. For boys St Paul's, Westminster are both 13+ options. Latymer Under and Hamptons are 11+ but also have their intake from their Prep schools so it is hard to get into them. St Paul's, of course, has Colet Court as it's Prep so, again, what you should be looking for is a school that preps you for the option that you are looking for - 11+ or 13+. Other 11+ boy options are St Benedicts, Harrodian, Emanuel but it really depends on what you are seeking in a secondary school. if you are fortunate enough to have two options at Year 3 - it is so close to the 11+ process (prepping starts at Year 5) - that it will be good for you to consider whether you would prefer the 11+ or 13+ point of entry for secondary school. Whatever you choose in the end, I'm sure your DS will be happy as both have good reputations.

Kgps does not provide a guaranteed route to Kew House at all. The children have to sit the entrance exam like everyone else.

Thanks Mumofthree1976 for input on 11+ or 13+
I thought Falcons prepped for 11+ too as my nephew went on to Latymer upper at 11+ from Falcons, but that was 5 years ago and I've heard things have became way more competitive since we left.

Thanks so much for commenting everyone its such a tricky decision to make from abroad. Have also heard that being at KGPS or RPPS doesn't guarantee entry to Kew House agapanthii but if his older brother is already there will it give him sibling priority?

Ask the school to be sure but I am pretty certain it does not matter. None of the other west London selective schools offer any sibling priority and I understand that Kew House is aiming to be on a par with them, academically, so is selecting its intake in the same way.

Didn't know rpps and kgps didn't get priority any more, I would have thought attendance there still helped, as does a sibling, though they might not say that officially. Falcons definitely don't support 11+ as children I know have been taken out for that reason. St Paul's and Westminster, as I'm sure you know, are very high-flying so that should only be your preference if your ds is very academic. Good luck.

You should speak to the school. I personally know parents who assumed Kew House was their banker in the past 2 years as they were at the prep but were disappointed.

Kew House have, this year, did not give any guarantees/offers to siblings from RPPS/Kew Green. Saying that, if the siblings passed their entrance tests/assessments and were on their waiting list, then they were considered favourably as long as Kew House was their first choice of school. Saying that, Kew House is getting increasingly competitive so there is no guarantee that this favouring of siblings will still be in place when your DS is taking the 11+ exams. Commenting purely on the type of child that your son is - if creative and not so sporty - I would go with Kew Green. We know boys at both schools and Falcon is definitely sportier and more suited to boys who are "physical".

Just on the issue of the 11+ vs 13+ entry to London day schools for boys, there is definitely a shift towards increased 11+ entry. KCS Wimbledon increased it's intake to 44 for 2016 11+ entry, and I understand St Paul's is going to do similar next year. For these very academic schools, plus Wimbledon, the larger intake remains at 13 but pre-tests happen year 6 anyway and it's possible to move to a prep for Common Entrance in year 7. Overall I think there is a lot more choice of day schools at 11 - Latymer and Kingston Grammar are effectively only 11+ entry, and for Hampton, Ibstock, Emanuel etc the majority intake is at 11.

Go for the Falcons, much better teacher retention there (and apparently the teachers get a staff room unlike some of the "competition"). Allegedly of course.

Azure - St Paul's has no plans on upping admissions at 11 as it has no year 7 to start with! At 11, boys enter Colet Court (St Paul's Jr in the future). This is the smallest intake of the entire school and principally a state school student one. The mail enter to St Paul's is the 13+ based on 11+ pretest/CE and the transfer exam for the Coletines.

Indeed, I meant (slightly) increased entry to St Paul's Junior (as will be) at 11. I mentioned that the main entry remains at 13, to the senior school. Even this year I understand they will have more boys joining at 11 than previously.

Yes, I think they are planning to take another 20 or so at 11 I to the junior school (with a focus on improving state school access but not exclusively state school).

the 20 they take at 11+ is not an increase, and as far as I know, that number for next year is the same as it has always been. 10 of those places are allocated at 10+ to specifically state school, and the other 10 are at 11+ and for both state and private. I don't think the school could physically take in a2 more forms in the last two years so really can't see them expanding this to 20 more (so total of 40).

From September 16 they are going to take 16 more boys in at 11+, so a total of 36. They are refurbishing to accommodate them.