Eaton House Belgravia

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Any views or experience very welcome as we don’t know anyone with sons at this school....

if you search the forum, there are quite a lot of posts about EHB. An academic hothouse, with excellent 7+8+ exit result. One of the major feeders to the top London boy schools.

I think lots of the posts on here will be slightly outdated. They have had change of ownership, change of Head, then change of Head again, quite a bit of turnover, some strategic changes... still a very good school academically but I would see how things develop over the next years.

I agree the school has changed quite a lot in recent years and any older posts here will certainly be outdated. It used to be a very "English" pre prep, a hothouse very strong on academics with aim of getting boys into top Prep schools at 7+ and 8+.
Couple of years ago owners sold the school to a private equity firm. They lost the Head who had been at the school for over a dozen years and many experienced teachers left too. They've created a new Prep school taking boys from 8+ and parents panicked slightly wondering if this will dilute the incentive to prepare boys for 7+/8+ exit.
I can't speak for the 8+ class but certainly for 7+ I was underwhelmed with how little support and exam specific preparation the boys got. The results were still excellent, as they always are, but most of the work was done by parents outside school majority of them with tutors. Of course school will take the credit for those achievements and I think that's the biggest misconception about Eaton House Belgravia - that a non selective school can magic up great exit results. It's mostly due to parental input!

We are really considering this school for our son....any recent experience of the quality of the current teachers? I know it's a hothouse but do the boys have time to enjoy themselves (sport, art, music) as suggested at the recent open day and the prospectus/website?

We have a very enthusiastic head of PE who manages to do sport very well, considering this is a town house central London school with no outdoor space at all! Sporty boys have plenty of opportunity to do sports and compete in teams against other schools.

The current teachers are a mixed bag. Some are excellent others are very poor. Pot luck who you get! We are on to our 3rd Head in as many years which has affected the atmosphere negatively.

Art and Music is underwhelming but if that's your priority - for your son to "enjoy himself" you are picking the wrong school. EHB is a pre prep with objective of preparing boys for very competitive and very brutal exams at the age of 6 or 7. It has to be a hot house and therefore the boys simply do not get a rounded education. I always say to parents to be clear what they want. If you want a rounded education with plenty of extra curricular and lots of fun pick a gentler prep that goes all the way to 13+ and can afford to go at a slower pace in the early years.

Equally don't be seduced by stunning 7+ and 8+ results thinking your son is guaranteed success. The kind of parents who choose pre preps for sons are very driven and will do all it takes. Sure, school provides a framework but much of the work was done outside school. There were boys in our class receiving 8 hours of private tutoring a week at home. At the end of the slog not all boys end up at the coveted top schools like St Paul's or Westminster. In a typical year about a quarter of the year, the top boys, will end up at these schools. The vast majority will go elsewhere and could have saved themselves all that slog in the first place.

thank you artfrieze that is very helpful (if a bit depressing).

Are you generally pleased with it?
What happened with the previous two heads?

Most of the posts on MN about EHB are indeed old, from previous headships and when there was no EHB Prep.

I did notice from the open day that there isn't much art or drama going on - and what music there is, seems mainly to be whatever parents organise individually for their sons. They said though that there is no need to tutor for 7+ or 8+ although lots of parents do it anyway, just so no stone is left unturned...

We've had highs and lows but if I could do it all again I would choose a different school.
The first head took early retirement. We think it was her choice but you never know. The second head was promoted from deputy position for a short period then left suddenly - parents were informed only a few days before start of new year!!
The school is going through a significant transition at the moment. Introducing a new Prep allowing boys to stay to 13+ may dilute the" hot house" atmosphere and offer a more rounded education and more "fun" as you said earlier. But then I think if you want a all-through to 13+ prep school there are so many other better options in the area with more space. Eaton House's big selling point was the excellent pre-prep and admissions record, if that gets diluted hard to see why you would choose that school above others.

The tutoring is rife and is essential to get the top schools, especially at 7+. The school simply does not do enough.

That's interesting. We were at EHB open day last wednesday and theu seemed clear about what the goal is. We are not dead set on EHB but it is convenient and we like the idea of a traditional pre-prep/prep.
But out of interest, isn't the tutoring just parental hysteria? Which school does enough for the 7+. I can't think of any other preprep that gets kids into WUS/St Paul's at 7+ in those numbers. Hampstead hill, Mulberry house, Merlin get just a few in as do the other pre-preps. Parents at these schools also speak of tutoring.
I guess the best thing is to look for the school that will provide your child with a broad curriculum, academic stretching and let the chips fall where they may. Our boy starts reception in 2019. Any suggestions welcome!

Just checked with some friends with boys in EHB.
One mum in year two is very happy as her DS1 is starting in their dream school in September after a super good 7+. And her DS 2 is due to join ehb soon.
One mum with a boy in year 1 is very anxious now as the form teacher is not very experienced in 7+. She said they just had a 7+ information evening yesterday, and the head provided plans going forward.
My own boy's school used to have sports fixtures with ehb , and I think they are playing at a very good standard. I don't know much about arts or music.
I think parents need to know what you want for your boy. Are you set on 7+8+ route? Or are you still not sure? If you are against 7+8+, then obviously it's not the school for you. For 7+8+, prepreps and the boys only have about 1 year to study up to 3 years of material. You will certainly need to make adjustments, and choose priority. Even the school does encourage all-round learning, will your boy have the time and energy to do all those? And there is no magic school in London that can send boys to top London day schools without extra tutoring (either tutor tutoring or mummy tutoring), selective or non-selective.
If you want to have back up plans, I think Falkner boys school is a good alternative as they go up to 11 and also prepares for 7+8+ if they think the boy is ready.

artfrieze could you explain a bit more about how the school’s prep for 7+ falls short? I thought that was the whole point of these schools....

At every school like this, the parents moan the school doesn't do enough to prepare for 7+. Because if a boy isn't mature enough for 7+ or isn't bright enough to meet the required standards, the schools can't do anything. There is no magic guarantee

Hi All - I just registered our DS on the Eaton House website. He is 10 weeks old. Do you think we are too late? What are the chances of getting in? Also, I was surprised to find that they did not ask for a registration fee on the website when I registered. I hope I did not miss any steps :s