Academic pre-preps in north London for 7+ exams?

[newbieLdn]

Hi all, long story short: I was thinking of signing up for 4-5 schools, say 2 non-selective and 2-3 with assessments at 4. Which would you recommend? I only have 1 certain position on my list, Hampstead Hill. So that’s a very good non-selective pre-prep which prepares for 7+.

Long story: DS is due in November; we’re thinking of putting the name down on waiting lists for a number of North London based pre-preps. We’re in Islington, so it’s going to be a bit of a trek but based on what I’ve read on here, the choice of schools in our area is rather limited. Perhaps we’ll move closer to Hampstead/Highgate in the future.

DH is in academia/maths, obviously it’s impossible to say what sort of child we’ll get but he’s already talking how he will want to spend hours with his son doing maths puzzles or brainteasers etc – he himself loves this stuff. So there is a chance the boy will lean towards sciences. Therefore, at the moment we’re planning everything with the goal to have DS take 7+ exams to WUS, St Pauls, etc – schools with strong focus on sciences. By the way, I actually hate the idea of planning so far in the future and would love to leave the decision until later; however it seems that in London that isn’t really an option, and one needs to sign for at least some schools at birth or soon after, and certainly before we find out what DS enjoys or is good at.

Schools I don’t have on the list: The Hall (strong academically - and difficult to get into! – but not preparing for 7+), Highgate pre-prep (not preparing for 7+), Devonshire House (I’m hearing it’s not that strong academically).

Views?

Thanks for reading!

I think this may seem like a very pressing matter when you’re about to go through a massive change in your life, and it’s tempting to try to to bring some level of certainty to the fundamentally uncertain process of becoming a parent - but honestly, for your own and your baby’s happiness I’d park this for now, focus on your remaining pregnancy, birth, and your new baby, then come back to it when your baby is a bit older and you have an idea of his personality and interests (as opposed to his father’s).
If it helps, my daughter is now happy in Reception at a north-London pre-prep, despite the fact that we only started the process when she was the grand age of two.
Good luck with your new baby

And there are state schools in Islington that will do the job with a bit of a top-up at home for 7+. I know kids who've done this, but then loads more who've done the 11+ and got into the sort of schools you've mentioned (not St Paul's as why would you travel all that way?), thus saving a few more years of fees/crazy journeys.

You really don't need to map out child's life at this point, you really don't. I don't know about 7+ but at 11 you've just got to fill in the forms the November before they'd enter the school.

But if you're determined, you should look at the Children's House.

st johnwood pre prep also prepare for 7+

majority of 7+ pre prep schools are in central / south / west though

Nothing wrong with thinking ahead- the sorts of schools you are considering will all have different deadlines and they can be ridiculously early. However, do try to think of all possibilities- I know your DH is in academia but it doesn't follow that your DS will be academically gifted or that his abilities will be in the same area- he could be an amazing musician or a brilliant sportsman or anything. I wonder whether you've decided on what you would like you DS to achieve and are working back from there (so Regius Professor of Physic at Cambridge, which means he'll probably do X, which means he must have done Y etc etc- obviously I am exaggerating...) and ended up with WUS/CC at 7. By all means think about this stuff- I'm a planner too- but I'd be considering a far wider range of possibilities than WUS/CC at 7. Also it's really lovely that your DH is looking forward to doing brainteasers together but again, your DS might have other plans! Remember also that choosing the right school is not just about ability but also personality. I'm an OW and I loved it there but it's definitely not for everyone!

If you are in North London, both WUS and CC are going to be a horrendous schlepp. Westminster at 13 would be much easier practically, as he could go by tube on his own. Which points to the normal academic preps, of which The Hall is obviously a great example. Is there a reason that you'd like to move him at 7, other than to get him in as early as possible? Leaving it a little later and doing a separate prep school would give you more options, as well as allowing you longer to decide on what sort of school would suit him best (which might be somewhere else entirely).

Highgate is a great school but best if you intend to stay there throughout- that's what its curriculum is designed for. They don't prepare boys for entrance tests at any age, meaning that moving at 7 isn't ideal and moving at 13 is extremely hard (they don't follow the Common Entrance syllabus so you would have to do a great deal of tutoring). Not saying you should disregard it- it's a fantastic school, less academic than eg Westminster in terms of averages but with plenty of highly academic pupils getting absolutely top results. But it's not the best place if you want to move- generally only a few children leave at 7 (usually because they need more support) and only a handful at 11. Same goes for UCS.

Devonshire House is a nice school, less academic than the Hall. Doesn't specifically prepare for 7+ as you know.

Someone suggested the Children's House- my understanding is that it's a lovely school and it prepares for 7+ but very much in a way which is based on nurturing the child in the round and letting them develop naturally at their own pace- which is obviously fantastic but not necessarily a ticket to WUS/CC.

Have you thought about North Bridge House? Again I don't think they prepare for 7+ but worth a look.

The only place that goes to 7 and is in Islington is the Children’s House.

Apart from that, have you looked at Mulberry House? I think that goes to 7.

Both the schools you’ve mentioned have entry points at 11 and 13 as well as 7. I know that this isn’t what you asked but it might be worth putting him down for some schools that go to 11 or 13 which have a good record of getting boys into the sort of schools you want.

Off the top of my head:

St Anthony’s
He reward House
The Hall
Arnold House
St Paul’s Cathedral

Would prepare your child for entry at 13.

Golders Hill.
Avenue House
Annemount (less good for boys anecdotally)
Hampstead Hill
Mulberry House

I think that's basically it for Nw London pre preps