South Yorkshire & Derbyshire Prep Schools

[Sabz89]

Hi all,
I am in need of some genuine advice. My elsdest is starting reception in September 2019. He didn’t get into your first choice state school, although he is at the nursery, so we are now considering private schooling.

Any mums who have/had children at any private schools in South Yorkshire/Derbyshire, I would really appreciate your opinions.

Thank you 😊

try hill house in doncaster or sycamore hall (also in doncaster). all the best x

Thank you I will have a look hill house is actually our 1st choice, it would be nice to know what current parents think of the school.

Don’t know exactly where you’re based but I would recommend Ranby House. We definitely preferred it over Hill House even though HH is more local.

@Smudger35 in what way did you prefer Ranby? We have actually booked a tour for Tuesday. I was going to cancel it because we both liked Hill House, compared to a couple we have seen and due to the location, much better/closer for us than driving into Sheffield every morning.

If I were you I'd definitely keep the appointment as at worst it will help to confirm that Hill House is right for you.
We much preferred the educational philosophy at Ranby but that depends on what's important to you. At Ranby they have a new male reception teacher who appears to be doing some really engaging and innovative stuff with the kids which you can check out on the website/Twitter. Hope that helps.

Thank you @Smudger35 I really appreciate your advice.

It's our first born, so it's always harder to make the right decision! I've got little one starting nursery in September too, so hopefully will get them both at the same school. Ranby is a bit further out of the way, but speaking to my husband I think it should be a straight run, which I don't mind doing, as long as the boys are happy and developing.

If you've got one at nursery then I'd definitely have a good look at Ranby. It's a proper school nursery with the class run by a qualified teacher. They also do Forest school a couple of times a week which definitely appealed to us. Think they start at 3 at Ranby whereas Hill House will take them before their third birthday. It's more of a day nursery set up though at Hill House as opposed to a school nursery. You might want to check that out though.

My son is at Barlborough Hall. Let me know if you have any questions. Highly recommended esp if you have a sporty or musical child. Academically, it’s the best prep school in Derbyshire- apparently!