Notting Hill schools - Wetherby/Norland/NHP et al

[2yearoldbattler]

Hi MNers - we are slowly starting to think about where to send DS who will start next September. Would love to hear views on both the major Notting Hill preps/pre preps as well as state schools (other than Fox as we are not in catchment there).

DS has confirmed places at Norland, Wetherby (pembridge Square) and NHP where we have paid the deposit (cough) to keep the option open. We would consider state if there was a good option. DS also has a little sister so would like views on pembridge et al as she’ll be right behind him and would like a solution that works for both kids without overly complicated logistics.

TIA

[MMmomDD]

OP - hot housing is a scary world people use. And I think you imagine kids in these top prep preps as some sort of robots studying most waking hours.
It isn’t at all like that. Is that what your nephews did?

No young kid can sustain that level of pressure over an extended period of time. So - while it’s true that in these boy/girl academic preps kids go at a faster pace in the early years compared to, say, state schools - it doesn’t mean that the kids don’t have lots of extra-curricular activities and running around.
It means that they are in smaller classes, with more focused teaching, and more involved parents helping with homework. Wetherby is a school that knows how to teach little boys, they do it year after year.
Same with girls preps, most of which in this area select on ability.
So - my kids, for example - never felt pressure or stress from school despite being in what others might have considered a hot house.
And we have always had a fair amount of time for other things in their lives.
Many kids like that pace - mine certainly did and enjoyed going to school and learning new things, while having lots of fun still.
That said - there are obviously kids that don’t manage at that pace - and that becomes clearer by Y1-2. Good thing about this area is that there is a lot of mobility - so sometimes kids leave pre-preps and move to co-Ed for a gentler pace.

@JoJoSM2 it is possible that the intake at StP and W for boys has changed. These days - they have a very small intake at 11+ meant mostly for kids from state schools.
And both of them have sizeable intakes at 7/8 and then 13.
Also - at W - private schools kids Can apply at 11, but they can’t then re-apply at 13 if they fail. So it makes no sense to compete for a handful of places at 11, as the odds are better at 13.
So in the area where OP is living - academic boys from preps do NOT do 11+. Other than Latymer.

[JoJoSM2]

Ok, fair enough if parents choose not to apply for schools at 11+ but 13+ for strategic reasons. MMmomDD, not sure why you'd fear competition from state school children at 11+, though, if you think preps go at a faster pace.

Hothousing is a thing. I know of schools giving 4-5 year olds 1.5-2h homework a night. Parents hothousing is a thing too. I have met high numbers of parents who had their children working for a couple of hours a day in term time and several hours a day in the holidays. Certainly at the expense of other things as there weren't enough hours in a day. Generally, the children wouldn't have time to play during the week at all as whatever time they were awake was filled with studying and co-curricular activities.

[MMmomDD]

Jojo - I never said that parents of prep boys chose not to apply at 11 because they fear competition from state.
11+ at St.P and W intake was until very recently only available for state school boys - to accommodate state schools structure. At W it’s now available to others too.
However - private boys schools in our area aren’t structured to prep boys for those exams - AND - there are very few places available anyway - one class full.
So - most parents chose to do pre-test instead and apply for the 13+ where 60-70 new boys come into W, for eg.

1.5-2hr daily homework for 4-5yos is certainly not the norm here. Not at Wetherby, nor at any of the top girls preps.
Neither is extra couple of hours daily at term time after school is a norm.
Most kids are too tired for that and their brains won’t absorb much information anyway.
Are there parents who pressure their kids and push them too much - sure. Does it change their kids trajectory - maybe for some, definitely not for others.
And more importantly - is that the only way - no. My kid got to St.P without tutoring and with some extra work that we did together that by no means was excessive. And so are a lot of other kids. It can be done.

My point about hot housing was a different one. It’s not only about the amount of material covered, it’s also the pace. And bright kids enjoy the pace that challenges them. While other kids can struggle. So for some it will be an appropriate place, for others they will feel ‘hot housed’.

[JoJoSM2]

MMmomD, yes of course St Paul’s is an appropriate school for some boys and definitely a good choice if they’re naturally very bright and can get in with reasonable amounts of prep that doesn’t impact their lives.

However, 13+ is in reality 11+ these days as boys take the tests and get conditional offers in Y6, exactly the same time that girls have their 11+ exams. The exam format varies a little from school to school but it’s quite much of a muchness. So prepping boys for 13+ vs prepping girls for 11+ isn’t any different. Common Entrance is now getting scrapped as it has been just a bit of a formality in recent years.

Even Eton has their 13+ offers out in Y6 these days so that’s now 11+ in reality (again a bit of a formality of a test later to make sure the boy’s standards haven’t dropped).

[organiccoffee]

@newmummycwharf1
It is not all clear how the CE is going to phase out, no school has set out detailed plans yet. Regarding recently news on W and SP, they scrapped CE provided the boy is coming from an "approved" prep school that follows the CE curriculum and produce a good headmaster report confirming the boy has completed the required study of CE. Just the "exam" is scrapped, which is good IMO, but the "study" stays.

[MMmomDD]

Boys 11+ pre-test happens in mid-Fall. It has a math, writing, and for some schools a science section.
Girls 11+ happens in Jan. And it has changed in format. Some still have a Math and English. Other - Consortium introduced a new format with a larger VR/NVR focus.
And girls math papers from Latymer and St.P are harder than boys pre-test papers.

Boys then sit additional school specific exams later in Y6.

So - no - it’s not pretty much the same to prep for 11+ pre-test and girls 11+.
It makes no sense to try to complicate matters and make exam prep less targeted by mixing two groups applying to different systems with different timelines.
It just doesn’t work well.

Don’t get me wrong - I don’t like this system. I am just pragmatic about what it is.

[MMmomDD]

And the other issue with school they goes to 11 - if your boy has a 13+ place is to find a school to ‘hold’ him for Y7-8.

[2yearoldbattler]

MMmomDD do you have a view on Notting hill prep?

[MMmomDD]

OP - what you are going through is what I have seen many of my friends go through before a first child starts school.
And it depends on the type of personality one has.
One type of parent looks at the school results and uses that as something to guide the selection. They look at the schools in a somewhat pragmatic way.
The other type looks more at the ‘feeling’ they get from a school & HM when they visit.
It’s scary to chose the first school as at this time it seems that this choice will somehow define your child’s future. I saw many many parents stress about this choice.

What my many years in this educational system told me is that there is no one way to chose. And our stress about the choices is linked by our desire to control something outside of our control.

Parent can chose the most academic school and find their kid doesn’t manage there. Or they can chose a school where they got the best ‘feeling’ and heard lots of happy parents - but their kid might have a bad time there.
No amount of due diligence prior to joining will be able to tell you what experience your kid will have.

All of the above applies to the specific set of very good schools we have here in Kensington. All of them are at least OK and very good on many many dimensions.
Both your kids can and will do well in either of them.

So - make the choice that works for you and your family at this time and re-assess as you go long.
NHP is a good coed school. If it seems like the school you want to take your kids to - go with that feeling.