Caterham Prep vs Banstead Prep

[lilC]

Hi, my husband and I are relatively new to England (from NZ), and are trying to navigate the UK schools system. DD is 1 year and the private schools we have seen said we have to apply now for prep school.

We visited Caterham Prep school and liked what we saw, but would like to hear from parents with kids that attend there:

1. What is the proportion of working parents? We are working parents and we would like our DD to attend a school with children from a mix of backgrounds.
2. How are they on academics vs arts / sports etc. If your child is not very academic, do they still have a place there?
3. How is the level of bullying? And do they deal well with bullying?
4. Do you know how well kids from minority backgrounds fit in?

We also looked at Banstead, I felt more comfortable with the teachers (are more approachable), but not sure about the school's stability since its a new product from a merger - any thoughts?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I don’t know Caterham Prep but Banstead Prep seems to be growing. Before the merger, the schools were single sex and it seems that become co-ed has made it more popular. When we looked round, I though Art looked very strong there.

Have you looked at Royal Russell? Sounds like it might be not too far. Lovely grounds, facilities and definitely diverse.

Thanks JoJoSM2. I will have a look at Royal Russell, although I think with traffic it might take a while to get there from Kenley.
Thanks!