Kensington Prep vs Putney High from 4+

[Natpil]

Dear all,

We are very lucky , my DD was offered a places in Ken Prep, PHS and WHS for next Sept to start Junior.
Now we have a big dilemma... which one to go for?Given my son is taking place in St Pauls, it seems logical to choose between PHS and Ken Prep due to logistics.
The fact that PHS is going “through” is very appealing, but I think Ken Prep results are impressive and the school is very modern, creative and smaller which is a pro for 4yo.
So please any advice and thoughts will be much appreciated. Also, maybe someone knows how bad is the traffic in the morning to cross the bridge?
Many thanks in advance!

@Josuk
Thank you very much for useful information. I have this feeling too, that Ken Prep is stronger academically... if only I could know how „bright“ my DD is... of course I want her is to reach her best, but I really dont want to go through 11 +, maybe because I just finished 7+...
Do you know if it is common that girls try for SPGS , etc at 11 from PHS?

A handful of girls leave PH at 11, vast majority stay.

Without taking commute into consideration, I would choose KPS (lovely school, amazing new facilities, fabulous results), but better if you are in the top 2/3 than the bottom 1/3....can feel a bit like you are struggling to keep up - but only in the later years, problem is you don't know where your daughter will be at that stage.

But being south of the river, go for Putney. Also lovely school, great head (from KPS originally) and option to go all through. Most important is local friends, easy journey at that age.

7+ for boys and 11+ for girls are very different:
With young boys you have to do a lot of pushing and directing, as the kids are way too young to organise themselves and really focus all on their own.
Girls at 11+ are a lot more mature. A lot more self driven and able to focus and push themselves. And girls at KP will be well prepared by the school - and will be pushing themselves. You’ll just need to be there and support her.
To put it bluntly - if your DD goes to KP, she’ll always have a chance to end up at PH, and will have a better chance to try and succeed at the likes at SPGS.
If she goes to PH, it’s like you have taken away (or at least made smaller) that chance for her to try and get into more academic secondary. Maybe it won’t change the trajectory of her life, maybe it will.
Almost feels unfair given that her brother got that chance.
KP saw something in DD, and those places are hard to get - even siblings have to get in on their merit, not automatically. That means she has potential. Let her use it.

Following as we are also in the lucky spot of offers from PHS, KPS and WHS. I love all three schools - KPS feels like it should be the choice as we're quite keen on 11+ and its probably the most academic but it feels a little bit more serious and less friendly than the other two? Location is not an issue as we will move to be closer to whichever we go for but i'm really uncertain about which to accept. Wish DD could go to all of them!

It's a nice problem to have! Best of luck to all with their decision - don't think you can go wrong with any of them. And good luck to all those waiting!

@ek1518 I agree with your assessment of the KPS atmosphere. The girls certainly look happy and engaged in their amazing lessons. I do feel like I’m interpreting their ability to focus quietly on a task as being a more serious school?? But maybe KPS selects girls who show those qualities at 3/4? The staff seem focused on the girls, their development, and the curriculum, which is good. Other schools staff seemed more approachable and engaging. I felt like PHS had more ‘breathing room’ and felt a bit ‘lighter’ so a slightly happier environment? So hard to tell...

We really loved the KPS facilities and curriculum but do wonder if DD will also be happy there and how we will manage the 11+ stress. And then where DS will go that doesn’t result in a 90min school run!!

Good luck in your decision making!

@itsmommy - thank you and you too! Good luck with your decision!

@josuk thanks a lot for your wisdom and input. You've put into words what i've been trying to for the last week - KP by virtue of being a prep that focuses on preparing girls ideally for Tier 1 London day is naturally going to be a notch above PHS and WHS which ultimately only really prepare for their senior schools which are just not quite Tier 1 academically. DD has been lucky enough to be selected for KP which we never thought would happen, so we should at least give her the chance - if it doesn't work once we get there and she's not academic enough then we think again...
Just getting my head round the fact it won't be Putney as we do love it and the head seems just fantastic!

Thanks again - happy to have found this thread!

I do think you mistake the fact that girls at KP are just the kinds who focus a bit more - for it being more serious and less fun as other schools.
KP does select a certain type of girl and ability to focus at that young age is one of the indication of intellectual curiosity. And selecting those type of kids at 4 makes it possible to teach them at the pace that is right for them.
(That early ability to focus in girls is incidentally why it’s hard to have a mixed class at that early age and effectively teach them. Boys, most of them anyway, are just not as ready to sit and absorb new material for the same duration of time as girls. That’s why boys preps have shorter periods and more breaks where boys need to get their energy out)

So - congrats for all of you with all those choices

That’s a difficult commute with no prospect of Hammersmith bridge opening any time soon. How are you going to manage that without help?
I would keep your daughter in PH and sit for Bute at 7+ if she is really shining. At least Bute has a Putney bus!

@MMmomDD

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

@sanam2019

Just out of interest i'd love to hear why you'd choose WHS rather than KPS again with hindsight? I love the vibe at WHS - it feels personal and friendly and a little bit more down to earth than KPS. And a swimming pool on site has got to be a plus... ! TIA so much for any thoughts.

I think the biggest point would be 11+... both schools are very good as a primary. I would think longer term. If you like WHS as a senior I would definitely go for it! If you would like more options open for DD ( and 11+ stress) go for KPS.
Hard decision, I know... good luck

That’s not accurate to say you have more options open at a prep school. You have the same options at a through school, you just have to do a little more work yourself. Most families don’t want the hassle and the girls are happy to stay. But choosing to take 11+ with a guaranteed senior school place is a very good place to be.

@texarkana
Actually very good point. I absolutely agree, it depends on the parents, if they would like
( be able) to be involved in 11+ preparation process..

‘A little work’ won’t get you far at 11+.
Your kid will be competing with kids from preps. And they do a lot of work to prep -
during morning hours when kid brains are most open to learning.
Doing a few tests after school that doesn’t do exam prep doesn’t compare to the quality of preparation prep school kids have.
Even hiring a tutor at great expense can’t replicate it.
So - chose an all through school if that is what you want.
But be realistic about what that choice means.

@jsku on that basis the kids coming from state schools wouldn't even have a chance, and that has been proven wrong every year with all these top schools.

@Rockylady

Kids from the state schools of course get a chance. And the top schools select the best from them. The schools also realise the difference in the amount of prep kids receive - so they don’t blindly compare the exam scores of the private vs state kids.
But a kid from Putney will be compared to a kid from KP as they are both private. And only very few PH kids come to SPGS, while several come from KP. So - there is a reason for that.

well the main reason that more from KP go to SPGS than from PH is also that KP goes to 11+.... while of course there are also other reasons.

Well it worked for us... the reason not many Putney girls move is because most are happy to stay and don’t sit external 11+ in the first place.

Of course there will be some bright girls who will do 11+ from PH and end up in SPGS, or other top secondaries.
But the point is - if you do want to give your daughter a chance at 11+ to ‘aim for the sky’ - then giving her the best prep for that makes more sense.
And I don’t think there is a question which school prepares better for 11+ - the one that is geared for it, or the one which is not.
Of course this is not everybody’s the main criteria for school selection. Other factors are also important. And some degree of risk aversion in ensuring a place till 18 just in case - is also a consideration.
People are quite scared of 11+. And yes, it is stressful, but most kids manage it quite well. And I do think that it’s better to decide on a senior school at 11, than just stay on at a school that was picked at 4 because it’s an easier choice and familiar place.

@ek1518

WHS - the swimming pool on site for sure, also they do more hockey, netball courts on site, really nice space, lower fees, and from what I have heard form parents there if anything it is more academic than KPS in the early years.

My only concern would have been that WHS could be too serious actually. People might think that a prep school is going to be more academic but it is not really true, WHS wants to ensure all kids are at least of WHS standard by 11+ (or leave), whereas at a prep of course they will support the girls to do as well as they can, but they are totally fine if some girls go to Francis Holland or Woldingham or Queen's Gate, not a problem for a prep school, there will always be a range of girls and the prep school tries to ensure they go to the school that suits them, they have no interest in pushing everyone into WHS/SPGS. So I think there is less pressure at KPS if anything. It's the majority of parents who are obsessed with the top 5 schools, most prep school heads just want to find the best fit for each child.

Some posters here say they don't know how academic their 4 year old is going to be, but just going by probabilities, it is very unlikely that your child is so spectacularly bright that WHS is not going to be academic enough. If you want to know the odds, ask yourself if you yourself are a mathematics professor or world leading scientist? In that case, maybe there is a high chance, but in most cases, parents and girls are normal above average bright and for 95% of those, a school like PHS / WHS is more than academic enough. And the odd class genius can easily go to SPGS at 11+ or ace their GCSE's and switch to Westminster School at 16+.

@Natpil we are ex KPS parents and I’d choose it again every time. Dd was in top half of class and closer to top in some subjects than others, so can’t comment for those that struggled occasionally. I do know one girl in dd’s class who got extra help in maths from the school in reception and year 1 so she could keep up, and another who joined in yr 1 and left after one term as v bright but didn’t have the foundation so couldn’t catch up.

Having said that, it really is everything it says on the tin. Girls are taught to be creative, to think for themselves, to challenge what they are told. They are given the confidence to excel and the resources to explore the things in which they are interested. School is very straight with you about the right fit for your kid and it pays to listen to them!

I do think they choose a particular type of girl as well as those who are bright. DD had a good friend at nursery who was v Non conforming even as a 4 year old, and she didn’t get a place despite being as bright (or more so) than dd. I think she just refused to do what they wanted her to do in the testing, and is also a bit shy so may not have come over well in that kind of environment.

So the quiet, studious atmosphere you may have seen I think is part of that, although watch them at break or in the school play or in the midst of a science lesson and you’ll get a different picture!

One thing to be aware of, we did not live in SW6 but 95% of the class did. So play dates etc were a bit hard that first year as ppl didn’t want to seem to leave SW6! That may have changed or may vary by year, I’m not sure.

We lived in the opposite direction to you so did not look at WHS or PHS but obviously heard good things about both.

Sanam that's a very insightful way of looking at it!

@sanam2019

Sanam thank you so much - really insightful. When DH and I went to look round KPS last summer we were shown round by a very sweet Y6 girl who said she was going on to (insert name of Tier 3 London girls' school) as she hadn't got into (insert name of Tier 2 London girls' school) which did give me pause for thought - how far are they going to stretch those in the bottom quartile of the year or will they just always accept a few off to the Tier 3s every year? And agree Wimbledon is lovely and the pool is a big plus!
Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts - v helpful in the decision making process. xx

@Natpil which school did you choose in the end?

@sanam2019
We are going to KPS