Advice on South London Primary Schools

[Naliny]

Hello,

We have recently moved back to London from South Africa (just before the lockdown) and with all that has been going on (including giving birth to our third child) we haven’t been able to make much progress with settling in.

In short, we are looking urgently to decide on a school for our eldest to start Reception in September. We have offers from the following schools - and I know they are no where near each other, but we will decide on where to move once we decided on the school, so location is irrelevant at this point.

• The Roche School in Wandsworth/Putney
• Sinclair House in Putney
• Parkgate House in Clapham
• Hill House in Knightsbridge
• Heathfield House in Chiswick
• Ecole des Petits in Fulham (we are a bilingual family).

Any opinions or strong sentiments for or against any of these? I am completely overwhelmed by the British school system and obviously cannot visit any schools in person now either, so somewhat rely on what I read and hear from others. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks

If you're living south of the river, you want to stay south of the river. Hammersmith Bridge is closed long-term, so traffic into Chiswick from South London is bad. Also, Putney is a trafficky area, so my advice would be to take the school closest to home.
Where are you living in London? Traffic is everything, OP. You don't want to travel to Knightsbridge from Putney, for example. That's just silly. Do you know London? Happy to give you more tips. Basically, stay close to home.
And why only private schools? Why not state? Some of them are excellent!

Personally I would go for L'ecole des petits if you are bilingual. It will be a great opportunity for your dc to continue with their french in school, and I know a friend who's dc went there and were very happy. They then progressed onto fulham bilingual french primary school, also in fulham (link to school website included).

Oh I see. You are moving to the area where the school is. My advice? Heathfield House, all day long. Chiswick is beautiful. Of all the areas you've listed, it is by far the nicest one. It's where I live. I've lived all over London. Putney and Fulham are too busy, too packed. You get more house, more garden in Chiswick, more green spaces like Chiswick House and gardens. The towpath along the Thames is beautiful. It's a little bit of countryside in London. And the schools are great. Heathfield House has a very good reputation. I know a few local kids who go there and love it.

I know lots of happy children at the Roche. I think Sinclair House is in Fulham (Putney Bridge)rather than Putney?
Would agree with living and schooling the same side of the river whatever you decide and try and go for walking distance.
Hill House would probably mean a very expensive house/flat if you were going for walking distance...

Thank you for your replies thus far. I definitely will aim to move close to the school we end up picking - which indeed is why I have already more or less ruled out Hill House as per Dilemmas123 comment.
Heathfield House was initially the only school we considered but we have been finding it incredibly difficult to find good housing options in Chiswick that are within our budget. Very little seems to be coming onto the market in comparison to Wandsworth and Putney, which is why we decided to extend our search to there now.
I have just received offers from Merlin School in Putney and St James Prep School, too, to add to my overwhelm and confusion. I am surprised so many private schools still have availability for September...
Thanks for the link to Fulham Bilingual School Sleepismysuperpower, I hadn’t heard of it before.

No problem! It's a good school but its also not a fee-paying one, so you would just have to pay for reception at l'ecoles

Merlin only goes up to year 2 so you’d have to move school after that.
Most of those schools usually have the odd place as so many people register for several and also wait to see what state offers they get.
There are lots of good state schools in all those areas and often parents have a hard time deciding whether to go state or private. Given what’s happening, more may be choosing a good state school over a fee paying one.

OP, there is a slight drop in the birth rate and many London state primary schools are very good so there is space in the prep sector in London at the moment. The school offices will start closing in early July so best to decide as soon as you find a possible home.

I know Heathfield is up and coming, and Roche is great. Try also the Kew schools, good schools and a nice neighbourhood. Broomfield House, Kew College, Unicorn are the best and may suit you depending on what you are looking for.