KENT - Fosse Bank, Somerhill, The Mead opinions please, I'm torn!

[bytheby]

Help - any advice on our final three choices? We currently live in London but are moving in January, our daughter has just turned 3.

Our new house is very close to Schools at Somerhill but we really liked the Mead and Fosse Bank too.

That said, we haven't been able to do proper tours due to covid and have no friends on the ground we can get inside info from.

Thank you in advance!

Mine are at Fosse Bank and absolutely thriving. If you are still considering your options, put Fosse at the top because it's an incredible school. You have to go and visit because you just can't describe the vibe and feeling inside the place. I've been able to get a front row seat to the teachers' lessons during lockdown and they have just been outstanding. Live cooking, art, French lessons, P.E. you name it and they had a go at getting it online. I appreciate the school even more following lockdown because it's been lovely to see first hand how passionate all the teachers are and the building progress that my children have made. Happy to answer any questions you might have, I remember how hard it was to pick schools.

I would say it depends what kind of a school you are looking for. Schools of Somerhill is very much a business first underlined more than anything during the first lockdown when they were terrible but still charged 4K!. A number of people took their children out. Fabulous grounds and if you have a very able all rounder they will do well there and be celebrated. If you don't I really would look elsewhere. I don't know anything about Fosse Bank but the Mead is more nuturing and child centred so is Beechwood.

I know lockdown was really hard on lots of private schools and their finances and some parents were put under financial strain. Fosse did give reductions in the first lockdown, I can't remember but I think for early years it was 50% then a sliding scale for the older years. This lockdown fees remained but they provided online lessons throughout the day (afternoons were optional though to help accommodate parent schedules). I agree that choosing a school for your child is always going to be very personal to you and depend on what you are looking for and what will be most suitable for your child.

Fosse is a fairly small school so it's like a big family. I've always found it very nurturing and inclusive. All parents are automatically part of the PTA and can choose how involved they want to get. It's a bit of a hidden gem in my opinion that gets overlooked in favour of some of the bigger schools in the area.