Seaton House School parents anyone?

[commuters30]

This forum has been INCREDIBLE in what is proving to be a mind boggling challenge : choosing primaries.

We want our DD to excel academically, but has anyone had personal experience (or know someone that has) of Seaton House School?

They are consistently ranked top 5, their SATS are super and they have 50-75% of their 20 girls going onto the local super selective grammars like Nonsuch.

But they are small, and I hear the term "hot house", yet they seem friendly from what I can tell and girls seem happy.

Anyone with experience or views of this school?

DD has a best friend who went there (Year 7 Nonsuch) and her sister will start next year (Year 6 Seaton House) and there are certainly at least 2 or 3 others from the year there (there may well be more these are the ones that DD has mentioned to me).

I know the parents really liked it - as for her friend I think at times she did find the number of pupils to be slightly restricting in terms of friends and she is noticeably the one who needs a bit of managing in terms of friendship because of that (nothing serious though).

The parents concern was I think if Nonsuch didnt work where to do from there - have a look at where they go

Thanks so much @Quartz2208 ! Really great to hear from real parents who know people there.

Seaton appears to have a substantial number going to Nonsuch and Wallington Girls (12 of 19 this year!), otherwise Sutton High or Epsom College. Locality means Tiffin is pretty much out...

The point around small friendship group makes sense. I always thought it is either a blessing (close knit, small community) or a problem (no escape to see friends in other classes given there is only one intake per year).

As long as the girls there are happy then together with their academic achievement that sounds like a great school despite the facilities being limited...

Yes the parents I know were right on the street of Seaton High so Sutton High was more of a travel issue (Sutton High is lovely and was our back up if Nonsuch didnt work).

Yes I think the small class size though can happen at a state primary of a 30 intake with less girls so not really a problem

Are you thinking Nonsuch then for high school?

Yeah Nonsuch, otherwise still exploring what options might be... so difficult to plan a decade ahead!

One concern is that Sutton High I hear isn't all that good, less liked than Surbiton, not academic, and girls drop out at 6th form to go elsewhere... but I have not seen it in person (damn pandemic)

Sutton High tends to pick up those who didnt make it into either Nonsuch/Wallington/Tiffin or the more elite Private Schools - Ewell Castle also fits into that bracket.

So you would have the Nonsuch route if she made it via state system, Epsom College as the academic indie and then Sutton High School as your failsafe which seems like a sensible plan

DD is at Seaton House and loves it. Very academic but not pushy. It’s a small school so not much sports but has a few external clubs. Very friendly atmosphere and would not describe it as a hot house. Have a friend whose daughter goes to Sutton high, she seems to like it but not as academic as Seaton.

@NAAAL thank you for your input - I am so happy to hear from a real parent there! Really glad your DD loves it, that puts me at ease about selecting a small school that others may not necessarily have heard of.

And yes @Quartz2208 I think if nonsuch and wallington fails, we will consider an independent (ouch for £££) and will research more into those...

@NAAAL

DD is at Seaton House and loves it. Very academic but not pushy. It’s a small school so not much sports but has a few external clubs. Very friendly atmosphere and would not describe it as a hot house. Have a friend whose daughter goes to Sutton high, she seems to like it but not as academic as Seaton.

Hello. Would you say Seaton girls are typically not very sporty other than gymnastics? Is that a downside compared to some other preps with huge sport fields and facilities? Also do you know where most of the girls live: are they all local walking distance? Thinking impact on friendship groups...

Its not known for sport certainly and hasnt got any facilities. Very sporty girls have gone there but then done mostly all of their sport outside school.
I would say that virtually none of the girls are walking distance. But that would be the same for all prep schools.

That's a good point : I hadnt appreciated they can supplement sport outside of school.

So it sounds like the girls there do end up being academic but also well rounded and happy individuals who seem to half go on to grammars (nonsuch) and half to indies? I like this balance (hopefully means not everyone is super rich)

Comparing for example the likes of Sutton High (less academic but huge grounds), Rowen Prep (huge! sends girls to private secondary and virtually no grammars) etc.

Seaton house itself it now known as a school for sports but many of the girls do sports outside if the school even my DD. Most girls are not walking distance, they send their children to this school to get them into the grammar schools.
Academically I cannot say anything bad about Seaton. The girls are very happy. And most parents are both working parents so not all super rich.

Sorry I was meant to say ‘not known for sports’

@NetflixParents

That's a good point : I hadnt appreciated they can supplement sport outside of school.

So it sounds like the girls there do end up being academic but also well rounded and happy individuals who seem to half go on to grammars (nonsuch) and half to indies? I like this balance (hopefully means not everyone is super rich)

Comparing for example the likes of Sutton High (less academic but huge grounds), Rowen Prep (huge! sends girls to private secondary and virtually no grammars) etc.

Rowen Prep parents are aiming for private indies, like the Guildford High School or St Johns , in deep Surrey grammars a plenty there are not.

Sutton High is an all through school, so can't really be compared to a prep. It's part of GDST and a very good school. I would only call it less academic in the sense of some of its other sister schools are 'harder' to get into, but Seaton feeds into Sutton High anyway!!

I've only heard of Seaton House as a friend through work, sends her child there.

I think if you're using grammar stats as a way to gauge if a prep has 'super rich' parents, that's silly and meaningless. A prep near grammar schools will have lots of kids going to grammar schools, it doesn't mean they are more 'down to Earth' or less 'super rich' or whatever.

Prep is expensive, Seaton House seems to have lower fees, but it all adds, up, You'll be expected to do after school prep (especially as 11+ comes up) which will cost you and clubs where private teachers come in for all sorts of stuff like Yoga or whatever, uniform costs, there's the trips, charity fundraising, parties with birthday presents for the rich kid
.
I've gone through all this with a 'down to Earth' leafy suburb prep myself with 'low fees' compared to central London, again its far more than one thinks.

You'll be spending a bare minimum of 15 grand a year per child, over 100K over the full years of the school, if your lucky. For most people in this country, that's super rich to be able to afford to do that.

As a parent of a child at Seaton house, I will say it is less expensive on the whole compared to my sons prep schools. Clubs are similar prices everywhere as are uniforms. I have 3 children and by far Seaton house has the more down to earth parents and not super rich compared to my other 2 sons prep schools. The girls grow up to be lovely kind/thoughtful/caring all rounded children as far as I have seen.

@NAAAL

As a parent of a child at Seaton house, I will say it is less expensive on the whole compared to my sons prep schools. Clubs are similar prices everywhere as are uniforms. I have 3 children and by far Seaton house has the more down to earth parents and not super rich compared to my other 2 sons prep schools. The girls grow up to be lovely kind/thoughtful/caring all rounded children as far as I have seen.

I think it looks like a great school, I'd be happy to have my kids there.

I just wanted the poster to know just because lots go to grammars its more a reflection of the area than the ability of parents to pay. My kids went to a prep on London borders that is similar to Seaton I think. The fees were similar, but I think they should budget for 15K a year at the very least, quantified over the years it adds up and is beyond the reach of most , even in London. So it's all relative this talk of 'super rich' , we are all very fortunate to be able to send our children private. I tell my DC this when they complain about so and so having a huge house or amazing car, which I think is what the poster is worried about.

Agree with you. On another note I have decided to take my child out and send her to an indie that starts at 7 years that goes all the way to 18 and is a coed so all children can be at one school. No reflection on Seaton house though, it’s a fantastic school.

@NAAAL

That's brilliant, having all your DC at one school!

I should have added my work friend is very very happy with Seaton also, she talks about well rounded girls also.

Such a smart move @NAAAL hopefully this will make the school runs and activities a bit easier!

Did anyone ever consider downsend prep? They have specialist teachers early on but never really hear much about them. Anyway, based on the comments above, particularly that Seaton nurtures well rounded girls, that is reassuring and can't wait