Putney High Junior School Vs. Thomas's Clapham

[alostdad]

Hi all,
Thanks in advance for any advice I get here. Needed a bit of community feedback on this. Our DD has gotten into PHS Junior and also Thomas's.

Putney high is a 3mile heavy traffic (25 mins drive each way) but feels right from ethos and academic rigour. Plus v high chance of entry into the senior school.

Thomas's on the other hand is a 5 mins walk with mixed feedback on academic rigour/ success in SW Day schools.

DD2 is also joining a nursery in Clapham so lift & shift to Putney right away doesn't fit right away.

On one hand we are attracted by the great academic results of PHS but don't really fancy the 25 mins drive each way (plus toddler in tow).

Any any advice (and correction to our research) is very very welcome!

There's a recent post on NappyValleyNet in the school section about St Thomas's Clapham v another prep (I can't remember which one offhand) if that's any help.

Thanks v much onemouseplace. I will have a looksie. Haven't been able to find a direct comparison with Putney High School's junior branch anywhere though.

I don't have any experience of St Thomas's, but can't praise PHS Juniors more highly. I've found it to be a superb school, with a genuine focus on the girls as individuals, as well as excellent attention to academics, sport and other extra curricular. There are now some school bus routes and wrap around care, which in time might work for you.

Thanks so much "Alwaysjuggling" (love the username - sounds like my life!).

One concern I do have is how do the junior school girls fare in 'A' levels/GCSEs given that they are relatively protected from the tuitions and significant competition at 11+

Good question alostdad (and one I hadn't thought about until my eldest was in year 5!). She is now in Year 7 (first year at the Senior School), and I was worried that she might be a bit left behind with so many girls having been heavily prepared for the 11+. Hasn't been the case. She actually seems really happy, doing very well and enjoying the new challenge (and perhaps not burnt out from all the prep?). Early days (don't want to even think about GCSEs yet!), but so far so good. TBH, I dread to think what she'd have been like if she'd had to go through the 11+, so it was definitely the right school for her.

@alostdad

I’d that there isn’t one right answer. Personally - I’d go with academics.
PHS is a really good school and you do avoid 11+ in a highly competitive part of London. Doing 11+ out of Thomas’s Clapham will be stressful and she may end up at PHS anyway, or not. As the school does attract lots of interest - both as a back up for academic preps (KP, G, etc) and aspirational school for less academic ones.

25min may sound like a long commute now that you have small kids, but it isn’t that long for London. And when Dd is a bit older she’ll be able to take a bus.

As to how junior girls would do when they move to senior school without having gone through 11+ - will solely depend on the effort she puts in into her studies and her intrinsic abilities. 11+ process on its own doesn’t give an advantage at GCSEs.

That is my view. Other people may prioritise proximity and easier life in the short term.

Thanks so much Alwaysjuggling & MMmomDD. Great insights.

Just a few more questions:

1. We have 2 girls - did single sex vs. Co-ED impact your thinking?
2. What is the story with Junior school being a little bit run down. I look at other GDST schools and the classes/facilities look pretty new. Putney ones feel a bit dated. Any major plans apart from the reception classes rehab?

Unless dangerous or smelly, don’t let dated facilities bother you. A safe and spacious space is enough. School is basically a log with students at one end and the teacher at the other. My private school was very shabby thirty years ago, and excellent academically. Everything there has been renovated in the last ten years, but girls aren’t admitted to good universities in the last five years. Make sure the library is good, and the rest will follow. I’m very old fashioned, believing the “sage on the stage” model with all facing forward at separate desks works best for 8+.

@alostdad

Single sex is one of the reasons Thomases is a riskier bet for 11+.
Boys and girls systems are different - so exams that they need to do at 7/8 or 11/13 are different. So it’s not easy to prepare a mixed class for those different exit points.
As far as I observed.

Also - as kids start really early - it’s not easy to teach boys and girls alongside each other at the age of 4. They are just too different and one of the other group suffers.

I’d go for the one you can walk to especially as you will have a younger child at nursery. Will make your life so much easier.
I’ve 2 DCs at secondary school but the older they get the more I think it’s madness to schlep across London for a school that may be marginally more academic etc at that point in time. All through schools take away the stress of the 11plus to some extent but lots of girls in particular are ready for a change at 11. The 11 plus stress is also partly as stressful as you choose to make it and I say this as a parent of 2 DCs that went from state primaries to selective private secondaries.
The co- Ed/ single sex thing may be more of an issue. I know a lot of girls at Putney High juniors who only have sisters and seem to have zero contact with any boys at all and a fair few mothers who think boys are all disruptive and out of control in the classroom!
But both good schools!

Thanks all for such great advice and views.

Thanks @Iminthemoodfordancing - fair point about the stress of 11+.
I found it v interesting that a lot of parents at private prep schools employ tutors - coz I thought that was the v point of going to maybe a private school vs. state - that they may prepare the kids better for entrances....

For yoru 2DCs - do you think it benefitted for them to be in CO-ED in Junior school or Senior?

They were at state primary so always going to be co- Ed. I have a DD and DS and the thought of having them at separate primary schools gives me palpitations! The logistics etc! They were both absolutely fine and had lots of different personalities in their classes, certainly the boys and girls didn’t necessarily fit into the ‘typical’ boys/girls divide.
DD is at an all girls secondary and DS at a Co-Ed but that was more down to the schools rather than any preference for single sex/ Co- Ed. They could easily have ended up somewhere else.
I don’t get the tutoring at prep school either- it’s madness and getting ridiculous! Some kids continue to be tutored throughout their entire school career and I don’t mean a little help when they’re struggling a bit at GCSE etc.

All things being equal go for the school that's closer. Thomas's Clapham successfully get children into some of the most academic schools in the country. However, if you have a strong preference for single sex or a strong desire to avoid the 11+ a 25 min journey is manageable though less than ideal for a child this age.

Hi Alostdad

Interesting thread, please can I ask what decision you made?

Interested to know what decision you made please?