Private prep with same ethos as Bute House - does that exist in London?

[Coronateachingagain]

We loved ethos at Bute House - non competitive approach and excellent teaching and focus on each child. However Bute House is so academic that getting in is not as easy for everyone.

Wondered if there are equally similar schools which also provide a fantastic teaching environment and amazing attainment, but not as well known as Bute House, in London/West London?

It really seems that there is such a difference in the provision between Bute House and the great majority of the other preps - and I am not thinking about the academic level, but more the ethos and quality of teaching. For other schools, especially selective, it is also difficult to assess to what extent the 11+ results are more a result of selection of children that are easy to teach, compliant and smart all at age 4, and then can afford to have average teaching quality and get good results still (also because of focused parents, and the extra tutoring!)

I’m not familiar with bute house but lots of preps in London are non-selective at 4/reception. They only become selective if you join in year 3 or further up the school.

One of my DDs was there and my other DD went to one of the other big name girls London preps in Notting hill. We felt Bute stood head and shoulder above the other prep, results aside more because of the teaching quality and ethos- they really knew my DD and just constantly reassured me, there was a fun atmosphere and my DD just adored the school and learning despite not being by any means a high achiever in the year group. I found the staff so friendly but professional, clearly intelligent people with strong academic backgrounds who love working there. Only ever complaints were about the shabby faded uniform, 11+ pressure at the end but that's unavoidable and DD had the odd friendship nightmare (I guess more academic girls schools attract more intense types) but they always dealt with it or split them up in classes each year.

I get the feeling it's a school which treats its staff well, can pay them well (total guess?) so they attract and keep good teachers. This stood out for us compared to DDs school that had constant very high turnover and some really grumpy teachers. My other DD was perfectly happy there though, so don't sweat it too much- all the London girls preps are pretty good anyway, it is v much a privileged problem to be unsure what to pick.

I guess you need to look for similar staffing and ethos in other schools. The bigger name schools like Latymer, Putney High and Ken Prep attract better teachers as they can pay them well. I've noticed schools in chains like alpha plus or dukes tend to have more staff issues as I think money gets tightened.

I always liked Newton Prep and found it similar in ethos and style to Bute. No real other answers on what a comparable school would be. Ken Prep is probably most similar in catchment and ethos. Redcliffe Prep was v unknown but has recently been bought by godolphin and latymer so could be one to watch? Although from what I knew it is nothing like Bute currently!

The Herne Hill school?

You can find non-competitive schools with nurturing teaching or you can find high attaining schools. But the combination that exists at Bute is only possible due to academic selection at 7+.

And Bute - while having a great reputation, doesn’t do magic. Their results, just like the results of other selective preps are highly influenced by selection.
This is why - you never see separate statistics for the ‘old girls’ - those who start at Reception via lottery. That cohort has a more normal distribution of abilities and attain as they would in any other school.

@DiscoFlamingo I get the same impression about Bute, from the outside. Thanks for the data point.

MMmomDD even the non-competitive schools, most of them, have a competitive ethos, and it is hit and miss in the end on how nurturing they are without compromising the teaching. It is difficult to see as being nurturing is often used as excuse to less fantastic teaching and hence attainment. But I see your point re the "old girls", although I still think they probably get better teaching and results than they would get elsewhere.

If you judge by SPSG exists - only very few ‘old girls’ end up there - and that is mostly sisters of girls who came in at 7+ - so have a higher chance of being higher IQ to start with.

And/or have a higher chance of having pushier parents.

The garden house?

I find it curious that my post had to be censored. I wonder what it was.
Was that me saying many parents weren’t happy with lockdown provision last year? Or that the school didn’t want to hear parents opinions?
Was it the mention of the science teacher that sadly doesn’t inspire love of science?

Bute has a lot of great things going for them. It has changed a lot with the outgoing headmistress. It will change again with the new one coming in.
I hope the ethos and teaching approach continues. And I also hope that the school learns that it is possible to engage in constructive dialogue with parents.

@user149799568

I know IQ is a touchy subject here. But the difference in results for lottery kids; siblings and 7+ kids is not really all down to pushiness of parents.

There is no magical way to deliver the same results for a group of kids that didn’t go through academic selection VS kids that came in after an exam.

A total mystery why you were censored @MMmomDD ! Unnecessary in my view and as far as I am concerned gives the opposite impression vs whatever the censor wanted to change or improve.

Some really unpleasant personal comments here. For what it’s worth OP, my DD spent a couple of years at Bute before an overseas move. We loved it and I couldn’t say enough about it.

Agree with Deauville.

Every school will have things to criticise but we found the things we worried about at Bute were so minor! DD looks back on her time there so fondly and we feel grateful she had a happy childhood in school which helped her achieve and aspire. Couldn't really ask for more- any harsh criticism really is just over privileged, demanding parents. Which I felt bite dealt with very well!!!

My DD is now about to move from G&L to an art specialist sixth form to do textiles and art which I guess shows Bute gave her a really rounded creative start and the feeling she can follow any dream.

The thread was asking for similar schools anyway, not comments on one particular teacher or lockdown learning!

The thread was asking for schools similar to Bute - as OP imagines it.
So - I do not think it’s harsh or somehow unpleasant or personal - to give an insiders view of the school which may be not exactly as OP thinks it is.

Like the poster above. my children also have had mostly happy childhoods at Bute. And received a good education. But it is also true that not everyone can say the same. And that, Bute, like many other school is not perfect and has its issues. Which is a shame and a lost opportunity really.

@DiscoFlamingo - your daughter was at Bute run by the previous HM, the school as it is now is a very different place.
And I do not agree that anyone who has anything less than positive to say about Bute is over privileged and demanding.

Teaching at Newton is outstanding. When we chose secondary, DS chose SPS because it was ‘most like Newton’!

@MMmomDD

The thread was asking for schools similar to Bute - as OP imagines it. So - I do not think it’s harsh or somehow unpleasant or personal - to give an insiders view of the school which may be not exactly as OP thinks it is.

Like the poster above. my children also have had mostly happy childhoods at Bute. And received a good education. But it is also true that not everyone can say the same. And that, Bute, like many other school is not perfect and has its issues. Which is a shame and a lost opportunity really.

@DiscoFlamingo - your daughter was at Bute run by the previous HM, the school as it is now is a very different place.
And I do not agree that anyone who has anything less than positive to say about Bute is over privileged and demanding.

My DD was there under Mrs Lowe. She has been at the school around ten years. My DD left 5 years ago so we had a good chunk of her as head and saw change.

@DiscoFlamingo

I was wrong on the dates, thought MrsL started a couple of years later than she did.
You were there in her early years.
After you left 5 years ago - the changes continued. It is in many ways a different school now. And incidentally the results are also different. Not saying it’s better or worse. Just different.
It doesn’t really matter now as the new HM is coming and the school will go through another metamorphosis.

[quote MMmomDD]@user149799568

I know IQ is a touchy subject here. But the difference in results for lottery kids; siblings and 7+ kids is not really all down to pushiness of parents.

There is no magical way to deliver the same results for a group of kids that didn’t go through academic selection VS kids that came in after an exam.[/quote]
There is no magical way to deliver the same results for a group of kids that didn’t go through academic selection VS kids that came in after an exam.

I completely agree. If the data were available, I would strongly suspect that the 7+ entrants (and their siblings who subsequently joined at 4+) have, on average, higher CAT scores than 4+ lottery entrants or 4+ entrants who were siblings of 4+ lottery entrants. But I would also strongly suspect that the 7+ entrants have, on average, more academically ambitious parents who are more willing to push them harder to achieve academically.

What evidence do you have that success at the 7+ is more dependent on IQ than on parental pushiness?

@user149799568

Obviously no one has this data - and no standard metric of parental pushiness exists.

All I can say - and it’s based on my years of being part of the system of selective West Kensington schools is that kids that are ultimately successful in getting through the most competitive selections have both IQ and involved (pushy in your language) parents.
There are plenty of highly tutored kids that don’t make it to their top choice schools and that is mostly because the ambition of the parents isn’t aligned with the ability of the child.

Bute 7+ is actually a rather gentle exam and the sort of prep boys have to do for their 7+ is really not necessary here. The selection is actually more geared towards getting at the girls potential (=IQ) and teacheability.

So - as far as I observed - girls starting at Bute at 7+ don’t all have highly pushy parents. They may all mostly be ambitious as they did bring their kids to sit an exam and changed schools. But I do think ambition isn’t the same as pushiness.

@MMmomDD

You can find non-competitive schools with nurturing teaching or you can find high attaining schools. But the combination that exists at Bute is only possible due to academic selection at 7+.

And Bute - while having a great reputation, doesn’t do magic. Their results, just like the results of other selective preps are highly influenced by selection.
This is why - you never see separate statistics for the ‘old girls’ - those who start at Reception via lottery. That cohort has a more normal distribution of abilities and attain as they would in any other school.

So true. The Reception kids get about 2/3 fewer offers from SPGS. The 7+ kids do WAY better.

We always felt my DDs (at Bute from Reception) got a brilliant education and were nurtured, pushed, inspired right through the school. The odd hiccup but you get that in every school.

I genuinely think she was pushed on and made more progress due to being in an academic-minded school where so many girls were hard working and enthusiastic about learning. We could see the school were doing huge amounts to help her in a very personalised way. They were ambitious for her. She went onto G&L which we felt was a good natural progression from Bute as they are very similar. Other DD we will probably be aiming for more FHSS or perhaps Putney High but those will suit her much better anyway.

New head and deputy starting there at the moment so will be interesting to see how the school changes. The old head and deputy were big characters. Younger DD is unfazed and desperate to get back to class!