Thomas Fulham, Garden house, Falkner house or eton house?

[Sonia16]

Does anyone have some advise about these schools and which one do you think it is better in term of leavers destinations?
We have a boy and logistically all work.
Garden house told us that the new policy is to make hard for the pupils to leave before the end. We did not like the headmaster, rather supponent and cold.
Falkner house owner gave us a very good vibe, Lavinia seems loveley and really caring for the pupils, but being new it is difficult to understand the leavers destination. They do not seems to have a lot outdoor space.
Any advise or feedback is very welcome!

@grandjani I absolutely agree. The aim is the best education ever, and my worry is indeed that there education at GH is not as good if the kid is gifted and potentially good for a very good secondary school.
New headmasters have joined them , and I understood they are trying to raise the academic level of both schools.

Has anyone tried to prepare his kid for 7+/8+
Without the support of the school?

We're at GHS and DS leaves for WUS in September (he and another boy got offers from all schools they applied to -- then you have a large chunk going to Sussex House).

The exits have been consistent since we've been there. Usually 2 or 3 to WUS/SPJ, 8 or so to Sussex House. The distribution hasn't really changed in a few years.

Since the start we wanted a school that wasn't hot housing for 8+ -- so in our mind we got that with GHS. We are happy to handle homework etc. at home and wanted school to focus on subjects that you don't see in 8+ exams.

I wouldn't say we tutored but outside of school DS regularly visited prep schools whenever he could and was always interested in the next stage. We never left it to the school.

GHS is 99% attracting mega rich who want a very smart Chelsea school. That or they want a pre-prep for their son as there are few boys options at 4+.

It is averagely academic mainly because it is gentle in nature. It attracts parents who will always tutor anyway, whatever the school does, so they aren't worried about that side- on the whole.

Few leave a boy there until 11+. Most hours by 8+.

It has senior leaders from places like Ken Prep and Bute now so I think the sense of grandeur now be mixed in with more academic push and direction. No bad thing. Although not sure how some of the parents I knew there would take that as lots don't want a bit of home truth or honesty.

We were the only parents in my kids’ year driving RRs and Bentleys. Who are all these mega rich people GiraffeTwist is talking about?
Please don’t exaggerate! Most of the parents are nice middle class people who are just trying to do the best for their families but have been marketed a dream that is just an illusion, not a reality. They usually wake up to the fact at 7 or 8+ by which time it is too late to move schools and there is no other option but to tutor. They keep quiet because the need the school to write good references.

It's not just your year -- the "mega rich" thing is a myth. In our year I can't think of any family that wasn't a mainstream working family.

We had richer families in the nursery (socialites, body guards etc.) we used (local to GHS) but GHS rejected the more well off families from that nursery.

We don't know why but it seemed they were looking for hands on parents. The richer families ended up at Knightsbridge, Weatherbys, Thomas's Batersea etc. (even though GHS was preferred).

(Also after seeing recommendation letters after the fact I'm not sure how much they matter tbh)

‘Hands on parents’ - yes they love these because they do half the teachers’ work and help run the PA which enables volunteering throughout the school. It also helps supply the teas, coffees, cakes and biscuits for school office. However, the owners haven’t found a way of getting extra contributions for the school heating bills of late, I gather it’s a bit chilly these days at GHS…

I'm not sure average middle class families opt for the school which is a few £k more than other preps.

But yes appreciate saying all are very rich is an exaggeration.

As I said, this is also historic and new management should very much mean things change.