Kensington Wade - Any thoughts?

[ExpatMovingToLondon]

Hi all, I can’t find any recent comments regarding Kensington Wade. Is anyone able to share some thoughts on the quality of education and the culture of the school? Are current parents happy? Thank you!!

You need to visit the school.

@languagelover96 of course, very keen to visit the school when we can. We are living in Australia at the moment, so thought it would be helpful to hear some opinions to help me decide whether we should apply or not. Do you know the school or have a point of view?

Hi, we are Aussies living in London with a child in Kensington Wade. Happy to share some thoughts if you interested please DM me.

I’d be very interested in any feedback as well. We are an Expat family moving to London soon and came across Kensington Wade while researching schools. It looks extremely interesting but it’s very hard to get a true sense for it from the outside.

@Eleana1023 would you mind if I DM you as well (assuming you prefer DM over public discussion)? It would be highly appreciated!

@ExpatMovingToLondon really sorry to hijack your thread. Hope you don’t mind…

@KRL21. I think I just post at here so it may help others who wants to know as well. Feel free to PM me if you have any particular questions.

Kensington Wade (KW) is a very good school. It is relatively new with eldest kids in year 4 at the moment. Can’t say for all of the parents and kids, but our daughter loves going to school and we are very happy with the school. It’s a small school, but very cohesive. Teachers are very dedicated and good at what they do and parents are nice people too. You’ll find we are an international bunch in KW.

KW is a Chinese-English immersion school. Chinese is not taught as a subject, but a way to communicate and to teach other subjects (like maths, science…) Our daughter is in year one now and we joined KW when she started reception. Her Chinese is really picking up now. She’d initiate Chinese conversation with me which had never happened before. Curriculum are taught half-day in English and half-day in Chinese. KW is very focus on academic / English as well. I found the materials they teach are ahead of others. Hope this helps.

I live in SW London and I feel I should say that I’ve never heard of this school, and nor has anyone I have asked. My children were at two different prep schools, and friends’ children have been at prep schools all over Notting Hill, Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, Battersea, Wandsworth, Putney and Barnes but I’ve never come across this school. I’d be very cautious if I were you.

@themanwithnoname

I live in SW London and I feel I should say that I’ve never heard of this school, and nor has anyone I have asked. My children were at two different prep schools, and friends’ children have been at prep schools all over Notting Hill, Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, Battersea, Wandsworth, Putney and Barnes but I’ve never come across this school. I’d be very cautious if I were you.

I won’t be surprised if you and your friends have never heard of the school. I won’t have known this school if I’m not particularly looking for Chinese- English immersion for my daughter.

I’m surprised. I’ve got to know the local schools, and through friendships you hear about lots of other schools. While your children are at nursery or primary school age it’s one of the main topics of conversation. And when they go to secondary school you hear about the schools other children have been to. I’ve lived here for about 30 years and I’ve never heard of this school. It’s not a mainstream school, and there are lots of very highly regarded mainstream schools in this part of London. I wouldn’t want anyone unfamiliar with London to think that this is an equivalent school to the many other schools that people moving to London, or living in London, would consider.

Thank you both so much for your feedback Eleana1023 and themanwithnonane. This was super helpful.

Very happy to hear that your daughter loves going there and that you are quite happy with the school too in terms of teachers’ dedication and academic progress.

Thanks for the reminder to be cautious, themanwithnoname. I do believe the fact that the school is quite new (Eleana mentioned oldest class is Y4 now, so no 11+ leavers’ destinations for now), plus it being a small school with a “specialist” offer of English/Mandarin, might explain why many people haven’t heard of it (yet) - especially if one’s kids are older than Y4. I have done quite some “outside-in” research on SW London schools so I’m not completely out of the loop, and there is some anecdotal evidence that Kensington Wade is (or at least has the potential to be) a good school - but what you read on paper can be different from first hand experience and hence my original interest in Eleana’s feedback. That being said, your message is a good reminder to be cautious with new schools that still lack a track record of 11+ leavers’ destinations. We’ll keep that in mind, and will go into it with our eyes open when we travel to London to visit the school.

It's not just that the school is relatively new, and has no 11+ track record, but that it appears to have flown completely under the radar, which is very unusual for a new school. If you are looking for "Chinese immersion" it's probably a good choice, albeit the only choice. I'd hate for parents unfamiliar with London and hoping for a mainstream education for their children to make a mistake. The more I look at the website, the more concerned I become.

@themanwithnoname , 1 of the Governors is the head of Newland House prep school in Teddington which is inspected by ISI. He wouldn't be linked to anything that wasn't operating in line with govt educational standards.

I researched this school after seeing kids in their uniforms with the stripy red and yellow tights which looked kind of interesting and I found it. I first thought they were children from Kensington Primary Academy but I had to go on Google maps to see if there was another school as there are only luxury apartments behind Kensington Primary school. I think in principle what they do is great and I have no doubt that they would do a fine job in maths and science as well but I've decided stick with a more traditional school in the end all though I'm still paying stupid fees to get ds on the waiting list.

Kensington Wade is a very popular with Chinese children or children who have one Chinese parent although the website shows it's a diverse school. I think it's worth viewing it in person though to get a real feel.

Also we are a bilingual household anyway and struggling with teaching both English and our home language and to add another language will be very confusing to our dc as neither parent speaks or knows Chinese. This is the same with the French School Lycee Français as neither of us speak or know French to be able to follow up and help dc. Of course we would love dc to speak as many languages as possible as it's a good thing in principle but practicality wise, we wouldn't be able to help dc and be able to encourage French or Chinese. If English was the main language though and we weren't a bilingual family, then I wouldn't hesitate with Wade or Lycee at all and send dc.

@Eleana1023 Hi Eleana, sorry to disturb, just joined mumsnet and our kids are literally going to Wade for an interview today. May I please ask if we could connect in private? Thanks very much!

Where part of london do you live in and how is the commute to the school? We are looking at our options in West London hammersmith / fulham, parsons green etc. Any advice would be highly appreciated!

[quote AppletreeX]@Eleana1023 Hi Eleana, sorry to disturb, just joined mumsnet and our kids are literally going to Wade for an interview today. May I please ask if we could connect in private? Thanks very much!

Where part of london do you live in and how is the commute to the school? We are looking at our options in West London hammersmith / fulham, parsons green etc. Any advice would be highly appreciated![/quote]
Hi, AppletreeX. All the best for today’s interview. They are very accommodated so don’t be worried. Our DD had the interview when she was three. She was screaming and crying when she went in but very happy when she got out an hour after. We live in Shepherd’s Bush. I’ll pm you.

I'm a parent at the school and we are very happy with the all-round progress DS has made in academic subjects and more importantly, as a person. Because it is a new school, they are responsive to feedback from parents - there's no cop-out of 'that's how it's always been'. They can't rest on laurels or playing the a member of the royal family came here 3 decades ago card.

This is essentially a British prep school that does Mandarin 50% of the time (come visit!). Math and reading scores are impressive even by prep school standards. School team has a good record - Putney High, Cameron House etc.

FYI that we speak a a little Mandarin at home, most classes have around 1/3 Mandarin speakers at home (Cantonese is a different bag). Fascinatingly, there are families where parents are French, Italian, Spanish or where Caucasian parents speak Mandarin. Other than that, it is a vibrant school community and a genuine sense of people rooting for each other - I cannot emphasis this enough!

Final point to clarify- school governors are not paid. It tends to be a group of people who see it as an extra-curricular activity that adds a dimension to their professional or personal life.

Hi for parents of KW child, will you comment about their co-curricular activities? (a) sports - swim, tennis, ball sports - do the school provide good level of coaching, participation, how frequent? i am not about total less than 100 students. does it end up being a better thing for school to organise sports or worse? (b) art, music, dance, speech and drama offerings - if good teachers, participation level and frequency (c) STEM, coding etc? (d) modern languages such as french etc. (e) instill of confidence, interpersonal skills, value system (f) any other interesting to note? (g) we are quite prepared to send our child there and comfy with their english, mandarin and maths. only question on english is whether the teachers are native-english speaker? (h) which are the areas in which you still end up sending your child for extra classes and find that they are not offered at KW. Grateful for your sharing.

Hi we have a 3 year old daughter and are considering KW for next year too. She is currently bilingual English and Mandarin as we speak both languages at home. KW looks like it would be a good fit from that perspective but we are a bit concerned about lack of track record of KW and also distance from our home. Wondering if anyone has responses to tookietweety’s questions? Also we live in Chelsea and are worried about the commute - would anyone have any experience with this?

Hi @Feevrs1
Have you visited KW yet? I'm a current parent, with a child in one of the upper years who has been there since the school opened.

There is a bus service - ask the school for details. Only you can decide if it's too far but there are children who come in from Chelsea and North West London. Or you could move to Hammersmith!

School destinations for the inaugural Year 6 cohort are excellent. Ask the school for a full run down but it includes Goldolphin & Latymers, King's Wimbledon, City of London, whole raft of GDST schools from Putney to Francis Holland.

Headteacher Mr May is an absolute pedigree of a head with a track record from Eaton House etc. He and others are experienced and act as a guide and sounding board. There's a good amount of handholding from early on so parents know the lie of the land - especially important if they haven't themselves experienced the UK system.

Please do read their ISI report, it comes through loud and clear it's a happy school that produces results, and not just in the academic sense. Behavioural issues are, I understand, much rarer than in other schools as parents whose kids have come from other schools have repeatedly said.

The parent community itself is filled with professionals. It's down to earth and fun. No ostentatious silliness here.

If there are any further specific questions, please DM me.