Ken Prep Vs Putney High Juniors

[Rainbows18]

We are very lucky , my DD was offered a places in Ken Prep and PHS. My daughter is rather shy and sensitive but extremely curious and loves to be challenged. The fact that PHS is going is all through is very appealing, but I think Ken Prep seems very strong academically and the school is smaller, fwd thinking and creative.
I would very grateful for any advice and thoughts. Thank you.

Not sure if any of you had experience with your girls sitting the 7 + exam at Kensington prep school .Was the interview hard ? I know that it's a very selective school but have absolutely no idea how to prepare my daughter .
Any advice will be much appreciated

To be honest I personally did not prepare at all for whatever tests they did. She had a very good report and was ine of those at top of her class at her state primary. Was for year 4. I had no idea what the tests would be like and it was a spur of the moment ( bad) decision to apply .She said it was computerised and tested Verbal and non verbal reasoning , I think from the sounds of it. They are testing for innate ability - perhaps CAT scores? My daughter said she found the Putney test harder. She chose Ken Prep because they gave her a croissant
I think they were just filling seats to be honest. My daughter is bright enough but we were not prepared for that whereby it was expected the child and parent meets the SPGS destination standards without any input from school 😕

@Snowystorm most likely it will be Maths / English / reasoning similar to Bute, could include a computerised CAT test. They will generally like children who would be at least average if they joined KPS, ideally above but it will depend on spaces available. There is nothing to prepare interview wise.

Thank you so much @eglantine7 and @swgeek🤞🤞🤞

@Snowystorm I asked my daughter this evening and she said Ken Prep's was a written test and Putney High junior was on the computer. I asked if she was sure and she said yes, we had kit kats before going into the computer room at Putney and the croissant ar Ken Prep😆
We didn't prepare which indicates to me they are tests that assess prior knowledge and aptitude and not something you need to prepare for.
Good luck!

Both of my daughters went there- one still there finishing this year. Once a great school falling apart in front of our eyes. Number of teachers the new head mistress lost is heartbreaking, all the great teachers either left or on their way out. Pastoral care does not exist anymore, bullying has become part of school culture, extremely toxic environment.

In terms of 11+ results, it is all due to heavy tutoring. It is all facade now, head mistress’ only concern is to make things “ look” good. It is really sad to see the school once I loved so much is circling the drain.

I absolutely agree with you - spot on. The music department used to be incredible at the school but the new head of music is uninspirational and lacks any respect from the girls. All the best teachers have left or are on their way out my daughter has recently gone through the 11+ process and like camellia says it is a complete facade - the girls who got no extra tutoring scrape by into some of the easy to get to schools and they are by no means not bright just parents didn’t fork out a fortune for extra prep the school should have been giving. I really don’t know how such a fantastic set up could be taken down the drain so quickly by a new head and I’m frankly shocked the governors haven’t gotten involved with the amount of staff leaving every term. i’d also add that every girl who leaves gets replaced usually with a Chinese girl and I’m sorry if that upset some people but it basically means they don’t have to be taught at all and Are miles ahead of the curriculum already. Have a look at the younger years of the school very different from the upper years. I’d go to Putney high every time ….I don’t know it very well but the head of the junior school is excellent and much more concerned with a pastoral care as at Ken Prep it is non-existent you have to deal with everything yourself and they brush it all under the carpet. The teaching staff in the upper years bar one science teacher are all abysmal. Although if you can avoid GDST schools I’d stay clear

Ditto!
Ken Prep used to be a great school, not anymore. No pastoral care, no teaching, unhappy teachers, toxic culture, no communication from school…

really sad to see once a great school can be ruined in just few years because of the head mistress. I hope she realises her duty is to care for our daughters, not “ to look good” to the trust. Very disappointing

"the girls who got no extra tutoring scrape by into some of the easy to get to schools and they are by no means not bright just parents didn’t fork out a fortune for extra prep the school should have been giving"

This happened to my daughter. I felt she received no teaching or guidance from the school. She is a really capable girl but was miserable and panicked and yes there was a lot of bullying by some very awkward and socially inept girls to the point she was avoiding school. She has no fond memories. It was a real disappointment and shock how shoddy it all was. They knew more than half of the girls were heavily tutored to get into those top schools they show off and went to sleep. Pastoral care was non existent and I had to call them up on it after the 11 plus and I'm still convinced they couldn't care less.
A real shame. Get your act together Kensington Prep! Prospective parents be warned.

Hi Camellia,

It is interesting reading all the posts. I am also considering KPS for my DD for reception. Just wondering if this head you all are talking about Mrs H-M, the current head?

Hi Camellia,

It is interesting reading all the posts. I am also considering KPS for my DD for reception. Just wondering if this head you all are talking about Mrs H-M, the current head?

Putney, you can do 11+ prep and not stress since kid can go to 18+. They have a few school bus routes so worth checking this out. Putney junior going to senior have to be at a certain standard, so there would be no coasting until GCSEs. As part of GDST, curriculum at junior is the same as Ken Prep.

Parents at Ken Prep did 80% of prep for 11+, so great, very involved parents or grandparents. Lots of tutoring and some pretending they don’t tutor but you can see them in holiday exam camps, creative writing courses, maths, plus VR specialist 1-2-1, etc whilst a few parents are more upfront. Some kids have left due to low level bullying or stayed on but with lots of loving home support but in some cases took weeks to resolve.

Yes it is Mrs H-M and she totally destroyed the school within such a short amount if time! All the good teachers left the school and bullying became the culture of the school, and instead of tackling it, she prefers to sweep it under the carpet at the cost of thd child being bullied. I don’t know how she sleeps at night honestly, so many girls suffered because of her systematically protecting the bully for her own sake. I know so many of these stories including my own daughter.

Let’s not even go 11+ prep and guidance, or rather nonexistence of it! Be prepared to spend a fortune and/or do all the work to prepare your child. It is a disaster and J don’t get how GDST don’t see it!

oh... Thanks for the information. Is shocking to know Mrs H-M has been there for 5 years and the board has not noticed the bullying culture of the school.

I did remember on the open day last, when asked about the relationships within the year groups, our guide the year 6 girl answered with a meaningful smile and said: "Our year group is better than the others anyway."

I am not connected to these schools as a parent or otherwise- just live locally and DDs go to another girls school.

Just to say be weary of these posts. I have lots of friends with DDs there in different year groups and haven't heard these kind of complaints.
They may be genuine but looks like it could be one or two posters stirring- with quite aggressive, unkind identifiable attacks on individual teachers. Whatever you think of someone's ability to do their job, it is pretty nasty of the previous posters.

I don’t know what you’re talking about your daughters don’t go to the school and mine both have I have direct experience and what I’ve written is incredibly accurate and most people who are in their year groups are aware of it. It is just honest feedback I did mention that the early years teaching is good and so are the facilities so that is a plus I can’t ignore the huge issues the school is experiencing and yes if a parent is asking they want honest feedback. People reading this post pls note that every single poster that has been defending the school doesn’t actually have children there and the ones that do have made identical comments so make of that what you will… my child wasn’t directly bullied like some of the other posters, but I’m aware of quite a few others that have been.

Sadly, the reason this hasn’t been picked up by the governors is it’s almost impossible to reach them and not have your child be affected while they’re at the school ( you have to ask the head for their details which is ironic ) . The GDST isn’t particularly bothered with Ken Prep as it’s the only school that doesn’t go all through so bit of anomaly and doesn’t really belong in the group like the others.

I experienced myself, but I know so many others too, ( all year 4 and above) it was shocking to find out we all suffered in silence, trying desperately to get Mrs H-M do something about it.
This is my honest feedback to you. My child is in secondary school now and she is thriving. I have no interest in “stirring” anything, but I can not NOT share what I know first hand, when another parent is trying to make a such an important decision and seek feedback.

Hi everyone,

Just to flag that we've noticed some sock puppeting on this thread. This is against our talkguidelines, so please bear this in mind or we will have to take this thread down.

I don't agree with personal attacks and I don't think it's down to the Head. I actually think it's the large number of insanely competitive parents at this school which makes it unpleasant. The school should deal with it by looking after the untutored girls and those whose confidence starts to plummet in year 5 and 6 and also to stamp out the arrogance and bullying. So those reading you decide if this school is for you.

So those deciding, do consider whether it's the right environment for you and your child. 11 plus outcomes are highly down to parent input and at this school it was very difficult to support my child because she really didn't want to be there when year 5 started. The bullying, the competition and angst all started and then the pandemic.
The Maths teacher we had was exasperated by not being able to teach ( he told me) because of all the tutoring from year 5 and he resigned later.
Meanwhile he was being lambasted for not doing enough with the girls.
These parents need to chill! And teachers need to put them in their places.

There are lots of other nurturing prep schools and all through schools you can send your child to if this environment doesn't seem for you.

That Maths teacher moved to Garden House as did a few other teachers. I thought it was due to the pension issue and contracts at GDST and teachers going on strike about pensions. Thankfully that have been resolved.

That was the old maths teacher who was excellent and was a huge loss for the school. The new one is 🫣. Also not sure what sock puppeting is mumsnet. As eglantine says it’s important to really think about cultural fit of school as they do vary - best of luck in the decision making process .

I sock puppeting is when you change username to comment on the same thread pretending to be multiple parents.......