Homefield Prep School - is it worth it ?

[LearnToBeMum]

Dear fellow Mums, I am looking for your feedback on the school, if somebody has some personal experience that will be great.
My DS will be joining it in Y3 this Sep and I am a bit worried about him as he is a very kind and gentle boy who might not be able to handle bullying if that happens. Currently, he is going to a state primary and it took him quite a time ( Reception n y1) to make some friends in his class.

Any Homefield parents here who can share how is the school crowd and if the school has good pastoral care. Also, are the kids aware of where to go if they face bullying.

We are moving house and going private too, So just want to make sure we are doing this for a positive turn in my DS's life.

In my opinion, Homefield does not have good pastoral care. They are quite slow to respond. In general, in case of Homefield, I think you do not get what you pay for. We left it as soon as we could.

Hmm reports from parents are that staff are not very good on bullying, older boys have been known to target younger boys in the playground and staff rarely around to intervene. Also academic bullying occurring where some boys not as good at maths as other kids.

So exciting! Have you seen Homefield's latest inspection report from Dec? They got excellent for pastoral and academics. They praised the school highly for its supportive environment and it was glowing. Might be worth checking out the report on the ISI website for more info: www.isi.net/school/homefield-preparatory-school-6558?results=true. The reports are always really helpful when researching schools. I know a few people whose sons attend or have done in the past. Good luck with your move, Homefield is a great choice.

Thank you so much for sharing this@Fidor3. I am really happy that Homefield did better, so now our decision to pick up that school for our DS looks like a good one!

Homefield Prep is/was on the list for my son to try at 7+ with the expectation of him trying for local grammars at 11+…
I keep reading negative things about it save for the poster above.
Would be good to have views from other current parents

Homefield still goes up to Y8. When parents have tried to exit earlier for example for 7+, 10+ or 11+, the headmaster has not been supportive as they are trying to encourage more of the boys to stay on to fill y7 and 8.

They absolutely encourage pupils to stay to Year 8 and actively discourage pupils leaving at Year 6 for grammar or other independent schools. Other prep schools are far, far better at preparing students for these 11+ exams but Homefield obviously want them to stay until Year 8 (buns on seats = money for them).

Their staff turnover is very high which is very telling.

Pastorally, I would say it’s poor - this is based on other people telling me (my children do not go there!) and also behaviour seen at matches.

It’s a bad school for responding to concerns from parents. Great facilities - they’ve poured a lot of money into the building - but this has come at a cost. I haven’t heard good things about the pastoral care and this is my priority, hence now looking elsewhere.

I will move to London from overseas and also want to know more.

Any Homefield parents here? Because when I searched on mumsnet, there were very few comment about the school (good or bad) and all from a very small number of mums.

What about other preps that go to 13? Any one (SW or South London) that actively help students to do 11+?

I noted about half of its year 6 cohort leave at 11 (and of which about half goes to grammar schools). I wonder why so many still join the school if it has been so unhelpful with their 11+. And how could so many of them "able to" leave at 11 (and that percentage, half of it, seems much higher than many preps that go to 13).

Any Homefield parents can give any insights?

They are able to leave, but for 11+ but it not with much support from the school, it is more due to parents /tutors outside coaching and help.

Also it is the closest prep school to Sutton High School for girls so is the natural choice for parents who want a convenient school for brothers when they also have girls. So it may not be the perfect choice for many parents but a good enough compromise for practicality sake.

Thanks for your comments. Being new to the system , I read that even if a prep school goes to 13, and supposedly move on to year 9 of the target senior schools, a lot of these schools require pre-test in year 6 and would then offer deferred entry in year 9 (so the kids still stay on in the prep school for year 7 and 8). So supposedly Homefield (or any prep that goes to 13) still needs to get the kids prepare for exam in year 6 (when I read the admission page of many senior schools, they have same exams for both year 7 and year 9 deferred entry)? Am I missing something?

I'm not 100% sure as my son is younger. This is from talking to parents with older children. So I expect they will help out with preparation for tests for 13+ but it has to be kept on the downlow if you prefer to remove them earlier than y8.

Hopefully a current parent will be along to give their opinion too.

Is Wimbledon in the catchment of Sutton Grammar? Also, I read that about 60 of Sutton Grammar's 135 places and 15 of Wallington's places go to the catchment zone. Do you know the difference in the cut off score for each of these between in catchment and out of catchment candidates?

Hi there, just adding my thoughts here, if useful.

my son is happy and his progress is brilliant. I disagree with the post about pastoral care not being great, but I’m mindful that we all have different experiences- my son had some regulation issues, and homefield worked with him in social groups and in interventions to help him understand how his emotions can be managed.

not all schools are right for all boys- but I can say that my son loves it there and the teachers have been really supportive in working with us a family.