Dulwich Prep vs Hampton Prep school

[HRSteam]

Hi! DS has been offered a nursery place
from Hampton Prep and Dulwich prep school. We are struggling to make a choice as they both are fantastic schools. We would be grateful for any insider view of the 2 schools. Many thanks in advance.

Are you not making this decision on where you want to live and your commute?
I live near Hampton prep and you may know the trains to London are slow.
Also there are not loads of options for your ds if he doesn't get selected around age 10 for a place at Hampton senior school. You are probably then looking at Reeds in Cobham, Kingston Grammar or Claremont Fan in Esher. Is the SW London / Surrey area somewhere you would be happy to be based near?
Otherwise if your ds enjoys the prep and moves to Hampton school it is a fantastic school and the catchment is large as shown on the school bus map.

@hockeygrass Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Very helpful.

Re. living near the school- we are very flexible and will potentially move to a place which is nearby. DH works in Canary wharf which will be a 60 min commute if we move to Hampton. And 40ish mins if we move to a place near Dulwich prep school. Good academic schooling is a priority at the moment and we are willing to commit to longer work commutes if that helps our DS to be in a better prep school.

As you say both fantastic .
IIRC you aren't guaranteed a place at Hampton senior school from the Prep....not sure if you are at Dulwich? if that matters.

@HRSteam , I would check the train times as yes if you get a fast train from Twickenham to London you may do the commute in 1 hour but the trains from Hampton to Richmond/Twickenham / London are slow and this is why the house prices are lower than other areas.

What are you looking for out of a school for your soon? If you really can't decide then pick the shorter commute.

What you can do with 40 minutes (20 min off the round trip each way) extra a day at home with your child in terms of academic support will more meaningful than any potential academic differences between these schools.

Even in a private school, parental support and availability make a huge impact.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. If we were to choose DPL, what would be the best areas to live in. DH works in Canary Wharf and we prefer modern flat living but would like to keep DC’s commute short

Most families will live in the wider Dulwich area but that's not directly linked to Canary Wharf.

For an easy commute into Canary Wharf and walking distance to DPL, you could live near Crystal Palace station. You can get to Canada water via the Overground and then transfer to Canary Wharf via the jubilee line.

The southern bit of Crystal Palace is also walking distance to DPL and shorter if you cycle.

I'm not sure you could live anywhere near DPL or Hampton that has lots of modern flats though loaded with amenities if that's what you are craving. They aren't really those kind of neighbourhoods.

Hi - how did you end up with making the decision? We are currently under the same situation and haven’t reached our decision yet. Much appreciated your thoughts!

Current Hampton Prep parent here. They are so far apart - where do you live and work?

Exactly.
When Hampton played Dulwich you had to set off with a packed breakfast and lunch !!

Based in Wimbledon. We picked the schools which provide school buses. Unfortunately didn’t make King’s but want to send our son to either school.

Assuming this is primary, they are both miles from Wimbledon. Send them to Rokeby or Shrewsbury House or somewhere that isn’t an hour away.

Hampton bias, but if only those two choices , I would suggest the Hampton coach is a slightly easier/nicer journey than the roads of South London?
You need to factor in your school visits and IF he is football/rugby/cricket sporty.... Saturday sport for him when in senior school.
Mine takes coach from West London and its a similar journey time as you would have to do 45/50 mins.
As you know, both are fantastic schools, so can understand it's difficult stuck in the middle!

Ah ok. But this is for a nursery place did you say? So they can’t use the coach until Year 3 anyway? I don’t know about Dulwich but there is the assured place system at Hampton which could be a plus at joining from nursery as many try to in later years but it isn’t guaranteed of course.

Thank you for your kind suggestions. My son quite active and currently crazy for football. It’s true the commuting challenge but If DC, no worries for 11+, that is the big plus…and facility is just amazing.

FWIW you can do football for 2 of the 3 terms ( then cricket/tennis etc in summer) at Hampton.
Don't know if you can do 2 terms of football at DC?...I know some schools want you to do rugby one term and football the other.
Best of luck, he will love whichever!