Hi everyone. This is the first time in my life that I comment on a public thread. I know how useful it is to have insight from parents at schools you don’t know and are possible options. My eldest is moving to secondary in Sept 2023 and I have to admit that mumsnet helped me find valuable information that I couldn’t find in the school websites or open days.
So a long post. I hope it will be useful for some of you.
I feel that I have all the information you might need from The Village Prep school. My three daughters go there. My eldest started from Pre Prep and the other two from Prep. My eldest is now moving to Francis Holland Regents Park.
The Village Prep is a small, nurturing school with a very strong sense of community. Parents are very involved and you get to know most of the families.
Every morning Mr. F and other two teachers greet you and your kids by name and home language sometimes! With a BIG smile. All the girls are happy to go to school. You can feel a happy and welcoming vibe from the moment you step in the school every morning.
Our new head Mrs MacDonald, not so new anymore as I write, has been the best addition the school has had recently. When our eldest first joined, the founder of the school was the head. She did an incredible job making the school feel like a extended family and a kind, nurturing one. Then a new head came but he didn’t last much. He wasn’t the right person for our school and that was clear from the very beginning. It was a period of two years which created confusion among parents and teachers. But the school feedback system worked, which brought Mrs McDonald who, together with the amazing staff, took the school to the next level.
About Mrs MacDonald - she is young and driven. She knows the importance of healthy minds, happy kids and she is constantly reminding the girls that they can do anything if they work hard.
All the girls (and, importantly, teachers!) love her and she also teaches English to the older girls in the school. She is very down to earth, and interacts with all the girls and teachers. The strong bond she has created with the teachers has allowed them to successfully implement ideas, she has empowered teachers to propose and execute improvements. New areas have been created such us STEAM and VERTEX, and the level of communication with parents is now excellent.
The school is definitely not pushy, not a hot house but girls do very well academically.
My eldest is in year 6 and all of her year are moving to their first school choices next September. The girls got offers from South Hampstead, Highgate, Channing, City of London School for girls, Queens College, Queenswood, etc. They also got several academic, music and dance scholarships.
To me, as a mum, the ideal situation is when a child achieves top results as a consequence of being happy and confident. This is what I’ve seen The Village Prep produce since we have been at the school.
Also, as a mum of three girls, I’m grateful with The Village Prep school because, as a small and caring school, they proactively adjust to your kids’ abilities. They stretch the ones that can be stretched and gently support the ones that need more support, keeping their confidence high. This is something that has been truly strengthened with the new head, and my family has deeply benefitted from it. One of my girls is dyslexic, which we discovered at the end of year 1. She is bright and sporty, she is also very musical. Talented in all sorts of ways but reading and maths have been a challenge for her. The school has gone above and beyond to support her. Classes are small, which academically is a good thing and allows for an extremely personalised education. Our three daughters are very different, and the three go to school with a big smile on their faces every morning, and they are all shining at school.
The school has a number of different clubs for the girls: karate, football, ibrick, music appreciation, modern dance, coding, etc. The dance teacher is amazing and they have ballet and modern dance on the same day. Also netball is strong and they spend one afternoon a week in Hampstead Heath exploring and learning through nature. For the young girls they do gymnastics at Club North which is two minutes away walking distance from the school.
The school also has a good size playground.
Drama is very strong at The Village Prep and all the girls take part in the drama productions. I have seen very shy girls blossom and shine on stage thanks to the confidence teachers give them.
Also, they offer one-to-one lessons on all the instruments you can imagine, including singing. Music examination are taken at the school. Our eldest was given a singing scholarship at her favourite secondary school, all thanks to the great quality and support she received at The Village.
They have their in-house chef who the girls love, and I’m constantly chasing him for recipes. My girls love his food!
The school embraces traditions: Fridays assemblies, star of the week, grandparents day (my favourite with the classic May pole dance), spring fairs, Christmas fairs, sports day, etc.
There is no homework (they do them at school), something that I personally love! It reflects the values of the school that girls should be happy and well rounded in order to perform academically. Though they do get their word lists for their weekly spelling tests.
Lastly. There is an open door policy. they genuinely listen to parents, and you can go whenever you need to say whatever you have to say. You will feel heard and they do follow up.