Dulwich College or Dulwich Prep

[hsdlgfso]

My son has received 4+ and 7+ offer from Dulwich College, while we are still waiting for an offer from Dulwich Prep. DC is my dream school. However, my husband prefers Dulwich Prep because Dulwich Prep prepares more training for 11+ exams. He also likes Dulwich College, but he wants to put my son under some pressure.

If we choose DC, it means most likely my son can stay in DC until he is 18 years old. In this case, my son will be happy and we will not have to move home in the next ten years+. If we choose DP, we will have to move home if my son changes school at 11+ and risk losing a place in DC senior school. I have no idea what to choose. Can any experienced mums give me some ideas? Thanks in advance.

DC for sure. Why put you & your DS through the stress of 11+ if you don't need to?

Isn't Dulwich Prep the primary school and Dulwich College the secondary school? They don't start at Dulwich college until age 11 (or 13?).

DPL makes sense if you want to aim at other schools - they will prepare your child very well. But if DC is your dream senior school then it doesn’t make sense to turn them down now.
I don’t think there’s much risk of kids coasting at DC, even if they don’t need to stress about 11+.

@Needmorelego no Dulwich Prep London is not of DC. Its a stand alone prep school. Dulwich College Junior school is a part of DC.

Why on earth would you husband want a primary school age child to experience 'pressure'? If you like DC, then you should go there from now. If you prefer other schools, then go for DPL which is also a fantastic school.

@MomFromSE yes out of curiosity I looked it up.
I didn't realise they were separate schools.
I drive past the Prep School in the morning and it's all little boys and when I go round the corner to the other side by the main (I assume) entrance it's all big boys.
So I assumed they were the same school 🙂
When it snowed before Christmas I was pretty impressed to see many of the little boys still wearing shorts and knee socks. Brrr 😂

Both DPL and DC are lovely schools. Have friends with kids at both and they’re very happy and stimulated there. Wouldn’t worry about your kid coasting at either - exceptional kids are given extension stuff. I think DPL is the nicer school but avoiding the hideous stress of the 11+ is an important consideration.

hsdlgfso · "he wants to put my son under some pressure."

Needmorelego "When it snowed before Christmas I was pretty impressed to see many of the little boys still wearing shorts and knee socks"

Why pressure a four year old and be impressed by them freezing?

@Moominmammacat I wasn't really "impressed" 😂
I don't know - it just made me smile for some reason. Some were in long trousers.

My son has received an offer for 4+ and 7+ from Dulwich college and an offer from Dulwich Prep. We decided to go with DPL offer. We think a more competitive environment will give an extra push for DS to achieve overall better results.

Dulwich Prep only if you expect you will want different options at 11+ or 13+

If you really want your DS at Dulwich College, then go for one of the offers you have.

If you're not confident Dulwich College will stretch your DS and that he will not fulfil his potential there, do not send him at any point/

May I know when you received 4+ offer from DPL? Thanks.

May I know when you received the 4+ offer from DPL? My son did his assessment on 10th January 2023 and we were told they’d send out offers by end of next week. It doesn’t bode well for us…

I would suggest sending them an email. As it could be that they just haven’t got round to it yet. Good luck to you DS!

🙂