Yateley Manor, Eagle House, Holme Grange and St Neots

[maniami]

I’m looking at a private school for my child starting in Reception this year. I’m local to this area and these are the schools that are within travelling distance.
I’m looking for up to date info on the schools..I’m looking for somewhere that will help my child grow, be happy whilst pushing them.. is YM still as academic as it once was? I feel the facilities aren’t great compared to other schools. I liked St Neots but I wonder if it’s not as academic as I’d like.. plus the pre prep areas weren’t that amazing for the size of the school but I liked the new head who comes from Eagle House and the sports facilities there.
Holme grange was lovely, the reception area was pleasing but the classrooms were freezing but I’m not 100% convinced about the school..
lastly EH, which to be honest have yet to visit, but I have been a while ago and it was grand, is it a nurturing school for my child? I feel it’s quite academic, and very competitive. Plus not sure whether I’m keen on the boarding side of it.
So any parents with children at any of those school with new updated insights would be most welcome. I’m sure they’re all good in their different ways but just not sure… 😊

I have children at Holme Grange and we have been very happy with the school. I’d say it is a good balance between academic and nurturing and there’s a nice wide curriculum with plenty of sport and outdoor time.
Maths is set from quite early on. English is taught in mixed ability groups but with differentiation of class work and homework.
Pastoral care has been good and they have been responsive to any issues raised. I haven’t spent much time in the classrooms so can’t comment on the temperature but my children haven’t complained and they generally choose not to wear their school jumpers. Apparently the food is good too.
If I was being picky, an indoor pool for year round swimming would be nice and parking can be a challenge on Fridays.
Hope that helps!

Hi @Hurricaneharriet ,

I'm looking at HG for year 3 for my son. It is a bit far from where I live about 30 mins drive. St.Neots and Yataley Manor are about 15 mins drive but I had the same opinion as other user in this post. How would you rate HG academically for year 3-6? Are there regular assessments and push them to improve their abilities? My son currently goes to a state school and one thing I noticed is lot of home schooling is required. I don't want the same to happen if I'm spending that much money on private school fees. Also most likely I'll look at grammar schools from Year 7. I want to make sure my son is acdemically good when he comes out of year 6.

I have a child in prep at Holme grange. We moved over from a state school post Covid due to dc getting very behind. My dc has thrived - not just academically but in confidence and well being. There aren’t lots of assessments and they don’t focus on 11+ but certainly my dc is progressing well academically. Pastoral care is excellent and the sporting side of things is really well managed - even if your dc isn’t v sporty they still get to take part in fixtures. I agree an indoor pool would be awesome but they are about to build a new sports hall so hopefully the pool will be next 😂

my 2 never complain about being cold and love the food!

In reply to the question about testing, proper exams are only once every year but spellings, times tables and mental maths are tested in little classroom tests weekly. There is a fair amount of homework- more than at state schools but it is manageable. As far as I know there is no preparation for 11 plus or for any entrance exams, so it is not a traditional prep school in that sense, possibly because HG itself offers Y7-11 so not in their interests to assist pupils in leaving!

Hi. I have a son in Reception at St Neot's. He is thriving! Absolutely no complaints about going to school. It might not be flashy (I don't know many that are) but he's certainly very happy and loves the space. They have their classroom plus the courtyard & then the woods.

I was drawn to the school from Open Morning where I was so impressed by the Year 7&8s. I thought if my child could be half as confident & polite as them, I would be happy. Then as I dug deeper and asked questions, I really liked the fact that the academics were well rounded. I think they get a rep for not being overly academic because there is a lot of focus on the outdoors, and pastoral (which is also very important) but the academics really set the children up with skills for life. A school, in my opinion, can very much be both academic and warm & nurturing. I think St Neot's is just that.

They had a senior schools fair last week, and I was curious so I popped in and they had some very good schools in attendance, schools that St Neot's children are clearly going to. If I recall there was Wellington, Bradfield, Charterhouse, Shiplake, Lord Wandsworth obviously and about 6 or so others. At this stage I have no idea where he'll end up.

I'm not 100% on assessments but I do note on my school calendar that there's assessment weeks for children further up the school.

Happy to answer further questions- PM me if you like.

Hi @anonymouse , Many thanks for sharing your experience. If I may further ask you, could you pls comment on sports and after school clubs for Year 3 onwards? Their facilities seem good but all depends on the PE istructors how well they train their students. Any afterschool club in sports, music, drawing would be good.

@rn71 I don't have direct experience with year 3+ but I do have friends with children further up the school & they seem very happy with the provision. I recently had a conversation with a mum who has very different children (i.e one quite academic, one more into arts and one incredibly sporty). Whilst they'll likely be going off to different seniors, she was really happy that their needs could all be catered well in the same school at this stage.

Sport is a little different in pre-prep but I read the coach's updates in the weekly newsletter & prep teams seem to be doing really well. Last week they won 4 out of 7 matches. The scholarships section on the website shows that 4 had a sport scholarships last year as well as others gaining drama, academic & DT.

There's a variety of sports clubs; football, hockey, rugby, cricket and I think golf might have recently been added. My son does swim club. Due to covid he didn't swim before starting St Neot's, bar baby classes. Last week he did 3 full lengths of the pool unaided. He also goes to craft club. There's 40 or so clubs across the school to choose from depending on what year your child is in.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for the replies. To be honest I think they’re all great schools. I really did like St Neots, and I love the pastoral side to it and the facilities for sport are great. The new head was really nice too. My only concern was that I felt the prep prep area could be better. Compared to the other schools it just felt quite small and the rooms were small, with such amazing facilities it would be nice to have a better area for them. Holme grange has a huge reception space that was pretty impressive in comparison. It’s such a tough decision deciding what’s best!

Thanks @anonymouse @maniami for your responses. My child is on waiting list in Holme Grange for Year 3 this year . St Neots is yet to confirm if they can offer a place. HG has got excellent review in the latest ISI report. I'd have preferred HG if not for the distance. @maniami May I know which school did you decide for your child?

We haven’t decided yet. It’s a constant back and fourth in my head right now but if I’m honest I feel it may be YM just as it’s convenient for us and they have wrap around care morning and evening and that is so handy for us. My husband can do drop offs which he wouldn’t be able to do anywhere else. Also I’ve heard good things about the school, I just feel it’s a bit tired and the facilities aren’t great for private fees. With this in mind - we will probably look at schools for year 3.
Our end game is to send our child to an academic secondary school, grammar/wellington. So having a school that prepares for those tests is handy.
Eagle House was lovely with open bright classes but there’s a wait list, so happy to wait until year 3 for that one and that’ll give time to see how the new headmistress is getting on. She’s just joined in Jan.

Lambrook and Hall Grove are full, so again, options to look at for year 3. This time I’ll look in advance and hope not to miss out if we need to make a move at year 3.

I hope you’ll get your place at HG or St Neots soon!

It is a tough decision, especially as there is such choice in the area. We're really happy with our choice.

@maniami St Neot's have wrap around too. Drop off is from 8 and there's creche until 6pm. We do club & then creche some nights.

@rn71 I think there is a waiting list for Year 3 at St Neot's too. Hopefully you get a place at one of your choices.

@maniami I had the same feeling when I looked at YM. The headteacher address didn't seem convincing. St. Neots looked better in terms of facilities. But I've heard YM is academic, I don't know much about St.Neots. Even I'm considering grammar schools for secondary. I don't think any of these private schools will prepare for the tests

Eagle House isn't academically selective, though I don't know about competitive. Head is very new.

I would look really closely at where these schools feed into for senior schools. YM only sends 1 or 2 children if that to Wellington every year. My children left YM a few years ago now and my perception is it is no longer the school it used to be. The HM is weak and has poor resources. Doesn't compare to Eagle House or Lambrook. I would go on the waitlist and wait for the right school.

@wedlock94 yes completely agree with everything you’ve said. I know a few parents who have gone through YM and feel the same way. I’ve booked a viewing for Lambrook in September!!!!! Only appointment available but this is for year 3.

I’ve contacted Wellington and they spoke well of all the local schools. I’ve also been told kids at wellington from EH aren’t as bright as the ones from other schools but I guess that’s down to a larger intake from EH, whereby they select the top few from each school.

It’s great to have lots of feedback though and updated opinions for other parents in the same situation.

Daneshill (the Hampshire one)? Soon to be renamed Wellesley Prep?

I have 3 kids at Yateley Manor and we are very happy, they are doing well academically (my eldest moved at year 3 and was just below average in year 2 SATS she is now working at above the year 6 level across the board and been able to pass entrance exams for her choice of senior schools well), at sports and gained so much confidence since starting 4 years ago.
There are different clubs each day after school and I often work away or overseas and know they are happy and looked after.
The teachers are amazing and my kids are very happy and love going to school as well as doing well.
I think there are other schools which have bigger/more facilities and may be more focused on getting kids into specific schools/passing exams however I feel the school are supporting my children to do the best they can, find the secondary school which is best for them, and to be nice/kind.

How do you feel about the new changes at YM?

Sorry I know this is an older thread but also interested in Yateley Manor! The fact they're offering secondary education from now makes it even more appealing...

The new head at Eagle House only lasted one term! That caused some uproar but I don't know how things are now. More settled, probably.