Chepstow House thoughts?

[mommytobe2020]

Hello! DS has a confirmed reception place at Chepstow House and I was wondering if anyone has any recent opinions or feedback on this school? We also have DS registered for a couple other schools with 4+ assessments, but are really excited about the place at CH.
DS is a very happy and energetic boy who I think will need a good balance of academics and extra curricular / sports (hard to tell who exactly they will be at such a young age!... so it also feels a bit of pressure to choose the right school for him at such a young age!)
Any recent thoughts on CH? Thank you!!

bump :)

Hi! I’ve heard good things about the facilities and academic quality. However, haven’t been super impressed by the way the admissions office handled us as prospective parents. No date set for taster day for two months, no response to emails - after we’ve paid the registration fee twice.

As a parent, would like to feel valued and for my child to matter, and would also like to have strong communication with the admin. We already need to respond to other schools so I guess that’s that…

That being said, I’m sure your child can thrive there - they seem to have a good balance with extracurricular activities and I really liked the head when we spoke a few years ago.

If you’ve actually gotten a response and a tour, your experience may be different from ours! Just see if you’re okay with the size of the school.

Thanks very much for your message! That’s a shame you haven’t had a good admin experience. So far for us it has been ok, but we are looking at 2025 and they don’t offer tours until next year and our deposit is not due yet. We did tour the nursery and were able to see some of the rest of the school and reception classes, which seemed bright and happy. So, not much admin for us yet. I’ve only heard good things about the Head, though haven’t met her.

what are your thoughts on size? Did you feel it was too large? I’m guessing from your message, you’ve decided on a different school? We are also looking at some selective schools, but I’m just not convinced that’s the right path for my son yet.

Honestly, we haven't been able to see it yet either! Finally got a message back after two emails, kind of blaming the Easter break and bank holidays - but we've applied to and gotten offers from 3 schools after we first reached out to them so that doesn't really seem great.

In any case I think it's probably still a great school, bright and happy as you said, with really good facilities for Central London. It's supposed to be less high-pressure than, for instance, Wetherbys, which in my head is not a bad thing. Different things work for different parents, but there's a big tuition culture at a very early age in a lot of the more competitive schools.

We went for a much smaller school in the early years because that's what we thought would work best for our son - he was a slightly nervous toddler who really loved other kids and just wanted a best friend in the playground, but we saw him getting pushed around. He really did thrive, and now we're ready for a slightly bigger canvas. We may end up deciding between Norland Place and Thomas's, if that's helpful at all. Really liked the culture at NPS - seemed wholesome and healthy.

Hi there you may have made your decision as I’ve only just seen this. I had two boys both very sporty and I can heartily recommend. The teaching in music provided great foundation in their chosen instruments and the sports provision was truly terrific for a small prep. In fact seems more professionally run than my son’s current senior school provision. According to a member of staff it is one of the more creative schools. The only thing I would say is that the kids may need a bit more extra help in maths if they want a highly highly selective 11+ option. I would send my kids there all over again. Good retention of teachers which can be a tricky issue in many schools. Headmistress not a ‘hugger’ but runs a good ship! Deputy fabulous.

P.S Quite different culture from NHP. But I’ve heard from lots of people about NHP that academics are quite lacking (to be fair this was a few years ago so may have changed - parents really quite concerned in last years of school). Chepstow also fabulous for SEN and help with any problems with the kids.

Avoid Chepstow until the current head is in place. 40% of our class left this year (to other schools) because the leadership does not care, every single time as a parent you ask for something - the answer is no. No communication, academic standards is low as shown by exit results (and even that achieved by tutoring for 2 years minimum). All bright kids leave the school and they accept anyone - people moving countries with zero english which drags the whole class level down. Pure profit making focus.

Wonder if this is because of being owned by Inspired Education? Their entire portfolio of schools shows they favor profit over quality.

Chepstow House has been very desperate in trying to get their registration numbers up.