Uniform at Forest Prep School

[Jaffajiffy]

Hi there. Looking for advice on uniform requirements for Forest School in Walthamstow. My son is joining the Prep in September and I have the list of uniform but wondering if, like other schools, the logoed items are optional - ? E.g., the coat? Could he wear a similar navy coat? My other son attends a different school, and children there wear any coat. I was thinking of buying the jumper and blazer from the recommended supplier and doing everything else myself via M+S or similar. Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi I came here for similar advice lol…I’ve got all the key uniform items on list as went to the uniform day. I’m just not sure on the everyday school bag and coat? If any style is ok as long as navy or black maybe without any brand logos? I’ve got the forest hockey bag and sports jacket! My daughter is so excited and we’re both looking forward to the sports event in September. Michaela

Hi there! I went to the second hand uniform yesterday and chatted to the parent volunteers there. I forgot to ask about the bag but the coat is definitely the official one. I got loads of stuff and didn’t spend much so I now don’t mind about having to do the rest. Shirts and trousers are generic but most other things are the official ones. The parent volunteers were so kind and helpful! I’m sure they wouldn’t mind an email if you had any further questions.

The coat, bag and PE kits are required to be branded i believe, but just email the prep office, they will be happy to tell you. Shirts, trousers/skirts etc are non-logo anyway.

Hi! My child has just been offered a spot to start forest school year 1 in sept. We live in Hackney and are worried about the commute but otherwise keen to send our child there. How are you finding it?

Hi there. It’s a good school, I’d say and DS settled in well. The commute is punishing though. He leaves the house 7:25 and the earliest he’s back is 4:50 pm. Depending on where you are in Hackney you may have a shorter day. We are in the 11+ process for his older brother and it’s awful, so we are happy we won’t have that for the younger one. So long commute downside for through school upside. Good luck in your decision-making.

The commute itself is fine. DS has made friends on the bus. His best bus friend is 2y older and has been an (unwitting, I presume) influence for some games and access to a phone, which I wouldn’t have chosen, so it’s a consideration

Thanks @Jaffajiffy! yep I would be worried about that on the bus too but DS is only 5, so not a concern yet. The bus is at the top of our road so would probably end up using it.

What year is your child in? The biggest put off is the commute. We are in Stokey, Clapton side. Are there other families from the prep school from Hackney?

I think we should suck up the commute to get him in and avoid the 7+ and 11+ pressure. We will be applying elsewhere at those stages though.

Im basically confused about what to do!

Do you feel like your child is happy there?

Thanks!

DS is y3. He is happy there, yes, but he is generally easygoing and sporty so I’m less concerned about him than I might, say, with his older brother at the same age who is a bit more anxious. It’s much larger class sizes (24) than his prior (Indy) school, and only 1 TA across two classes. I do worry that anything needing early intervention (behaviour, attitude, struggling in a particular area) might be missed.
He loves the house system and they do house competitions such as singing and dancing, so that gives another element to enjoy.
While I’m nitpicking, I should say that I find the school, at times, overly formal. Eg they require children to change out of games kit into uniform, including tying their own tie, and they are very rigid on things like that. They also had a sustainability ‘push’ at the start of the year including collateral home to parents about microplastics. I wrote to query how the uniform policy aligned with their sustainability policy and got a “computer says no” response that was annoying. Most other schools have moved to ‘games kit all day’ approach to reduce safeguarding risks as well as just the faff of getting 48 x 7yr olds changed. Then the parent forum came around with an email announcing that uniform could not be raised as a topic. Parents also don’t have direct access to teachers and emails have to go via the office. The forwarding system doesn’t work and on the two times I’ve emailed in with a question for the teacher, I’ve had to follow up a couple of days later. They also wrote to me as “Mrs” when I only ever use “Ms”. I suggested they could use my first name but then got a reply to a pointed “Dear Ms Jaffa”. Just feels petty and overly formal. Not at all like our prior school.
So as a parent I’m disappointed in the admin tone; however, my son seems to be happy and progressing in his studies. We are waiting on 11+ results for his older brother and would likely send him as well, so I suppose that is the true statement of what we feel.
Hope that’s helpful!

Can I ask how long you waited on the wait list for an occasional place at Forest? My understanding is they closed their 7+ entry a few years ago and it’s now either 4+ or 11+. I noticed from your posts you started at the school in years 1 and 3. Just curious on how you found the logistics of this and how “easy” it was to get a space.

Also I could be wrong (not a forest parent) but I don’t think children can use the school bus until year 3.

They are expanding their prep school and adding a class to each year group all the way up to year3 👍🏼

You could be right re the bus; we only looked into it for Y3.
We put DS on the occasional place waiting list In October 2022. He was invited for an assessment in feb 2023 which was with 35-40 others. He had a second round and then an offer in March 2023. So I imagine anyone on the list can join in the assessment. There were only 2 places I believe. A few places come up because families choose to move (Bancroft seemed to be the main school) to schools with 7+ entries even though Forest is now all the way through. Our older son has been on the wait list since May 2022. He’s now in the 11+ with everyone else.

Yes was going to say this as well. It’s a good time to join the school as they’re adding classes right now for sep ‘24 start

And here’s a link to the info doc about the bus service which confirms kids have to be in y3. We planned to pick DS up one night/week but he absolutely won’t have it as he loves the bus so much. https://ridekura-cdn-1.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/17102654/Forest-Bus-Service-Guide-2023-24.pdf

Thanks for the info. Wow 35-40 kids for 2 spaces that is surely more competitive than 11+. Well done to your son.
Good luck with 11+ for the older one

Just an update for anyone following. We are dismayed at the school's "us and them" tone which seems to reflect the leadership approach, and our unhappiness has intensified. We declined the 11+ place for our older son and are considering removing the younger son. Also, the senior school fees are increasing by 9.3% next year, which was the straw on the camel's back.

@Jaffajiffy what happened in the last 3 months to make you change your mind?

@Charlotte120221 I will PM you as the details will be too outing. Suffice to say I find the (prep) school leadership just not very good. It's like they're playacting at being 'a respected public school' and trying too hard at gravitas without having very good systems in place.

Hi my daughter is supposed to start year 3 in September 24. Can @Jaffajiffy let me know what changed? Thank you!

I believe the head of Charterhouse Square school is moving to the prep at Forest so things may change. Make of that what you will !

Hi @Andwegoroundagain apologies but I’m not sure what that means as I don’t know that school! In What capacity is the head from charterhouse square school coming to Forest prep for? To be the new head? We just had a intro talk at the school yesterday and the current head was speaking as if he would be still be there in September

@Bow7400 maybe I am wrong but someone told me that the Head of Charterhouse square was moving to be the head of prep school at Forest. Next year maybe ? But I could be wrong !

I turned down a place here for senipr school

Class size of 26 every form, very cramped class rooms, all the work is identical stage to state school equivalent, no ability tiers

Surprised how squashed and decaying the facilities are

Fees also gone up 20% last few months.

Not value for money.

I live locally and also well known high number of supply teachers (same as local secondaries) and teachers at Forest have been repeatedly striking over conditions and pensions.

Local state schools deliver the 8-9s for high ability kids & saved fees can pay for uni and house deposit

Locally lots of kids are leaving and not a great reputation - people saying in financial difficulty. There's private FB groups ahout it btw

Is 26 in a class senior or prep? (Pretty sure prep was 24 but may have increased?)