Claremont Fan Court School vs Hampton Court School

[Fdemi]

Help a confused mum 😩

I will be moving to the UK this autumn and have my eyes on CFCS and HCH. I love CFC school but I am worried about my kids being the only black kids in the school ( i didn't see any other black person in sight on their website). I also love HCH but I am worried about the fact that they've had 5 heads of schools in 5 years (read that on another thread). For a set of kids who enjoy being challenged academically but want a relaxed environment with great clubs. What school is the best option? Which has the best pastoral care? I am worried that they may be bullied about skin colour and accents in CFC but the cases heard about at HCH gives a cause for concern.
Thank you!
FD.

Do you have offers? Claremont is quite over subscribed in the prep esp as you approach age 11.
Claremont is more stable with an excellent head, every year it gets more popular. HCH is a niche school, some parents travel miles for it, not as many local parents choose it, esp with the French immersion in the prep.

I wouldn't worry about diversity, the private school sector in Surrey/Kingston is diverse.

There are other options you could consider like Twickenham Prep in Hampton which is located very close to HCH. Also Radnor House prep which I believe is going to be located near Richmond/Kew in Sept.

Also Newland House in Teddington, academic and with clubs.

@tennissquare thank you for responding. We don't have offers yet, still reaching out to both schools. We also have Fulham school thrown into the mix bur I don't know much about them either.

Best of luck but if HCH ends up being your only option look at other local preps because it's a very niche school. Overall the prep sector is not full in the area but as you have probably realised many are single sex and year 3 and year 5 are often the hardest to achieve a place in. Radnor House prep will give you continuation up to age 16 at Radnor House school (which is being rebranded as Kneller Hall ) as well as Fulham Prep/School being an option.

You may be set on indies OP but local state schools will also likely have spaces and there are some very good ones in SW London

Hi @Fdemi
Claremont Fan and HCH are quite similar. I have a child at each. Both are 'all through' meaning that you don't have to move again for senior school. Claremont's facilities are better than HCH, but HCH is definitely more academic and I would say more friendly than Claremont. Both schools have 'a history' of some issues - but have come through it - HCH did go through a rocky period a couple of years ago - but now under the new Head is just a fabulous as it used to be. I think it really depends on your child which they would suit best. I would visit both and get a feel for the school and which would better. Good luck and look forward to seeing you at one or other :)