Eaton House the Manor vs Pembridge Hall

[ChrisSimon]

We are lucky to have the reception offer of both Eaton House the Manor and Pembridge hall in the year of 2027. We live in Central London so driving to both school is both at around 30 mins. Which should we pick?

2027? And u have offers now?

yes as advised I applied at around 6 months ago (when my girl is at around 0.5 years old) and got the offers after 2-5 months.

Neither are good enough schools to warrant a 30 min journey from central London…

you’ll be passing several schools as good on your way, did you not get offers from anywhere else

Both schools will have a largely local parent base, so it won’t just be a ballache school run, but there won’t be any local friends for play dates, to see informally at weekends etc

Thanks for your advice tenbob. I have also signed up for around 8 most popular private pre prep according to the information from the internet. However, most of them are selective. I won't know whether my girl can get in until late 2026 or 25 depends on school policy.......

You don’t need to decide on the Eaton House place now. They always have spaces available
All they will do is pressure you to sign up now so they’ve got you on the hook for a deposit and term of fees if you decide to go with somewhere else.

Either way, you need to wait until your daughter is a bit older to see what sort of child she is and therefore what sort of school will suit her.

thanks a lot for your reply again. I thought Eaton House the Manor Girl's school's result is quite good so it maybe a difficult school to enter....same as Pembridge....maybe I am wrong?

Eaton House the Manor has a site that feels cramped and over developed, and has to use Clapham Common for games (great for space, less good for dogs, shit and general public). Also don't drive there - no parking and narrow streets around that are badly overcrowded during school run times. Not a school that's worth travelling to IMO, though it does have extensive wrap around and holiday clubs.

Thanks a lot for your comment SquirmOfEels. We immigrate to London so we don't know much about the schooling system here. Your comment is very helpful.

The thing I noticed about your post is how far apart the schools are.

I general, I'd say avoid long school runs, especially if there are bottlenecks on the journey. This will loom larger in your life than you might imagine. And unless you live very near one of the bridges, avoid one that mean you have to cross the Thames.

You really need to re-visit the schools when your DD is a little older and you've had more time to see what sort of school might suit her. Ask around locally which preps people like, and why they like them

By 2027 the chances of a labour govt adding 20% vat to fees is high. Many people won't bother with private pre prep schools, you will have lots of choice!!

thanks both for very useful comment. Yes , we live near the bridge. but of course I would avoid a long school run if possible. Once confirmed a place , maybe we will move nearby. Meanwhile, any good school recommend? We are new in London so would love to know more excellent school for DD, we prefer academic school which led to Oxbridge (sorry to being old school).

I think that thinking about Oxbridge at this stage is a little premature! There are so many factors involved in choosing a school and I think you need to wait a bit to see how your child develops - what their interests are, their personality, whether they are confident/follower/leader, whether or not they’re academic. You can then find a school that can foster their development.

I fully agree and understand Hihosilver. However, those big name pre-prep are asking us to put down the name asap and most of them even believe in selecting students in 3+ and 4+...how funny is it....I don't believe in any selection before the age of 10 at all but that's the world we are living in.....even Oxbridge graduate is suffering these days I can't imagine the others....what's wrong with our country and system?

What I think you need to do is get on the lists of a couple of "first come first served" schools, and then try a few selective ones.

You might want to think about using an education consultant (big name in this field is Gabbitas) to help you make a realistic short list

I suspect you're getting a bit caught up in the hype of the supposedly competitive central London schooling. In reality there are plenty of schools to go round, state and private and there is genuinely no need to stress about getting your child into the right pre prep/ prep to ensure entry to Oxbridge!

I understand - it’s tricky when it’s your first child and you’re not familiar with the system. It’s easy to get sucked into the stress and pressure but, as others have said, there are plenty of good schools around. You’re much better being at a local school and some of the state schools get very good results and feed children into excellent secondary schools, both private and state.

Thanks all. I have registered my girl for a few selective private school too. Let's see which school she can get into at last. Will keep updating everyone.

Try not to worry. Most pre prep s don't start until 3 or 4 years old so you have until the year prior to make a decision. You need to get a feeling for what is right for your child, you can't be thinking about university choice so young, it implies to that other pathways aren't available, your child might not want to pursue that route. My dc was diagnosed with autism at 2.5, mainstream private school nurseries just didn't want her

I feel very sorry for your family anothernamechangeagainsndagain. I hope your DD will be better. Will relax.

If you are really focussed on Oxbridge (despite her age), I’d be concentrating on Bute House, Faulkner House and Glendower Prep. They are collectively the top feeders for St Paul’s Girls, which gets close to 50% of its cohort to Oxbridge.

applied all except for Bute House ballot which has not started. Basically I followed London pre prep for the applications. Thanks Lolaandbehold.

Our son is in Eaton House The Manor nursery and we are so glad that we chose this for him. Within a weeks time there was so much positive changes in him. The staffs are excellent and so very nurturing and caring. Probably an environment every child would thrive. The pastoral care is awesome, the head of nursery and the teachers work very closely with parents if needed.

You're welcome to PM, DC were in one of the schools discussed here