Griffin House / Bucks primaries

[JustbemoreMargo]

Wondering if anyone has any experience of Griffin House School in Little Kimble? We are looking for a nurturing prep school with smallish class sizes for our daughter, but don't know anyone who has had children there (we are relative new comers to the area), so would love to hear from any current / recent parents.

We are also looking at Crown House / Pipers Corner / Godstowe, but Griffin would be logistically the easiest. I am just a little concerned it won't be as strong academically or as well resourced as Pipers or Godstowe (which is reflected in the fees of course!), but have also heard some negative things about Pipers so currently a bit unsure. We also have a younger son (who is a few years off school still) but we are open minded regarding co Ed vs single sex schools so it is not a deal breaker if we had them at different schools.
Thankyou in advance!

@BewitchedorBewildered You have to look at destinations. Why am I sniffy about the grammars? Im not. It’s just true that The Gateway doesn’t prep for boarding. It never did, it’s not its usp, and I’ve been around here for decades.

The Gateway has a lot go to grammars when compared to most state primaries, but actually far less than used to go. This might be because most Bucks primaries are good and of course can get DC to John Colet or The Misbourne without any tutoring or fees. As it’s mostly professional parents who can afford the fees, of course 11 plus passes are good but I do agree they are not stellar. That doesn’t mean the other parents did not want a grammar though. Thats the point. None have gone to a very selective private secondary and many parents would have taken a grammar as first choice. So when choosing a school, your choice of destination matters. It’s very clear: The Gateway is not prepping for Eton or CLC but very much for grammars and local indies who don’t get the results the grammars do.

I agree that Gateway leavers are looking at grammars and local indies. I don’t agree it’s a crammer and full of pushy parents. Our experience has been many families with 2 working parents who have chosen it for the breadth of curriculum and wide variety of clubs and wraparound care which exceeds local state offerings. And that value a smaller class for their children. We have been very impressed by the staff and other families seem down to earth.

Exactly @Glitterbaby17 it's the negative connotations that don't sit well with me. As if other more expensive schools aren't pushy and preparing the DC for their next stage entrance exams and interviews. I was pointing out that I know families who were not hellbent on grammars who have sent their DC there and over-generalisations can be misleading. There is a lot more to a school than a list of destinations. Locally the school is considered a nice nurturing prep school with a village feel and a nurturing vibe with normal and mainly working parents rather than full-on hothouse. As I said I have no skin in the game but if people are on here looking for validation for their school choices for their DC, a bit of balance wouldn't go amiss.

Also @TizerorFizz, if we do have to boil prep schools down to just destinations for this discussion, looking at Godstowe's current list, although agreed a wide range of boarding schools as you say, they are not all highly selective and very academic ones (WA, CLC etc.) Also listed - Berko, Clares Court, RMS and Pipers - just normal local independent day schools. As I say, not black and white.

Godstowe is not a selective prep and never has been. Also some people always want local day schools or grammars. The destination lists and percentages are different to Griffin or Gateway and girls staying to 13 are either going to board in future or will go to WA at 13. It is black and white in that Griffin and Gateway parents aren’t looking at boarding at 11 or 13. Not a single child does this and, for girls, it’s Godstowe that has the links and the better facilities and separate subject teachers. So parents should make an informed choice based on destination they are likely to want. The majority do.

You cannot say that no Gateway parents are thinking of boarding later and that not a single child at Gateway goes to a boarding school at 13! I am not going to be too outing but I know at least one who is now at Wellington and started at Gateway then somewhere else until thirteen and then Wellington. I know another who did a similar trajectory from Gateway and then on to somewhere else for a couple of years and now at Bradfield. You need to appreciate that tables of statistics don’t give the full picture. As I said - not black and white.

And many don’t choose a school with a destination school in mind. They wait to see the child as they develop and decide what suits then.

Do you mind if I ask which prep was 'more of a hothouse'?

Thankyou so much for this suggestion.
Unfortunately it's too far away from us, although it looks like a lovely school.

@TizerorFizz may I ask if you are currently working in the education sector?

Thanks for this - it sounds very much what we are looking for

Thanks @BewitchedorBewildered - yes like all parents we are just trying to make the best choices we can for our children (and yes some validation is welcome!)

I would suggest being very thorough in your research of whether the finances of small preps are secure.Some of those in your list are very well established. Some may have a slightly checkered history in terms of ownership. Some small preschools have falling rolls and may not be viable, particularly with a change of government if rolls fall. This is less of an issue with the big players, but it's best to do your due diligence imho.

Yes that sounds sensible - Thankyou

As mentioned upthread the schools you mentioned are very different. Griffin House and Gateway are largely 11+ grammar or Berko focused - while Godstowe is a feeder for properly posh 13+ boarding schools.

We looked round GH a couple of years ago and rejected it because the main building felt very run down - needed a complete overhaul. But I know people who've been there recently and were happy with it.

As your kids are very young I would pick whichever is closest to you. If you're new to the area you're presumably wanting to make local friends - for you and dc. You can always switch schools when they're older but I'd stay local for early years.

Hi there,
DD currently at Griffin House and we are incredibly happy with the school. New Head joined middle of last term and it’s like a different school compared to a year ago.

We were very close to pulling DD out but we feel there has been a massive turnaround and are very optimistic about the future.

all the comments above about limited sports etc were part of our concerns but these are being addressed.

The school are owned by Chatsworth who are definitely investing heavily and have so far delivered everything they promised so far on time. There’s lots more in the pipeline.

Griffin is definitely not as polished as a lot of the other local private schools but for us that is part of its charm.

I have always been local and actually attended Godstowe myself, always assumed DD would too but it simply wasn’t the right fit for us!