Manor Lodge vs. Radlett Prep

[drmomoftwo]

Hi Guys, we are deciding between Manor Lodge in Hertfordshire and Radlett Prep...
Both are fantastic schools. ultimately we will not be able to afford secondary private school education so I would prefer to send them to the school that prepares them better for state grammar school...

Any opinion/ knowledge on this would be so so helpful.
Thank you in advance!

Hiya,

Congrats to your little one. I have a little boy and I'm thinking of applying to Manor Lodge. What was the 4+ assessment like, do you have any tips?

Have you been to see the school? I think it’s amazing esp for kids that like the outdoors. Nurturing yet academic with good facilities and grounds. It’s the location that’s a little far for us and Radletts much closer.
in terms of assessments it seemed like it was more play based. good luck

I have 2 kids at Radlett Prep and I couldn’t be happier with the school. It is so nurturing and provides an excellent education. School is developing in so many ways and we are excited to see what’s to come.

Agree, my kids have flourished at the school. New head has made so many exciting changes and the girls sports in particular has been incredible offering so many opportunities, fostering a love of sports.

@drmomoftwo curious what you decided?

Hi@drmomoftwo we too are considering these schools will be keen if to hear what have you decided and any factors that helped to differentiate the school

Hi @Chococheese and @Schoolmum38 i understand you bot have kids at Radleet, we met the school last week and positive about it. Can you please help in understanding how is the 11+ prep in the school and how are the teachers in upper years esp. year 4 and year 5 as we are relocating and my daughter will be going a major transition from area , house to old friends etc . Also keen to know how is the art in the school. During our trip, no one mentioned about art lessons to any art competitions. Its will be helpful to understand the areas we didnt cover in our tour

@ANNABEL145 I dont know much about Manor Lodge and would be helpful if i can connect with .I can send you a direct message and may I know which year group is your child in

Sure

Hi All, Just checking if anyone can share their experience please

The upper school teachers are amazing, nurturing and very experienced. To answer your question about art, there are so many opportunities, art trips, competitions and support for 11+ art scholarship applications too

@ANNABEL145 Hi there, we visited the school manor lodge yesterday and it felt very positive. it has very good infrastructure . the buildings and grounds are amazing. as mentioned in previous post , we dont know much about this school. Would you be able to share how is the academics in the school and are the children challenged on every level. Do the school offer opportunities to participate in competitions - be it sports/ Arts . I have aslo sent you a Pm. Will appreciate if you few mins to respond.

@Schoolmum21 thank you so much for your reply. I understand you meant for the school Radlett. I am glad to hear if they support arts too.

Hi all, sorry for the massive delay in my reply, we decided to apply to manor lodge. We've looked at about 23 schools and by far Manor lodge has been our favourite ❤️. Anyone else applying for manor lodge please or any tips on the assessment process?

Hi, did anyone go for the manor lodge assessment day?

Yes we did. Anxiously waiting for the results fingers crossed for Friday

Hi, we got our letter yesterday. I’m not sure if they’re doing a phased offer process. Good luck!

We got ours this morning :)

Hiya,

Would be grateful for any tips you'd give for the 4+ assessment for manor lodge? I'm hoping to apply next year x

If you'd like to send me a private message, I'll share with you all we did

Hi
I am feeling quite distraught as my little one didn't get into ML unfortunately. I would like to know if anyone has experienced this and had any positive outcome in terms of a 2nd chance ? I would also like to know if someone can share what happened during the assessment so that I can get a better understanding. Thanks x

Aw I'm sorry to hear this.

I heard this year ML was difficult in terms of over 185 applicants and only around 60 places with at least 20 kids from their nursery, so really only 40 available.

I have no experience myself but I'm sure there would be some movement as some may have applied to other schools or state schools.

From what little I got from my one, she mentioned drawing, numbers, listening to story.

They split kids up into groups so we assumed group activities and assesment but it turned out to be 1:1 with a teacher

Mine is born in january, so I'm not sure if the activities were different according to age groups as I believe some schools do this.

Sorry couldn't help further

Hi, I’m so sorry your little one didn’t get an offer. It’s such a tough process. ML is the most competitive school we’ve applied to and we know many children in the past who didn’t get in.
with regards to the assessment

1. tescher read jack in the beanstalk and they spoke about the story after
2. build a structure using cubes
3. wrote their name
4. jigsaw puzzle about clothing and seasons in
5. find two things in the forest plant it using something you find shall about what it grows into it

in all honesty, we did lots and lots of preparation for this asssessment for a long time. It’s such a tough process!

Thank you for the feedback, did your nurseries prep the children really well for the assessment out of interest? The children you know in the past who haven't got in, has there been any reassment as such or I wonder if the nursery can intervene in any way.
Does anyone know what St hildas, radlett prep and St Margs prep is like? There has been an unfortunate change in head in edge grove which draws alot of uncertainty.
Re ML our little one had mentioned doing all those things in the assessment so sounds familiar.
4+ is looking very stressful at the moment. Thanks for all your feedback.

Hi, @Mamaof2bushey . I'm happy to share what I did. If you'd like just send me a private message