Highgate Pre Prep Vs The Hall

[Thankfulmum2024]

Dear mums, hoping you can help me with my dilemma. We’re very grateful that our DS has offers (4+) to both The Hall and Highgate and is in a tangle as to which school to pick for our son. Our son is very academic and timid (he’s naturally obedient and is easily put off by strict / cold environments). We love Highgate as it’s both co ed and goes all the way up to 18 but have heard that the school isn’t as academic (especially at the pre prep/junior school).
on the flip side the 11+ exams can be rather stressful for both parent and child and given the right opportunity, I would like to avoid this for my DS.

Also read about the Highgate breaking incident of bullying in 2021 and was wondering if this matter is prevalent throughout the school?

sorry if I’m blabbering here but just writing out my thoughts…

Congratulations OP!

Following this with great interest as we have a similar dilemma except ours is for our DD (super selective prep vs super selective 4-18 all through) We are not sure if staying at the same school for so many years is a plus or is change good.

Both great schools. My DS is in Year 1 at Highgate and is very academic but in all honesty has not been challenged academically for 2 years since he’s been there. The more modern syllabus is certainly a lot more gentle there. It’s well known that at 7+, the Highgate pre-preps are well behind the other 7+ pupils joining the school. The Hall has become a lot more nurturing in recent years but is still one of the top NW3 academic preps and it’s leavers destinations are hugely impressive - Westminster / St Paul’s / Harrow with high chances on to Oxbridge. An all boys school could make it easier to find friends for someone timid as most of the boys at Highgate stick to playing with other boys from what I can see and that’s 10 boys a class. Cliques can form quickly. Some difficult children in my DS’s class but that might be normal for all schools - every other parent knows about the one or two challenging children in the class. Very difficult to know what route a 4 year old should take to be happily educated. Good luck deciding!

My son is at the Hall and I cannot speak highly enough of the school. It is rigorous and academic, yet offers good pastoral care and a wide range of clubs that caters to all curious minds.

We know at least 4 boys at the Hall and they are thriving there! Agree BumpyS - great school!

Another vote for the Hall, it is a truly wonderful school. We are delighted with it for our son and he sounds very similar in temperament to yours

well done, both great schools and well respected locally, Hall is a selective prep school that heavily gears toward top selective senior schools entry hence you find it is progressing at a faster academic pace than all through schools (Highgate, UCS, etc.) as they need to prepare towards specific exams. However, 11+/13+ is VERY stressful and it's your child who needs to make it through with your help and the help of the prep school, so bear in mind NOT all the children make it to the top schools even from Hall. I wouldn't directly compare the academic pace at prep/junior departments of all through schools and prep school, they both serve different purposes. People try to get into all through schools so that children at a young age can avoid academic pressure, formatted exam prep and concentrate on positive learning environment and hobbies.

The other VERY important factor is commute, where do you live OP and can you move closer to the chosen school?

Bump