6 Weeks Pregnant - Should I Be Looking at Schools?

[WestLondonMummyToBe]

In West London. I’m thinking particularly of Pembridge Hall and Wetherby. Don’t you need to register from birth? Are there others I should know about like this?

OP, please ignore advice from people who aren't familiar with these private schools.

For Wetherby you absolutely need to register at birth as the list closes very quickly.

I'd try to come up with a shortlist of schools you are interested now and then find out when they organise tours and plan to visit those you've shortlisted before giving birth so that you can register at birth for those were its required.

As @ChelseaLDN the registration and admission process varies from school to school in London (for independent schools). Make sure you are really clear on when you need to register for all those you are interested after you've made your shortlist.

If you are planning to find out the gender, I'd probably try to wait until after finding out so you aren't visiting a bunch of schools that are irrelevant.

Surely that’s a joke? You have a very long way to go. I’m not going to quote miscarriage stats at you…

Even if you can indicate your interest it is only that. The 2.5 yrs + nursery I registered my dd for decided they wouldn't take her (on speech grounds or rather lack of (she went onto being diagnosed autistic a few weeks later.

I registered DS1 at Wetherby at birth and they said he was on the waitlist as was end of Sept birthday!. When it came to it however, they wrote to me and offered a place, so I take this with a bit of a pinch of salt. This was 10 years ago when Wetherby was a bigger fish and had fewer places. I also panicked and registered at other schools and in the end we moved out of London anyway!

Having said that, if it makes you feel better then why not! I quite enjoyed touring the preps around us.

Do they also do a selection process before offering places? Or is it just whoever got their name down quickest?

Wow. This all seems mad to me! So different to the state system, where you don’t start considering until you know your child, and what will suit them. Preferable in my opinion, but each to their own.

I mean I guess putting their name down doesn't mean the have to go there, probably just keeping options open? I think most people in state system have quite a good idea of which school they'd want for their child before their born anyway, it's often part of the consideration of moving to certain areas etc

Wetherby and Pembridge Hall are non-selective so don’t. The others mostly do. Although Bute House is by ballot two years before entry.

Omg no!

That's interesting I wonder why they take a different approach. Must be a good school to be that popular tbf.

They take this approach to balance out the intake , mixture of non-selective prep-prep and very selective prep.

Its a very popular school as its next door to St Pauls girls and the girls at Bute use their pool, so its seen incorrectly as St Pauls girls junior school. (St Pauls produce the best A level results in the whole country).

Saying that, they are both Mercer Company schools , all of which produce (like their boys schools - St Pauls Boys, or Hall school Prep ) top results. As a result, very popular, especially their 7+ entry.

For the lotto, about 300+ girls for less than 15 or so places.

You can register your child at birth for Bute ballot, most register before 1st birthday ( or at least in my day). They interview parents even if you 'win' the ballot, I'm not sure what would happen if you came across as a loon to head, withdraw the place?

Honestly, I think it's too early... A third of pregnancies miscarry before 12 weeks...

And I didn't even buy any baby gear until I hit 28 weeks

I agree. The pregnancy may not even be viable yet

Why do they need to balance out the intake?

Yes I’ve heard this about it being preferable to have a birthday at the beginning of the month. However our neighbour goes there and his birthday is on the 22nd so I’m definitely taking that with a pinch of salt.

Also a state parent to be but tbf with state you can't necessarily choose - sometimes you end up at a school you really didn't want

This article is old but demonstrates the level of competition.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/caesareans-timed-to-win-school-places-djswz9fqknn

6 weeks?

Is this a joke thread?

You've not even got past your first scan to check everything is ok.

Never mind 'at least look at nurseries if not schools crap', your pregnancy might not even be viable!

It's behind a paywall. For those of us not in the know, can you explain? Do they fill up year groups by month? Or do September borns essentially take the places before children later in the year are born (which would not be any more bonkers and surely produce better results for the school?).

@MusicMum80s Thank you. I think that’s good advice. I maybe should have been clearer that by ‘looking’ I don’t necessarily mean physically looking and obviously I’m aware that not every pregnancy results in a live birth. I’m keeping possible options in mind though and have been since even before trying to conceive.

I should probably start a separate thread on this but I’m wondering whether anyone knows what Broadhurst Pre-Prep is like these days and whether 12 weeks is still often too late to stand a chance of a place. I know this used to be the case but I gather it’s changed management since then and Arnold House now having a younger intake has reduced demand in places.

Yes I agree that in a way it is awful. Even friends outside of London though say that nursery places can be all gone by 12 weeks, so I don’t think it’s so very unusual?

It makes for a more rounded school.

I think because the shadow of two exceptional girls schools in the area ( St Pauls girls and Godolphin,) and the fact Bute feeds both schools, the girls for the 7+ entry, Bute can pick the best of the best. And of course picking potential at 7+ is more realistic than 4+.

The ballot is a great leveller , without it Bute just becomes another hot house from 4+, bring in 100's of girls and pick the top 20 that appear to glow with intelligence already.

When you get to 20 weeks, you can sign them up for brownies/cubs.