Chiswick Schools 2024/25: Orchard House vs. Southfields Primary

[WestLndn]

Hello folks,

We live in Chiswick, and are looking for a primary school for our little one. Our choices are between the private Orchard House (now merged with Chiswick Bedford Park) or Southfields (which is an outstanding public school we are close to - but no guarantee of getting in).

Orchard House looked lovely during our visit, and is near our home which a big plus, but there are a lot of negative reviews here - especially around quality of staff etc. Does anyone here have kids that go to Orchard House currently, or have any recent experiences with the school?

Our daughter is a little bashful, and thrives in smaller and quieter settings, which OH seems a good fit. However we don't want to put her through the ordeal of changing schools unnecessarily if the new management under Duke's isn't great. Plus we want to make sure its worth the +£25k over Southfields especially in the lower years.

Appreciate your thoughts and advice!

Many thanks :)

P.S. Unfortunately we haven't got into the Ravenscourt, Kew or Bute in their lottery selection, so these are our only choices

Hi
I would advise to try and speak to parents who have kids in both schools. My DD used to be at CBPP nursery (when Dukes bought the school) and decided to move her to another state school in Chiswick. We never regretted our decision. We went through 7+ process recently and she will be moving to Bute in Sep. In my personal opinion, it’s not worth it to pay for private in the first 3 years especially when you have a good state option. I’ve heard that new head (ex head of Grove Park) is really good and parents are happy with the school. But as I said, try to speak to Southfield parents, they’ll be able to give you a more detailed view of the school.

Have sent a you a PM

@Simplymom please may we have a conversation about this? I would be grateful for some advise.

@achiswickmum have sent you a PM

What did you decide ?