Hampton Prep - thoughts from current and previous parents

[ChirpySnake]

Wanted thoughts on Hampton Prep please. Have heard that the boys are worked really hard because there is no automatic entry into the senior school.

any idea on how many boys per year get their assured place to Hampton school? And can assured places get “taken away” after being awarded?

According to their website approx. 26 boys secure places at Hampton's seniors including those who receive internal scholarships. This is the average no. annually. What surprises me is that the rest of the boys do not seem to attend particularly reputable schools afterward as indicated by the leavers' destinations listed on their website. I wonder what might be happening there. When I attended their school tour, the impression given was that boys who don’t secure places at Hampton usually gain admission to their top choices elsewhere. However to me the listed schools don’t seem to reflect top choices. I would also like other to give their feedback on this. Really want to know further.

Im a Hampton parent and my ds went to another prep school but I know plenty of Hampton prep parents. Of the 26 offered places you can see that some will have also been offered Tiffin/Wilsons/Westminster under.
For the rest who didn't get into Hampton, the list of schools are all accessible to those who live in Hampton, there is a bus to Reeds from Hampton station etc. Apart from Epsom College and St George's Weybridge I can't see what schools are missing? As a Hampton school parent, when you speak to parents about other schools their dc sat, you only consider Kings / LU if you live in Wimbledon / Chiswick, and if you lived there you wouldn't go to Hampton prep.

Bump

Sorry just saw your other message. I have a son at Hampton Prep in Year 4. I wouldn’t say they are worked particularly hard 😉. I’m not sure any parents would! Perhaps it ramps up but currrently homework probably takes about 10 mins a night and there isn’t any at the weekend!
Assured places change each year but you can see from the website those offered - most of these will have been without sitting the exam. Theoretically they can get taken away but no-one has ever heard of them happening. From what I can see it’s a very fair system - certain thresholds of marks (which we don’t know) on standardised assessments and a general good report! Happy to chat further x

I would also add that the other schools listed with places are likely to be the realistic top choices often for boys that don’t get a place in seniors. Happy to chat more x

My DS has an offer from Hampton prep for year 2 for which we need to make a decision very soon. He currently attends a state primary where he is happy at but not challenged enough. We have been preparing him slowly for 7+ for schools such as KCS, SPJS and Westminster. I have three questions:
(1) we will have to relocate for attending the school, is the school worth the move?
(2) should we continue preparing for 7+? How much better are SPJS and KCS to Hampton boys?
(3) Are there any Hampton mums who can share their experience particularly around the coach service?
thanks a lot.

It really depends what you want. If you have your heart set on the other schools I wouldn’t move as so disruptive. Also, what school do you think most suits your son? A lot of parents go for the “top 3” for prestige reasons without really thinking about what would suit them as a family and the child (not saying you are). If you’re happy with Hampton I’d really consider it as you’d hopefully avoid any more exams!

I have a son at Hampton, we joined in year 3 and didn’t try for any other schools. Unless you also wanted Hampton for year 3 and year 7, I wouldn’t move - most parents are wanting the seniors!

We use the coach but live very close but happy to answer any questions!

I would say before considering Hampton Prep be clear about your goal. Despite its name it is not a traditional prep school at all but a feeder for Hampton Boys mostly. Students from Hampton Prep move on to Hampton Boys mostly and are not prepared for other entrance exams like 7+ or 11+.

If your aim is one of the top three schools you mentioned__ Hampton Prep may not be the right choice at this stage. Instead, you could try for Year 3 (7+) entry and keep Hampton Prep as a backup. However once enrolled the path leads exclusively to Hampton Boys.

Hampton Boys has a strong reputation and legacy but tours for younger children are not available as of now unlike the other schools you have mentioned so deciding Hampton boys will be right senior school for DS future is on our assumptions. At present you can’t compare the senior school with other top 3 schools also as there is no possibility of tour or more information. If you set on Hampton Boys already then Hampton Prep makes complete sense. Otherwise consider whether it aligns with your long-term plan. We got seat for DS in Hampton prep at 7+ but we didn’t join as we didn’t want to completely commit to Hampton boys without knowing the school from our point of view. We wanted to keep all our options open for DS unless it was SPJ, KCS or Westminster where we had taken tours and understand them better than Hampton boys.

Thank you, that’s very helpful. We think the school will suit our boy because he is academic yet sporty. But it is difficult to know at the outset. He is not yet 6, so we don’t know what will be his preferences as he grows up.

The prep says that they only provide 26 assured places, so we are not sure what that would mean when it comes to 11+. We want to understand the nearby areas that we can live in that are easily commutable by coach and from where we can get into the city easily.

Where did your son eventually go? I can’t say at the outset if my son will make it to the top 3 schools and whether it will work out for him.