Pre-Prep Assessment - The Rowans/Wimbledon Common Prep / Rokeby??

[MotherFranks]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice on a school for my son. This week has been very full on as he attended the play session at The Rowans yesterday and Wimbledon Common Prep today, we are also in the ballot for Rokeby.
Does anyone have any experience on these schools who can help me choose should we be lucky enough to get offers for all three? TYIA

I have a DC who attended one of these schools and I have friends with children at the others so will try to give some balanced thoughts based on my experiences and what I've heard.

Firstly, as you will know WCPS and the Rowans are pre-preps and only go up to 7. The 7+ process is a PITA imo, unless you have an unusually compliant child who is fairly academically gifted and likes sitting practice tests. The schools help prepare of course, but you as a parent will either end up doing a lot of the work yourself or you'll pay a tutor to do it if you're hoping that your child will get into any of the highly selective 7+ preps (KCJS, St Paul's etc.). The big advantage of Rokeby, therefore, is that you avoid this process and (depending on what senior school you end up targeting) your child could have a fair degree of continuity in their education until 11/13.

Both WCPS/Rowans are fairly demanding and fast-paced in terms of what the children cover, with a relatively heavy homework burden for children that age and you'll need to be fairly involved as a parent. I'm sure at Rokeby you'll be expected to be involved as well, but since they're not preparing for 7+ assessments, the load seems to be a bit lighter. It depends on your child's personality and ability how well they will cope with this, but there is little joy to be found in pushing a reluctant child who is out of their depth too hard.

If you're aiming for your DS to go somewhere like KCJS/St Paul's at 7+, WCPS/Rowans are probably better bets. That said, the 7+ assessment process for both of these schools is absolutely brutal for children of this age (Kings especially) and you may find as the time approaches that you rule them out as options because you're unwilling to put your child through this process. Again, this will depend on your child's abilities and personality.

WCPS and Rokeby are single-sex and that may or may not appeal to you as a parent. If your DS goes to WCPS and then gets into Kings, for example, he could go through his entire education without ever sharing a classroom with a girl. Different people will feel differently about this. Rowans has some girls but is majority boys because the 7+ options for girls in Wimbledon are quite limited.

Where do you live? Tbh the morning commute to school would factor quite heavily into my decision-making process were I in your position.

Thank you for your response. That is really helpful. It’s so hard when they are small to tell if they have potential, he was well behaved in both the sessions today, so I hope that is a bonus.
I went to the coffee morning with the head of WCPS prior to today’s session. I found him a bit stern, it felt rushed like we were an inconvenience, whereas when I spoke to the Head of the Rowans and Rokeby they were both really lovely and smiley. Silly I know but the children are so small you want the head to be welcoming and not miserable.
I also thought the staff at WCPS seemed more stressed, unprepared even today, we were told to go to one room and then told we weren’t on the list - not the best impression! The session at The Rowans was much calmer and better organised for sure.
These are little things but make a bigger picture.
We live close to the common so Rowans or WCPS would probably be a better commute but Rokeby isn’t too bad I suppose.

Appreciate your thoughts they have helped.

The Rowans has the reputation of being slightly friendlier and less pushy than WCPS, though friends have boys who are very happy at WCPS so I imagine it's much of a much. I have heard the same about Rokeby. That said, many parents I know really rate the head at WCPS and it's nice for boys to have male role models in school.

Thank you - that’s really helpful. Definitely got a different impression on my visit. I liked that there was a male head, as males are often less present in a primary setting.

Hi my boy too attended both the school assessment days. Has anyone heard back from them?

Can't remember when we heard back sorry, but I think it might have taken a week or so.

@YesNoMaybeDefinitely thank you for your advice.

Bumping this thread as would love to know more thoughts on this!

I am in the same boat. Trying to choose between Rowans and Rokeby? Any feedback would be great

We've chosen to got with the Rowans over WCPS and Rokeby. We really liked the feel of the place, the head, and we like that it's coed rather than all boys (our son has a big sister and is very in touch with his feminine side!). We feel like it's academically rigorous, without the singleminded focus on Kings that WCPS has (which we worry would leave him feeling like a failure if he didn't get into Kings at 7+).

Would go for Rowans. My son is at Rokeby. Have found it out of date and school is not receptive to feedback. Illustrated by sports department who still individually number all the children on the cross country competition aged 7, great if in top 10, not so great for anyone else, so get children who are coming in near the end etc feeling upset and marginalised. In my opinion not right aged 7.

@Localkids . That's not great - I thought it was meant to be quite nurturing. Most parents won't tolerate that sort of approach nowadays.

Exactly same impression.
The guy talked like we were asking stupid questions and wanted to cut us short

Hi @Localkids, do you mind sharing a bit more of your experience with Rokeby? We are actually considering it seriously over the pre-preps with our offers. Thanks!