Hi there, I know this has been discussed a lot over the years, but just wondering has anyone got any more recent experience on Wimbledon Common Prep School, Rowans School, and the Rokeby School?We can't seem to figure out what's the 'right' school for DS but need to make a decision pretty soon. Would be grateful to hear any insights especially on their pastoral care. It is difficult to tell if DS will be academic at this age but he does enjoy learning and challenges. He's reasonably confident but can also be sensitive emotionally. So we don't know whether putting him under the 7+ pressure will be a good thing. We want somewhere with a nurturing atmosphere but also challenges him to learn (doesn't necessarily have to be through exam preps). Of the three schools, each has its own pros and cons so we just can't seem to see which one would work better -
WCPS: closest in distance (about 5 mins drive) and academically challenging. But it only goes up to Y2 and there's a fair bit of hot housing and competitions between the children AND the parents. I also heard Squirrel parents complain about the school not prepping the children enough for 7+, and left a lot of work to the parents (not teaching some of the materials but expecting the children to master them already). Not sure about pastoral care as parents seem to only be interested in the exams at the end.
Rowans: not too far from us (10 mins drive or so), the head and staff seemed a lot more approachable. Communication so far has been quite personal which we liked (in contrast to Squirrels which looked generic and corporate). The downside is that it's a small school and the facilities seem a bit run down. Rowans might have better care on children's overall wellbeing.
Rokeby: overall our favourite. We feel it is a well balanced place with ample extracurricular resources and being a full prep school it takes the 7+ stress out of the equation. But the school run will be significantly longer than the other two, about 20 minutes one way by car. I heard from a Rokeby mum that the lower school children are not academically challenged in the first 3 years.