Manor lodge vs Eversley primary school, Enfield

[sgp0202]

Hi all, our child has received an offer from both schools. We didn’t think we would get into eversley as we’re not in the catchment area. We absolutely love manor lodge and think it’s brilliant. However, it’s a big financial decision with multiple kids.
Any thoughts on Eversley school please? 🙏

I am assuming Manor is private and Eversley a state primary? I know nothing about either school, but if Eversley is a state school and you have younger children then checking their admissions criteria would be a good idea. Many state schools now put out of catchment siblings quite low down on the application criteria.

have ML only just sent this offer? As from what I’ve heard (we are not applying), offers went out last oct / Nov

15 years ago- eversley was a super primary school and we would have lived the chance to go there. I’m sorry I don’t have more recent experience. I would say take the state school place, save money for now, and see how you get on. Again, this is from a long time ago, but Manor Lodge didn’t have a great reputation. Other local independent schools were better. Good luck though! Good news on eversley

Manor Lodge is 😍😍😍 but ££££

Fees ars only going one way unless you have family money or 400k+ in savings (because lets be real you aren't going to go from manor lodge to Dame Alice...so secondary will be private too prob) I'd be looking at eversley

Also remember its MUCH easier to move into private than it is to move from private back into state.

Hi all, thank you for all your very helpful points, thankfully they do prioritise siblings to eversley school. Manor lodge is a private school in radlett. To be honest I cannot fault the school. It’s perfect but the increasing price is hard! It was a difficult assessment process for our child so getting in was a surprise. We’ve actually already paid our deposit to manor lodge starting this year. However, I’ve heard very positive things about eversley. I know it’s an outstanding school but they were assessed about 10 years ago. The aim is for them to get into QE boys and Henrietta. Well-being is very important to us and I know how this is a big focus in manor lodge. My husband and I didn’t actually go to state school in the country so I don’t know much about it! Saving money and investing it for the kids would be great. Especially when we would have had to make major major cutbacks if the kids go to manor lodge. Does anyone know anything specifically about eversley recently?

QE and Henrietta are uber competitive schools. How old are your children? Getting them in there is quite a narrow aim to have in mind and not really synonymous with caring about well-being.

ML does not publish detailed exit results which usually isn’t a great sign. They don’t mention Henrietta anywhere.

www.manorlodgeschool.com/about-mls/future-school/

Apart from the name and perceived status of a private school, what will you be getting for your money that the state school doesn't provide?

Also, you describe the assessment process for your child as being difficult; does that mean they may need additional support? What do the two schools offer in that regard?

Hi all, during the ML open day they give you a table with a breakdown of schools tthe students move on to and how many applied and got offered plus scholarships. In terms of the assessment, we prepared our child for the assessment for a while as they assess quite a few things.
At this age of 4 and 3… we just want the kids to go to a well supportive happy school who are strong academically and focus on the whole person. We felt that ML fulfilled our criterias. We didn’t expect that he would get into eversley as we don’t live near the school, but we heard great things about the school, so that’s my main question… does anyone know from experience whether the eversley is an excellent school too? Thank you!

Assuming you live in Enfield it is not a straightforward drive to Manor Lodge. You’re either going the back roads via the services on the M25 or are at the mercy of the M25. From Enfield I’d consider that carefully.

In any case I think you’re focused on the wrong things. Your child is very young so aiming for Henrietta and QE Boys is putting huge pressure on you as parents and them as children. No child gets in without extensive tutoring and home work that comes with 10+ hours per week and for what? They are no better than many other schools - it’s the parents pushing that makes the results stellar. Manor Lodge is not tutoring them to get into these schools and I know for a fact the children are also tutored externally there too. It is a good school though.

So I’d personally save your money and go state.

Just to reassure you, a lot of Manor Lodge kids are now moving into State - they do share their leavers destinations with parents and several are going to Dame Alice this year and a further 3-4 to other selective grammars in Herts. So it’s not true that it’s only private secondary destinations. With the VAT more people are choosing state secondary and a third of the current year 6 will move out of the private sector in September (I’m a current ML parent).

You do know that HB routinely has 3000 applications for its 90 places, that this is likely to increase with VAT on private schools, and that they give priority to those who live less than three miles away? Fine to aim for but not to rely on even if you have the brightest of bright kids.

Eversley is distinctly average. Good if you want English as a third language!

Manor lodge is a good school but it’s far from perfect. It’s incredibly demanding academically from quite young and has a huge amount of homework. It suits some children perfectly, those who struggle more can get left behind and not adequately supported.

Curious about this as my child is meant to be starting there in September!!! Could you share more please

ML is a lovely school. The fees are what they are but pretty good value for what you get. It’s not as rounded as they like to present at open days and it’s pretty academic in later years but parents want that blend of academics with excellent facilities. Parents typically aim for Habs, St Albans but more going to grammars and good Herts comps than before.

Eversley is a pretty solid state choice in Oakwood / Enfield but it’s not even the top state school in the borough. It certainly doesn’t prepare for QE or HB. It teaches to the NC. Any prep for grammars is down to tuition by the parent. But more realistic than QE or HB would be Latymer where a few will get in each year from and DAO.

also you need to contextualise any feedback you get. Most people are not aiming for these top schools so the things they are happy with might not be up to your standards.

there is Salcombe prep down the road too which does prepare for Grammars but can’t compare at all to ML for facilities.