What are your experiences of Caterham Prep?

[SchoolsQuestion]

Can anyone give me any insight into Caterham Prep School please?

I'm considering the school for my DS (Yr1) but would like some inside info about it.

What size are the classes? How many classes per year? What is the academic record like? Are the children generally well behaved and happy? What sports do they do?

What are the advantages about the school? Are there any drawbacks?

Many thanks if anyone can help.

Bump

An evening bump....

2 classes of 20 (well 16-20 strictly but it is pretty oversubscribed).

Have you spoken to the school about places? Usually very oversubscribed and places after reception come up infrequently, though if you pay a deposit and no place comes up then deposit is offset against entrance exam fee at 11. Main advantage is that usually the children will go through to the senior school. The school is co-ed and doesn't suit everyone. Very sporty boys may do better at a boys school though there is plenty of sport (football, rugby cricket and swimming).

Thanks Ladymuck - the school apaprently has places in Yr1, so we're going to see it in a couple of weeks.

What's the reputation of the senior school head like? I heard rumblings a while back that s/he (who was new then) wasn't going down too well - think I read that on MN actually - must do a search and check. I am impressed with the senior school's academic record - but my perspective of it is from friends who went there 20+ years ago, so I don't know if its reputation is still as good as it was.

I think that he was a bit of a new broom, but has a very good reputation and comes across very well. He's not keen on IB so if you wanted that you would have to look elsewhere (which of course is harder if you're there already). Impression from people who have been trying to get in is that Head of PrePrep (also new) and Senior School are great, but Head of Junior School is a bit old school.

For a co-ed school the results are good, though the single-sex schools tend to do better (significantly better is terms of league tables, though I think Caterham had 45% of pupils with at least 3As at A level last year, so hardly shakey).

I guess you need to think about how locally you live and what your other options are for both now and later. I'm assuming that it wouldn't be too hard to prepare your child for other schools at 11 or 13, but he wouldn't be able to sit CE there for example. Certainly I think that the only drawback is the same as the advantage: the fact that you will be drawn into the senior department there. It is good, but there may be better options for your son at that time.

I don't know how well DS would do in a single sex school. He's a "good" boy (as in not very boisterous) but because he's also an extrovert, he is very easily led by the more boisterous boys. His current co-ed school is OK, but his potential is greater than I think they can meet - so to reach that potential, I think we will need to move him.

There are some great boys' schools near us (Croydon) - but I'm not sure how well they would suit him. He is academic (currently showing great potential in both English and Maths), and sporty (but not particularly well-built, so certainly not the best at any sport). I think at 11+ or 13+ he'd do well in a single sex school, so the likes of Wilsons, Trinity or Whitgift would probably suit him, but before then, I think the more steadying influence of girls would benefit him.

Tbh with that makeup then it sounds as if he would suit Caterham well. Elmhurst & Cumnor are the local boys schools and they suit boisterous sporty boys. Most of the Croydon co-ed schools are one form entry which doesn't always suit the most sporty.

I would try out your school run though. It is a bit of a trek at peak time.

I know four Yr1 boys at Elmhurst and one Yr2 boy at Cumnor. Two are very sporty (one from each school), but none of them is at all boisterous, quite the opposite in fact; they're all very quiet, fairly introverted little boys. I took that to be the norm, but I guess therefore that the five I know are not very characteristic of their schools, then.

DS's school has a two form entry, which gives him a fair chance at playing some sports, but it's just its academic reputation I'm not sure about. DS is at the top of his year, and I think he would thrive more in a school with a stronger academic reputation, so that he was stretched more.

I am a bit worried about the school run - we're in South Croydon, so a bit nearer than Croydon "proper", but still 30 minutes away from Caterham at a guess.

There are plenty of introverted boys at those schools, but whether they are best served by the school and achieve their full potential is another matter. There is no doubt that both of those schools produce good academic results, but they are very competitive both in the classroom and on the sports field. You may have a son who likes sport but still only manages to be in the D team (generally the F team boys don't like sport!). It can affect a child's perception of themselves. I know a friend's son who moved schools recently and went from being in Cumnor's E team to the other schools A team! The difference in his self-confidence and enjoyment of school was huge. The other issue with the boys schools is that they do tend to attract boisterous boys in later years, especially when they haven't been doing that well at their co-ed schools. That said you clearly have a bright boy and I think that you would definitely find that he was kept busy and stretched.

A lot of it is down to individual year groups and their composition though, so even when you look round the school you need to pay particular attention to the year group. And of course you can have a trial day or two which will help you decide.

As far as the school run is concerned, do not underestimate how time consuming this will be for you. That's 2 hours a day for you, before various sporting events, early practices etc. It may also affect playdates etc, as other parents may not want to trek too far.

In terms of other schools, Oakwood and St David's are both good and have a good record of grammar and selective places. They are smaller though, and I think that Caterham might be preferable if you can cope with the commute. The other thing which will be noticeable on a visit is that the ethnic mix amongst the schools is very different.

Can I bump this to see whether there are any other insights into the school?

Help!! just moved to caterham on the hill, i have a 2.1\2 year old boy, im looking for a pre school\ nursery for him, preferebly one that does not charge the earth!! and would love a new play group close to home.