Vinehall Marlborough vs. Dulwich Cranbrook

[user1469825393]

Hi all, due to the recent merger bringing MHS to the Vinehall site in Robertsbridge and a subsequent journey increase, we are considering Dulwich Cranbrook for our children. We know it has the reputation of being pushy and walking around, it can feel a bit 'perfect'. I really want the joy of childhood to be celebrated, and there to be plenty of silliness / muddiness and imperfection, while they learn. Could anyone give me insight? Vinehall MHS isn't out of the question, but it will be over 20 mins to get there vs. Dulwich, which is very near us. Preparation for Cranbrook is also important, and we are unsure whether Marlborough House Vinehall will provide sufficient help given they are now out of catchment. We loved Marlborough - nurturing, relaxed and fun - with the ability to focus on the individual and figure out and celebrate each unique child (Saint Ronans not an option, before that's raised!)

Would love to find out more about Claremont too!

It’s such a personal thing, and obviously no one at MHS would have chosen the merger, but first indication suggests quite a few are moving across. We are very sad to leave the community - it’s been terrific. For what it’s worth, we’ve done a 360 and will be joining St Ronans (having initially ruled it out).

Intriguing @user1469825393 - what changed your mind?

Been watching this thread and very much intrigued on what changed your mind on Saint Ronan's @user1469825393 ...we had a lovely private tour and first impressions' at Saint Ronan's was quite good, but finally opted to go for Dulwich Cranbrook...a few of my DD's friends in rugby, football, and cricket all go to Dulwich so that def swayed more and the distance to Saint Ronan's was going to add 10mins more on the journey time.

@OneHeart can I ask what the parents are like at DC? I know this sounds slightly ridiculous! But having joined a private prep for my other child, it was SO cliquey and made it very difficult to bed in well..

Both communities are entitled to feel how they feel. I should think any emotion is relative to what is most important to that community. Time will tell how things pan out.

@RealBeaker sorry, no. Your original post said that retaining the MHS headmaster was ‘short-sighted’.

This thread started by someone (me) who has to move my DC because the new site is unfeasibly far away. Anyone with Google should realise that the avg headship is around 6 years, and it isn’t unusual for heads to change during your child’s time at school. Conversely, no one would expect or hope for their entire school site to close & to move schools as a direct consequence. To attempt to draw any equivalence of our experiences lacks self awareness.

I get that it’s just Mumsnet, but it was quite tone deaf.

Agreed - arguably it would be more short sighted to keep the current VH Head just to maintain the status quo, instead of picking the more experienced one to run the operation through a transition period

@kikiandgigi Honestly, it’s a number of things and hard to put on Mumsnet. The only 2 options for us were Dulwich or St Ronans. I feel that I’ll get more ‘bang for my buck’ at SR. I have one shot at giving the children a magical childhood, and I felt SR gave me a better chance of delivering on that hope. I was originally nervous about the whole “old money” vibe - and what it meant for grammar school. But with the VAT introduced, new heads at both schools and Dulwich going to 16… there’s really no way to predict what school will be more helpful in that respect. It’s a brave new world! So I’d rather choose the one that I feel is the most impressive / magical / fun / memorable and work on the rest as I go. Honestly, I spoke to a child (now at grammar) who had left SR. He said SR was the best years of his life. That was hard to argue with! Obvs all so personal, and really no bad option.

I was just wondering if you have any more insight into St Ronan’s and Dulwich Cranbrook? I’m trying to get a better feel for the differences between the two. Is one more academically ambitious than the other? And what is the music provision like, particularly for string players? Are there lots of teams and opportunities for sporty children?

To give you a sense of what we’re looking for, we really like the academic stretch and ambition at our current Tonbridge prep. We’ve also liked some of the schools in Sevenoaks, but unfortunately, they werejust too far away from our current house. We had previously ruled out schools like Holmewood House, as they seemed to us to be a little lacking in academic ambition, so we’re keen to find somewhere that has a bit more of a push, while still being a happy and well-rounded environment.

We would be looking at schools such as Sevenoaks, Benenden, Tonbridge, Eton, Wycombe Abbey and Brighton further down the line, so I’m also interested in how well each school prepares children for that sort of senior-school route.

I’ve found it slightly difficult to judge the destinations from the information available, as although both schools list their leavers’ destinations, neither seems particularly keen to share numbers of children going on to particular schools in recent years. I completely understand that these things vary from year to year, but it would be helpful to have a bit more of a sense of the patterns.

Their current prep is brilliant, but unfortunately, it would be too far from a house we are interested in, so we’re having to explore other options.

We know both schools well.

They’re actually quite different sorts of schools, so I think a lot depends on what sort of environment and senior-school route you’re after.

Dulwich Cranbrook isn’t really a traditional 13+ prep in the classic sense, partly because it goes through to 16. Quite a lot of children either stay there or move into the local grammar system, particularly Cranbrook, so it doesn’t have quite the same culture of feeding the major public schools at 13.

Saint Ronan’s is much more of a traditional country prep. Some do leave for Cranbrook at 11, but it’s fundamentally geared towards 13+ senior-school entry and the more traditional independent-school route. King’s Canterbury is a common destination, but children also often go on to Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Brighton College, Marlborough, Harrow, Radley, Charterhouse and others. Benenden is also a notably common destination for girls, both day and boarding.

Saint Ronan’s has also always had quite a multigenerational feel. Former pupils often send their own children there and, historically, many Old Ronians went on to Eton, so there have long been strong links between the two schools. The parent body has also traditionally tended to come from more established independent-school backgrounds.

Music is a particular strength at Saint Ronan’s. There’s a strong culture of choirs, ensembles, orchestra, plus junior and senior strings, individual tuition and performance, and a high number of children leave with music awards or scholarships. The school will strongly support music progression and prepare puoils well for senior school scholarships.

Sport is also a big part of school life; Rugby, football, cricket, netball, hockey, cross country (all but rugby are available sports for girls and at which they compete very strongly in).

Academics are strong, but its more osmosis than stick - it works well. All prep school pupils from year 5 upwards take formal school exams twice a year, plus CE in year 8.

The atmosphere is quite distinctive. Saint Ronan’s is very much in the Cottesmore/Brambletye/Port Regis mould, a traditional country prep school, characterful and with a strong identity.

Dulwich just has a different feel really. It’s less rooted in the traditional 13+ prep-school model and more of an all-through independent school, with more children either staying on or moving into the local grammar system.

So I think that’s the main difference. If you’re already thinking in terms of Eton, Tonbridge, Benenden, Wycombe Abbey, Sevenoaks, Brighton or Marlborough, Saint Ronan’s sits much more naturally in that traditional 13+ prep-school world. Dulwich has a different structure and a different destination profile.

@Shakespearessister1980 This is hugely helpful! I was at one of the preps mentioned, which I absolutely adored. It had that lovely balance of magic and intellectual push. I still remember one of my old teachers saying that the sign of a good prep is that you “leave hungry to learn” at 13.

You want muddy legs and pink cheeks from playing sport. You want friendships formed through ensembles. I still play, and I genuinely can’t think of a better emotional outlet than my cello. The music at St Ronan’s is a big selling point for our family. But alongside all of that, you want children to develop a love, rather than a fear, of feeling their brain work hard. To wrestle with a challenge, keep going, and then have that wonderful eureka moment.

It’s just so hard to find a school that can genuinely do all of that. So many of the preps we have looked at seem to rely heavily on pre bought schemes of work, rather than really stretching and inspiring children. It can sometimes feel as though academic aspiration is an afterthought at some schools, rather than something that can bring genuine lifelong joy. So often it feels like you get two out of three, if you’re lucky!

We are definitely leaning towards St Ronan’s, but I just want to be sure it’s still as academically rigorous as it historically has been. I’m also keen to know whether it offers a similar level of stretch to schools like Hilden Grange, New Beacon and Somerhill, rather than being more heavily holistic like Holmewood. I really don’t want to close doors too soon! We are definitely a family at the more traditional vs trendy end of the scale.