Bath schools - Paragon or Monkton

[VaVaFrome]

Interested in views! We are looking for a prep for DS to start reception next year, ideally to the south of Bath (KES pre-prep would be too far away, though the Junior/Senior is fine). We are mainly looking at Paragon and Monkton prep - both look lovely, but it’s hard to tell how they differ academically (especially as most Monkton pupils stay through).

DS seems bright, though it’s hard to tell of course at his age, and needs a setting that’s both structured and nurturing. Would probably look to an academically strong day school for secondary, but without ruling out boarding, so would also be interested to know where 11+ or 13+ leavers tend to go.

It would also be useful to know whether both schools are looking strong in terms of student numbers given VAT.

Gentle bump in case anyone has any knowledge/experience - we are still torn!

My DS went to KES Pre-Prep and there's a schopl bus from the Senior site to/from the Pre-Prep, so may be worth considering. He's still at KES (just finished Year 8) and is very happy. It's a great school for bright children.

If you suspect your DS is bright, I think I'd suggest the Paragon over Monkton based on my perception of both schools - although I'm sure others will have more relevant experience of the schools.

Generally - there seems to be quite a lot of movement between the different private schools in Bath, although in my son's year, 50 of the 51 children from his KES Junior School cohort went up to KES Senior School - and the 51st came back for Yeat 8! A few children have left and the end of Year 7 and Year 8 for varying reasons, but this seems to be the case in the other schools as well.

That’s really helpful thank you @AliTheMinx. We are now considering whether KES might make sense, and sucking up the slightly longer commute to the pre-prep.

Monkton is not academic at all. It excels at supporting SEND kids, to the detriment of non SEND. Most kids stay on, with the biggest exodus being at the end of year 8. The parents are generally a pretty affluent bunch with the vast majority of mums being SAHM. It’s also extremely religious.
I don’t know a huge amount about the paragon as a school. Most stay on and go to Prior Park College, which is known for its pastoral care, not its academics. It’s quite a small senior school, and having recently broken ties with the Catholic Church it’s the private school in Bath that would appear most vulnerable post VAT…..but I don’t have any hard evidence to back that up.
if you are looking for strong academics then you really do need to look at KES.
if you can bear the trek, Kingswood fits your criteria of strong academics (but not to the same extent as KES) and boarding. It’s been full with waiting lists for years.
good luck.

Also….just noticed your user name. I really wouldn’t recommend committing yourself to driving your child from frome to any bath school for 14 years…..that would be a minimum 45 minute each way commute (so at least 3 hours of your day in a car plus match games at weekends/weekend school for Monkton). You will also find that very few (if any) of their friends live that far out at prep school level. Either move closer to Bath or consider other schools that won’t be such drag getting there and back……Kings Bruton, Millfield, Warminster or All Hallows (owned by Monkton, so same comments apply).

Thank you @Purplebutterups- that’s good food for thought on comparing them and we had the same instincts!

To reassure you a bit, my username is a hangover from when we were closer to Frome - we’re half-way between now on the A36, so I think the potential commute is more in the annoying category than the impossible one!