Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Private school

Connect with fellow parents here about private schooling. Parents seeking advice on boarding school can vist our dedicated forum.

JAGS, Alleyns Oakfield or Sydenham High 4+

2 replies

LeonaLou87 · 23/01/2026 17:34

My daughter has unexpectedly been offered a place at reception (4+) for all 3 schools. We live in West Dulwich so all are relatively close but I would love to hear from any experiences of the schools. Alleyns Oakfield is our closest school (which includes an assured Alleyns place in senior school) but there are not many reviews since Alleyns took over. JAGS looks amazing but it still has a bit of a reputation of being a hot house so hoping some parents can help myth bust that. We loved the grounds and teachers at Sydenham High but it requires a car journey each morning which I think may get testing. I’m very proud of my daughter securing a place but we genuinely don’t know which is the best choice. Thanks in advance for your help!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Elizabeta · 23/01/2026 22:14

Congratulations to your DD! I’d think mainly about JAGS and Oakfield, as the unnecessary car journey will get boring very quickly. Although I have a feeling Sydenham is cheeper, in which case take that into account!

I don’t really know Sydenham, so just on JAGS and Alleynes Oakfield - I think they’d have a very similar school experience at either. Lots of families have kids at both at some point (across JAGS, Oakfield and Alleynes ‘proper’). So….

Coed or girls? A really personal choice, but think about the whole way through school as well as for tinies.

Who do you just straightforward like the most? JAGS has a new preprep head who might not have settled in yet, but you can get a vibe from the staff.

Set aside views on ‘hothouses’ because so much is in flux. JAGS has gone full on to address the concerns there (over a number of years, not a new thing), and certainly in the lower years seems very relaxed. Whereas Oakfield used to be quite stressy in higher years because of the need to do 11+… but now that’s taken away. Equally, Alleynes used to be all about results, but now they’ll have kids from Oakfield with is far less selective, so that might change as the my go into the senior school.

That’s probably not much help! But it’s what would be on my mind if I had your lovely dilemma.

SWfam · 30/01/2026 18:41

I have a child at Oakfield and she is genuinely very happy there. I’ve also been really impressed with how the school has managed all the recent changes. It feels positive at the moment — yes, there is change afoot, but it’s clearly purposeful and, especially this term, very well communicated. As a parent, I feel reassured and supported.
With the full Alleyn’s community behind it, I’m confident we’ll see rapid and meaningful improvements. They are clearly invested in bringing the school up to a very high standard as soon as possible

New posts on this thread. Refresh page