Are top London preps just as competitive as ever?

[percypiggy200]

We are thinking of returning to London from abroad for Sep 2028 so I’ve been looking at 7+ requirements. My husband thinks we will just float back easily and school won’t be a problem because people are leaving London and fees are becoming insane. I also notice all the previously boys schools are becoming coed I guess because there just aren’t enough boys? Is it just as insane as always at Wetherby, Westminster under, kings in terms of demand for places or has there been a change?

It’s just as bonkers for those top schools as it always was.

Is your child wanting to enter at a normal entry point eg 7, 8 or 11? Or are you looking for an occasional place at 9 or 10?

There is still high demand at the very academically selective schools (eg WUS, KCW) - and unless your child is very bright they would not be the right schools for him.

But you will not have a problem finding a place at many good schools. There has never been an issue with children from abroad being accepted into eg Hill House.

You need to phone around in advance. Do you have a home in London or will you be renting?

Thanks @Livingoverseas123yes 7+ and he is very academic but the schools here are definitely behind. Good point about hill house. Why does owning or renting matter?

Home ownership doesn't matter, OP. Some posters just like to know more about a person's business than they are entitled to know 🙄

@OP Wetherby? They aren't competitive and have spaces to fill every year

Just as insane as ever over here in West London. It’s best to phone around and speak to the registrars at each of the schools, to see if you would need to be wait listed at your preferred schools.

A lot round our way have merged or come under the umbrella group of the senior schools, so it’s worth checking this as well, as the right Prep may mean that you’re streamed into the senior schools with less competition.

It's not lack of boys- it's a perception that a mixed sex school is a healthier and more normal environment. WUS could fill its places ten times over.

I think there are two groups of West London preps (I don't know about the North). Will keep it just to co-ed and boys schools.

Group 1 - Westminster Under, St Pauls, Kings, Latymer Prep, Sussex House. All continue to be highly competitive for places. Perhaps applications are down for some, but not enough that entrance standards have lowered or that they would have problems filling spaces at any entrance point. If considering these, would highly recommend finding a tutor with experience of these schools to evaluate your child and identify any gaps in knowledge that might need filling for the assessments. Plus - visit them first!! You may find they are not the right fit for your child. Don't be swayed by the brand :-)

Group 2 - Eaton House the Manor, Thomas', Hill House, WCCS, Wetherby Prep, Chepstow, Newton, Falkner Boys, Garden House. Some have more space than others, but generally think all will have spaces available. All are excellent.

RE: boys schools going co-ed. Not because there are less boys. But potentially other reasons - girls can improve school results, bigger pool of students to choose from, parents wanting more academic co-ed options etc etc.

I don’t believe this for a minute.

It’s getting harder to attract parents because the fees are so mad, and so being a single sex school means you’re missing out on lots of potential revenue.

If you can find families who can afford the £30k+ fees from prep, you want to get your claws into them.

I see the same with the preps offering nurseries with wraparound care like private day nurseries - it’s just a feeder to the school, they know once you’re in you are more likely to stay.

I think the ‘big name’ preps are doing as well as ever - but the second tier are struggling to attract the right kinds of pupils.

Still crazy in south London.

Part of the issue is that there aren’t many 7+ spaces in a lot of schools. It’s more about topping up the 4+ cohorts than looking for a big new group of kids.

So even the really bright kids are competing for a handful of spots which means luck is a big factor.

I assume this was asked not because of nosiness but because if you have a house you’re moving back to that will drive where you can travel to for school. Whilst if you are going to rent you can sort out a school place anywhere commutable to work and then rent convenient to that.

it’s definitely a demand and supply thing. It’s not that there is lack of boys but filling all the seats with boys in the current climate of lower demand post VAT means lowering the academic bar which will eventually reflect in the results. By including girls they get the cleverest of boys AND cleverest of girls from the pool of families willing to pay fees.

OP - overall demand for prep level private education has fallen and many schools have tied up with senior schools to offer ‘guaranteed’ seats thereby making the ‘deal’ more attractive. Do you know which area of London you’ll be looking at?

I was wondering whether you would be returning to a home you owned and would be restricted to schools in that area or whether you could choose a school and then rent nearby.

Academic requirements are still very high and very competitive, but yes general birth rates are declining across the country and capital.

I’ve noticed most of the top preps and pre preps advertising or easier to get in.

in my dc’s old nursery for example everyone who applied to one of the top pre/preps got an offer… that definitely wasn’t the case in the past. I also feel with many of the top through and secondary schools going coed now or in the near future (kings , Westminster, etc), parents will rethink the single sex pre prep and prep routes because competition for senior schools will increase. For example the call currently sends 15+ to Westminster every year. I imagine that number will halve or more by the time children starting reception now get to apply.

i do feel the best through schools, particularly coed ones (Westminster, Highgate, etc) will be more competitive than ever. I think single sex like NLCS, St Paul’s etc will remain very competitive.

In fairness, I took that to mean are you fixed in one place or could you move for the right school? More of a faff to move if you own.

For preps to consider, I would add St Paul’s Cathedral School. It’s in the City (they have some assemblies in the Cathedral) and my children had a wonderful experience there. My daughter went to South Hampstead and my son to Westminster for senior school.

Yes. Top schools are immune to fees increases it seems.

Since when is WUS second tier? Your post makes no sense.

Top tier central London schools' applications haven't really changed. These parents can afford the fees with ease- the addition of VAT is not a factor.

@ThisIsMyTast i haven’t said WUS is second tier?

I think they, like all the schools, have a challenge in getting pupils who can afford it who also have the right academic results…

Like it or not, the high fees means families who previously could have managed it (with very bright children) will be replaced with slightly less bright ones who can afford the fees.

To retain their results and therefore reputation, they need to have the very brightest children.

This is no great secret.

@MidnightPatrol probably why schools are so hot on using bursaries to fund bright children and bump up the results for the school.

I’m also a bit confused by your posts @MidnightPatrol - you say “I think the ‘big name’ preps are doing as well as ever - but the second tier are struggling to attract the right kinds of pupils” but also that WUS is having to take less able pupils, which suggests you think it’s in your second tier category.

I think the very top schools aren’t really affected and like PP would definitely put WUS in this category. (Faod I don’t have a child at the school.)

Sorry, coming back to my own post here 😂 Westminster announced it was considering the move to mixed sex across the school in 2022- this was part of its response to the Everyone's Invited scandal. This was 2 years before the government announced vat on fees.

"...Against this public health backdrop, we have also seen the publication of the independent reviews into harmful sexual behaviours and racism which I have shared with you separately. Needless to say, we are working hard to implement the various recommendations and ensure that, by so doing, Westminster is as welcoming, inclusive and progressive a place as it possibly can be. Part of that process has to be the serious consideration of the introduction of co-education across the school, something which I support and which Governors have agreed we should look at very carefully." (This is from the Elizabethan newsletter)

It really wasn't down to a lack of (clever enough) boys but a perception that having girls only in the sixth form contributed to the problems. I'm an OW and followed all the announcements at the time. I agree with this perception 100%- there was previously very much a sense in the school that the sixth form girls were a sort of entitlement for the boys rather than equally full members of the school- eg boys sitting in yard to rate "their" girls out of 10 as they arrived, fucking grim. I'm sure the school would rather have announced that they were letting girls in to keep academic standards up 😂