Private School Secondary recommendation

[Blondmuminlondon]

My nephew has high functioning autism. He is a lovely boy but unfortunately he hasn’t found his tribe in primary school and has had a bad experience, the school hasn’t been supportive, he is very academic and not sporty. The other children look at him as a geek and ostracise him. She doesn’t want to make the same mistake and send him to the wrong secondary school. She is only looking at private schools so can anybody whose been in this position or knows someone who has been give me some advice on good private schools that would be a good fit. She lives in west London so anywhere in west and south west London only.

Please only respond to this post if you can suggest a school or a private consultancy which can help.

Mel Ingle may be able to help. She's very knowledgeable about schools options in the area you mention. www.ingleeducation.com

Have you thought about a grammar school? Full of high functioning autistic kids - all the ones I know even have ASD lunchtime clubs.

What about The Moat School - worth a look !

Canbury is very small and nurturing

Maida Vale School looks amazing. I’ve read very positive reviews by parents. It’s a sister school of Kew House. I follow their Twitter and really like the ethos.

I don't see how Maura Vale can be and better or worse than other schools in the area if you are dealing with autism. It is a relatively new school so no track record, good or bad. Great initial reviews but can't see how that can lead to a a recommendation re autism, on the contrary, since it is a new school it would be further down in my list.

We live in Fulham and have a daughter with Asperger's. She's currently at a local state secondary school and doing very well.

We looked at some nearby independent schools and after much discussion, decided against them. Not only did they provide very poor value for money, not offering anything that could justify the ridiculous fees.

We also thought they were socially totally unsuitable. Our experience was that most independent schools are not good with any child who is unconventional and so we would strongly advise against them.

I want to add that I would like to be able to recommend an individual school but that would depend on exactly where you live as schools may select on the basis of where you live relative to the school.

As for a consultancy, we contacted our local education authority which was helpful in recommending some possible options for a daughter. Could try the same but again will depend on where you live.

You could alternatively write to an independent schools admissions service such as Lando Education to ask for their opinion. They tend to deal with a variety of different cases and may be able to recommend a course of action. I unfortunately don't know of any private consultancy that specialises in children with autism. Sorry that I can't help in this regard.

I've done some research want to suggest that a small, less selective independent school could be a good option. I once visited Hampton Court House School down in Richmond and it seemed to be a gentle, relaxed sort of place. Could also look at Ibstock Place School in Roehampton and Hall School in Wimbledon.

Keep in mind that any small school will have a limited range of subjects and so you may want to move again for sixth form for a better range of A-level options.

I know children with High functioning Autism at Radnor House in Twickenham, Latymer Upper and St Pauls. All the parents and DC's are very happy. Radnor House less academic but very nurturing.
Don't go near Ibstock Place with any kind of SEN.

@ittakes2

Have you thought about a grammar school? Full of high functioning autistic kids - all the ones I know even have ASD lunchtime clubs.

DS2 is in a grammar school and that’s kind of the impression I get too. I wonder whether the level of parental involvement, research gathering and commitment to a kid’s coaching that getting into a grammar requires ( at least in London) means that there is a self selection of parents with autistic traits, meaning kids will I turn be more likely to be on the spectrum?

City of London Freeman's School www.freemens.org/

It's a matter of fact and degree but our second boy has ADD (like his brother) has found a great niche at Hampton School. (He is as sporty as a jellyfish.) he was very good at maths/physics etc but hopeless at English etc. Hampton still steered him to 9A's at GCSE.
If you boy is bright and capable and can handle a fast-paced learning environment, his condition shouldn't be a problem. The learnings support (Mrs Conway) is second to none. Any school which values stellar intelligence, has more than it's fair share of boys on the spectrum