Ethnic diversity of london independent schools

[WCC1985]

Does anyone have any idea about the ethnic diversity of the following schools?
Latymer Upper
Hampton
Emmanuel
Kingston Grammar
Whitgift
Bancroft
Caterham
Ipstock Place

The data here

explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
includes independent schools.

I'm sorry but I spend a lot of time at Trinity School in London and know my son's friendship groups - it is approaching 50/50 white/non-white and I observe this with my own eyes - as well as knowing their friends. I'd say there are probably more Asian than Black in the non-white category, as pointed out, but there are plenty of black and mixed race boys there and many are on the Rugby teams. I really don't think it is fair to label all private schools as 'very white', though some outside of London undoubtedly are. We chose this school on the basis that they are very ethically and culturally diverse, and as wealth-diverse as you can be given someone, somewhere is paying a lot of money for an education. I have never heard of anyone at the schools I spend time at suffering or being the perpetrator of racism in or around the schools. The boys genuinely don't seem to give a shit about peoples ethnic or demographic background.

The only time I see and hear a, frankly appalling, level of racism is at my son's football matches for an out of school club, both from their side and opposition teams in the local Surrey league. Most of it from grown men.

Many thanks for all the advices above. Truly appreciate all your time. May I recap my understanding below:

1. North London (NW and NE) , and South London, due to the ethnic composition of the local population, lots of BAME in private schools, some more than 50% (e.g. when I look at pictures of MTS and Bancroft）
2. Much less BAME in C0-ed
3. SW London, where there is a much less percentage of residents being BAME, that would be reflected in the schools as well.
4. Further out from London, especially outside M25, in the country side like Surrey, Kent, Herfordshire etc, while the white population is over 90%, that would also be reflected in the schools, i.e. most students are local.

I know there aren't a lot of East Asians in UK, and even London, so their percentage in a school is never a factor (guess few if any schools have more than 5% being East Asians).

@WCC1985

Many thanks for all the advices above. Truly appreciate all your time. May I recap my understanding below:

1. North London (NW and NE) , and South London, due to the ethnic composition of the local population, lots of BAME in private schools, some more than 50% (e.g. when I look at pictures of MTS and Bancroft）
2. Much less BAME in C0-ed
3. SW London, where there is a much less percentage of residents being BAME, that would be reflected in the schools as well.
4. Further out from London, especially outside M25, in the country side like Surrey, Kent, Herfordshire etc, while the white population is over 90%, that would also be reflected in the schools, i.e. most students are local.

I know there aren't a lot of East Asians in UK, and even London, so their percentage in a school is never a factor (guess few if any schools have more than 5% being East Asians).

Specifically re: East Asian kids - the nearest thing to a [residential] 'East Asian area' in London is possibly Barnet [a smallish but a kind of big enough to be noticeably large minority of Chinese people], but that's kind of on the Northern edge of London.

I googled something like 'independent school Barnet', and came up with this place. I have no idea how Asian it is, possibly not very judging by the pictures - but then from the 'international students' section the school does appear to have an office in Beijing.

www.mounthouse.org.uk/admissions/international-students/

No idea if this helps.

Thanks

www.mounthouse.org.uk/admissions/international-students/

Having pondered Exhibits 1 and 2 I think you will find this is a very misleading example.
Hornsby House is a popular prep school, actually considered "less posh" than some others nearby, in a largely white area and the children will be quite local area. The area is very well off but not uber wealthy. The parents will likely be professionals and many with both parents at work. They are aiming for the London day schools so a prep is a safe bet. The children are mostly white but that's how the cookie crumbles in that area. You will have far more parents who are non British born in west London and Central London preps - many of whom will be non white. That does mean Hornsby is the more elitist school.
Chestnut Grove School is also in the same spot of long gentrified Balham and many of the children live in surrounding, less expensive areas and not necessarily on the doorstep. From what I hear it is a hugely popular school with middle class parents many will be BAME and many will be white. There will be children from disadvantaged backgrounds but that doesn't make their parents unaspirational. Children travel to go to it from what I hear.
I don't mean to direct this at anyone but in London you get a lot of negativity from people who are outpriced from the hefty fees for private education in London and their salaries are too high to be considered for bursaries.
I'm sure plenty of those Hornsby House parents are sacrificing a lot sending their children to a prep. It's quite different for those swathes of families in central and west London where the sort of money spent on fees will be no object.
We have chosen a state school anyway but I do hope families who are on a lower income whose children are capable and willing do take advantage of the bursaries on offer. Race really is NOT the issue. The barrier is the fees and the selection process.
The 5 boys I knew from my state primary in Westminster and still in touch with you went to City of London, Latymer Upper, St Paul's and Westminster were all from South Asian backgrounds apart from 1. All of them had bursaries.
Good Luck with it all 🙂

@eglantine7

Having pondered Exhibits 1 and 2 I think you will find this is a very misleading example. Hornsby House is a popular prep school, actually considered "less posh" than some others nearby, in a largely white area and the children will be quite local area. The area is very well off but not uber wealthy. The parents will likely be professionals and many with both parents at work. They are aiming for the London day schools so a prep is a safe bet. The children are mostly white but that's how the cookie crumbles in that area. You will have far more parents who are non British born in west London and Central London preps - many of whom will be non white. That does mean Hornsby is the more elitist school. Chestnut Grove School is also in the same spot of long gentrified Balham and many of the children live in surrounding, less expensive areas and not necessarily on the doorstep. From what I hear it is a hugely popular school with middle class parents many will be BAME and many will be white. There will be children from disadvantaged backgrounds but that doesn't make their parents unaspirational. Children travel to go to it from what I hear. I don't mean to direct this at anyone but in London you get a lot of negativity from people who are outpriced from the hefty fees for private education in London and their salaries are too high to be considered for bursaries. I'm sure plenty of those Hornsby House parents are sacrificing a lot sending their children to a prep. It's quite different for those swathes of families in central and west London where the sort of money spent on fees will be no object. We have chosen a state school anyway but I do hope families who are on a lower income whose children are capable and willing do take advantage of the bursaries on offer. Race really is NOT the issue. The barrier is the fees and the selection process. The 5 boys I knew from my state primary in Westminster and still in touch with you went to City of London, Latymer Upper, St Paul's and Westminster were all from South Asian backgrounds apart from 1. All of them had bursaries. Good Luck with it all 🙂

That's all really super, but, sticking to the questions asked by OP, who's to date shown no strong interest in sociological treatises:

Is that private school very white? Yes.
Are its neighbouring state schools white very white? No, not at all.

As you will be well aware some of the state schools nearby will be more white than other ones and with higher numbers of people going private. You will be aware of catchment areas and steeper house prices based on that! The OP was asking about seniors and its been established that they have plenty of non white children.
Best wishes!

@WCC1985

Many thanks for all the advices above. Truly appreciate all your time. May I recap my understanding below:

1. North London (NW and NE) , and South London, due to the ethnic composition of the local population, lots of BAME in private schools, some more than 50% (e.g. when I look at pictures of MTS and Bancroft）
2. Much less BAME in C0-ed
3. SW London, where there is a much less percentage of residents being BAME, that would be reflected in the schools as well.
4. Further out from London, especially outside M25, in the country side like Surrey, Kent, Herfordshire etc, while the white population is over 90%, that would also be reflected in the schools, i.e. most students are local.

I know there aren't a lot of East Asians in UK, and even London, so their percentage in a school is never a factor (guess few if any schools have more than 5% being East Asians).

I wouldn't say much less BAME in co-ed. Like I said, my daughter goes to Alleyns and its 40% BAME in her class. So while below the 50% average for London isn't a school I'd class as not diverse. I suspect the same is true for Highgate and Latymer so the whole co-ed thing is a misconception.

Also, SW London can be diverse in parts but perhaps not as safe a bet regarding diverse private schools as South London and North London. This just might be a reflection of where wealthier BAME families choose to live along with which schools have more generous bursary pots to widen access in general.

@Sonex

I'm sorry but I spend a lot of time at Trinity School in London and know my son's friendship groups - it is approaching 50/50 white/non-white and I observe this with my own eyes - as well as knowing their friends. I'd say there are probably more Asian than Black in the non-white category, as pointed out, but there are plenty of black and mixed race boys there and many are on the Rugby teams. I really don't think it is fair to label all private schools as 'very white', though some outside of London undoubtedly are. We chose this school on the basis that they are very ethically and culturally diverse, and as wealth-diverse as you can be given someone, somewhere is paying a lot of money for an education. I have never heard of anyone at the schools I spend time at suffering or being the perpetrator of racism in or around the schools. The boys genuinely don't seem to give a shit about peoples ethnic or demographic background.

The only time I see and hear a, frankly appalling, level of racism is at my son's football matches for an out of school club, both from their side and opposition teams in the local Surrey league. Most of it from grown men.

I agree with this. There are pretty good proportions of black kids in South London indies and lots of Asian children. I'd say most South London schools are between 30% and 50% BAME as standard and not all from one minority group either.

In North West London schools like Habs, UCS, North London Collegiate, Highgate have a great ethnic mix with Black, Chinese, Asian and Jewish children to mention just a few.

@WCC1985 I just realised you are East Asian and abroad. I'm sorry it didn't click before. I did think there were a good number of East Asian students in all the top academic senior schools in West, South West and Central London. King's College School, St Paul's Boys and Girls, Westminster etc. But there will be in many other schools not in the top league, including boarding schools. I'm sure there are in the Dulwich schools too. Plenty of families from overseas and really no problems with ethnicity in these schools whatsoever.

Pages 14-17 of this document might be relevant:
www.isc.co.uk/media/5479/isc_census_2019_report.pdf

[quote eglantine7]@WCC1985 I just realised you are East Asian and abroad. I'm sorry it didn't click before. I did think there were a good number of East Asian students in all the top academic senior schools in West, South West and Central London. King's College School, St Paul's Boys and Girls, Westminster etc. But there will be in many other schools not in the top league, including boarding schools. I'm sure there are in the Dulwich schools too. Plenty of families from overseas and really no problems with ethnicity in these schools whatsoever.[/quote]
Sorry for not making it clear from the initial post. We would be migrating to UK and will be looking for day school. A bit different from those coming from overseas and look for boarding and would return to their home country. I do want my boys to integrate into the society, instead of being restricted to the boarding community, as UK will be their home the moment they arrive.

Just to mention those top academic schools mentioned are largely day schools, as with practically all London indies

OP is after a day school I think. They are moving here as a family. hope you are feeling more reassured OP and good luck with the move.

There are about 1% of East Asians in the UK and 6% in London. About 40% Londoners are from BAME backgrounds. Most East Asians have not been here for generations like other more established BAME communities such as African, Central American, and South Asian. I have witnessed that there is a preference among East Asian parents to send children to schools with proportion of BAME pupils not overwhelmingly higher than the local population as they find white population easier to mingle with than other BAME groups. There is extremely low level of interracial marriages between East Asians and other BAME groups.

Back to your question OP you will find that most independent schools in London will have at least 20% BAME children and a vast majority of pupils have at least one foreign born parents. You might need to visit the schools to get a feel, brochures and website don't give you all of that information. Your son will be absolutely fine in any London school he goes to.

We are an academic family in a small university town (nowhere near London) and like most universities there is a large East Asian community of students and staff. This is reflected in the local schools.

@Sashamia

There are about 1% of East Asians in the UK and 6% in London. About 40% Londoners are from BAME backgrounds. Most East Asians have not been here for generations like other more established BAME communities such as African, Central American, and South Asian. I have witnessed that there is a preference among East Asian parents to send children to schools with proportion of BAME pupils not overwhelmingly higher than the local population as they find white population easier to mingle with than other BAME groups. There is extremely low level of interracial marriages between East Asians and other BAME groups.

Back to your question OP you will find that most independent schools in London will have at least 20% BAME children and a vast majority of pupils have at least one foreign born parents. You might need to visit the schools to get a feel, brochures and website don't give you all of that information. Your son will be absolutely fine in any London school he goes to.

You mentioned: " I have witnessed that there is a preference among East Asian parents to send children to schools with proportion of BAME pupils not overwhelmingly higher than the local population as they find white population easier to mingle with than other BAME groups."

Any idea why would that be the case? Thought most of us the ethnic minorities would (rightly or wrongly) be more comfortable with a diversified ethnic student body mix.

@worstofbothworlds

We are an academic family in a small university town (nowhere near London) and like most universities there is a large East Asian community of students and staff. This is reflected in the local schools.

May I know where it is?

If you message me I'll give you a few pointers.

Bancrofts is very mixed ethnically. My friend's son is there and it's down the road from us. It also looks like Hogwarts!

(However, there are some other local independent schools which are not, like Chigwell, so you'd have to be sure to get into Bancrofts and it's not that easy).

I tried to reply to your message but it isn't letting me - I get a blank error box.

@worstofbothworlds

I tried to reply to your message but it isn't letting me - I get a blank error box.

Sorry, i don't know why. but i do receive messages from others today. Would you mind trying again? thanks.

Certainly anecdotally private schools in SW London are now much more non white than in previous generations. Lot of people move to London for the private schools.