EDUCATION WHICH SCHOOL?
Choosing
the right school
Choosing the right school is one of the hardest decisions a parent makes. Sarah Edworthy suggests a few key factors to consider when selecting the right one for your child
C
ompetition for places in pre- prep schools, prep schools and even certain nursery schools across London is
intense and children’s names need to be put down at birth. Sought-after schools do their best to respond to the demand, going so far as staggering entrances so that a certain quota of registrations are apportioned for each month. However, even despite this, a child born at the end of the month will probably only make a waiting list, regardless of how fast a parent is in registering them. With this sort of pressure, the school selection process should ideally begin before a child is born.
Location: distance, ease and environment
Be practical. Geography has to be top of the list. Walking to school is a bonus. Children love it and green-conscious schools encourage it. “Having muddled around in cars, minibuses and public transport to get my eldest son to and from the school we thought would suit him best, I chose Thomas’s in Kensington for his brother and sister,” says Fiona Buxton, a London-based mother. “It was happy, co-ed and, most importantly, within walking distance.” If walking is not an option, work
out a realistic round-trip mileage, taking traffi c jams into account. Remember that it’s not just the drop- off and collection but play-dates, clubs and staggered fi nishing times which
36 FIRST ELEVEN SUMMER 2010
have to be factored in. Family car pools to share the school-run duties are great but after-school activities, illnesses and sudden changes in schedules will still have to be allowed for. Ask yourself if public transport could be an option.
Siblings: family school or fostering individual talents
Check a school’s sibling policy. Sending children to the same schools is easier for school runs, admin, uniforms and brain space, with fewer teachers’, school secretaries’ and fellow parents’ names to remember. As your child moves up the ladder from nursery to pre-prep and prep, it increasingly becomes a matter of matching the right child to the right school, asking where best will your child prosper educationally and emotionally. Schools can cater for individuality, especially as by now boarding might be an option, whether that be for sport (great outdoor facilities), music (Cathedral choir schools) or specifi c schools for dyslexic children who might benefi t from a different educational approach.
Commuter schools
A traditional country-style prep school education is an option for energetic children and the schools are in plentiful supply, with many around the M25 providing daily commuting facilities into central London. It is a bit of a trade-off – green fi elds in exchange for long hours – but you get your child
home at the end of the day. “They catch the bus at 7.30am, not too early, and come home with rosy cheeks,” one mother told us about her experience of commuter schools with her sons. “Tired is good for my boys! There’s no problem about bed time.” With increasing demand for boys
schools in the metropolis, London- friendly schools close to the capital have become popular. The co-ed Milbourne Lodge School in Esher, runs a school bus from Putney; Feltonfl eet in Cobham, offers places to day and weekly boarders. Boys’ schools like Shrewsbury House School, Surbiton, Papplewick, Ascot and Caldicott near Beaconsfi eld all offer a gentle transition from day to boarding with variations on day and weekly boarding, sometimes insisting on boarding in the last couple of years as a precursor to a boarding public school.
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Co-ed?
Single
Special learning enrichment?
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