[ SCHOOLS DEMYSTIFIED] www.londonpreprep.com

London Schools Demystified

Contents 1. When do children start primary school in London? ...... 3 2. Where in London should I move for the best schools? ...... 4 3. How to find the best state primary schools in your area ...... 5 4. How to find the best private pre-preparatory schools in your area ...... 6 5. When do I register my child for primary school? ...... 7 6. Understanding primary school league tables ...... 8 7. Should I send my child to an independent pre-prep or a state primary school? ...... 9 8. What to expect for the independent pre-prep assessment ...... 10 9. Understanding 4+, 7+, 8+, 11+ and 13+ assessments ...... 11 10. London’s Top Secondary Schools ...... 12 Further Resources ...... 13 School guides ...... 13 Inspection reports and league tables ...... 13 Useful articles ...... 13 London Boroughs Starting Primary School Booklets ...... 14 About London Pre-Prep ...... 15 Our services ...... 15

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1. When do children start primary school in London?

English children have to be in school by the time of their 5th birthday, which means they have to start school in the term preceding their fifth birthdays. Generally, this means your child will start school in the September following her 4th birthday, although if your child was summer born, you could keep your child at home for another term and let her join school in the January following her 4th birthday. The first year in any primary school is called the Reception class and is still part of the Early Years Foundation Stage, which comprises government guidelines on education from birth to five that are followed by nurseries, pre-schools and Reception classes of primary schools. After the Reception class, your child will be 5 years old and start Year 1, which forms the first year of the Key Stage 1. Making the matter slightly confusing, most state primary schools and some private pre-prep schools (such as the School and the ) also have a nursery class for children aged 3-4. In addition, a very small number of independent pre-preps (Arnold House in St. John’s Wood is one example) only start in Year 1, without offering a Reception class. In general, children start primary school when they are 4 years old, so make sure you start planning where your child will go to school at the latest when they are 3 years old!

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2. Where in London should I move for the best schools? The highest performing London boroughs for state primaries, as measured by pupil achievement in English, Maths and Sciences are (the list below names the borough and gives the average score per pupil): 1. Richmond 30.5 2. Kensington & Chelsea 29.3 3. Wandsworth 29.0 4. Barnet 29.0 5. Camden 28.9 (this includes many high performing schools in Hampstead) 6. Greenwich 28.8 7. Westminster 28.7 As you can see, Richmond has a very high number of outstanding high performing state primary schools. Unfortunately, many outstanding state primaries have faith-based admissions criteria which can make it hard for internationals to gain a place. Be sure to check the admissions criteria of each school near you!

Apart from many outstanding state primary schools, Central London offers a wide range of fantastic private schools. For the top independent pre-prep schools good areas to move are North London (Hampstead, St. John’s Wood), South-West London (Richmond, Wimbledon, Parsons Green) and Central London (Belgravia, Chelsea, , Holland Park, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill).

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3. How to find the best state primary schools in your area

You should start by finding out which state primary schools are in your area and how good they are. The following sources will help you: Read the “Starting Primary School” booklet of your local borough (see London Boroughs Starting Primary School Booklets). This will list all primary schools and their admissions criteria, as well as provide statistics on how many applicants per place there were in the previous year of admissions Check primary school league tables for your borough and rank primary schools in your area by Average Point Score and “Percentage of Students with English and Maths at Level 4 or above” Read their Ofsted Reports – you would want your school to be rated “outstanding” or “good”, particularly in the areas of teaching quality and pupils’ achievement Make sure you have a realistic chance of getting in, as the good state primaries in London tend to be oversubscribed. Most Catholic or Church of England schools will expect you and your child to be of the faith and actively participate in weekly church service to be eligible for admission. Community primaries generally admit children by proximity to school, as measured by walking distance. In oversubscribed schools, you often need to live within <0.5 miles walking distance to the school to get in. Once you have identified some that you like, make an appointment with the headmaster and visit the school. Many schools hold open days or Summer and Christmas Fairs that you can attend as an external visitor.

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4. How to find the best private pre-preparatory schools in your area If you are not happy with state primaries in your area or are worried your child might not get into a good one, you will need to think about independent pre-preparatory schools. These do not take part in the government tests that make up the primary school league tables, so you cannot use primary school league tables to gauge academic quality of the school. Luckily, there are many other useful resources available to choose the best pre-preparatory schools: Use my website Londonpreprep to find the top pre-prep schools in your area. For a full list, use the Independent Schools Council schools search by postcode Talk to other parents in your neighbourhood with children in the private sector. Once you have done a bit of research, you will recognise what schools your neighbour’s children attend by their uniform Read Independent Schools Inspectorate reports and look for excellent academics and pastoral care Check each school’s exit results and scholarships, which gives you a good idea of how successful the school is in preparing for secondary school transfer and developing a child’s artistic talents Ask on the Mumsnet forum – it has millions of viewers per month and you will get excellent advice Make school visits to your top five choices once you have narrowed them down. Get to know the headmaster! Observe the pupils and teachers – do they look happy and engaged?

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5. When do I register my child for primary school? In state primary schools, you generally apply the year before entry, so you would apply to your local educational authority in the autumn or winter of the year preceding September entry, when your child is 3 years old or just turning 4. The exact dates can vary by local authority, but the usual timetable is: between September and January prior September entry, you apply online to your local authority. In April preceding September entry, you will receive notification of a school place, which must be accepted by May. In state primaries, there is nothing you need to do until the year before your child starts school, other than seeking out information so you can choose your school. For private pre-preparatory schools, you should generally start planning ahead much earlier, although there are huge differences between the schools and some do require very early registration. As a general overview, there are three types of private pre-preps when it comes to registering your child: a) Register at birth: operating on a first come first served basis, several of the Notting Hill pre-preps require registration as soon as possible following birth (e.g. Pembridge Hall, Wetherby, Norland Place) b) Register before 2nd birthday: These are so popular that they close the registration list after they have received a set number of registrations (e.g. Falkner House, Knightsbridge School) c) Register at least one year prior to entry: these schools keep lists open until the year before entry (e.g. Kensington Prep School, Hill House School)

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6. Understanding primary school league tables Most English newspapers publish primary school league tables, which reflect standardised test scores of children at state primaries in English, Maths and Sciences. They publish several performance measures that you can use to rank the schools: - % with Level 4 in English/Maths or above: this measure tells you what share of pupils in the class have reached a satisfactory level in the given subject - % with Level 5 in English/Maths: this measure tells you what share of pupils in the class have reached very high level in the given subject, which is a good indicator of the share of able or high achieving pupils in the school - Average point score: the total average point per pupil across all subjects - Contextual value added (CVA): this is a measure of how well a school did to improve pupil performance from when they started school to when they took the test. It is calculated by taking standardised test results from Key Stage 1 and using the SATS test used for league tables, which are administered to children in Key Stage 2. It’s a good way of judging the quality of teaching taking into account the ability level of pupils at the school. The league tables also show the average scores for you borough and for England in order to judge how a given school fairs against the national and local averages. No similar data is published for independent primaries.

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7. Should I send my child to an independent pre-prep or a state primary school? This discussion comes up in many parents’ forums, so let’s summarise the here: Arguments in favour of state primary: - Might be closer to your house in your neighbourhood - Your child can socialise with a more representative mix of children from your neighbourhood - Many have extended services up to 6pm for working parents at low cost - Class of 28-30 children offers your child a wide variety of friendships - No tuition fees, generally cheaper school uniform as well as cheaper trips and activities Arguments in favour of independent pre-prep: - More individualised care and small class sizes - Wider range of extra-curricular activities - Preparation for 7+ or 11+ exams - On average higher academic standards and pupil achievement, though it depends on the school If you find a state primary that you like, it might be a good idea to start there and see how happy your child is. If you feel at some point your child is not thriving, you can still switch to private school later. At least you will have saved tens of thousands of pounds! In a state primary, parents will have to be more proactive about enriching school work with hobbies and activities and making sure the child advances well academically, whereas good independent pre-preps tend to offer the full package. My advice would be to find a school with an energetic, enthusiastic headmaster, teachers who care and children who look happy and engaged, without worrying too much if it is state or independent.

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8. What to expect for the independent pre-prep assessment Many popular independent schools run assessments in order to narrow down the registration list of one to two hundred candidates to the twenty to forty children chosen for the Reception class. So if you want your child to get into Glendower Prep, Thomas’s or the Knightsbridge School, for example, prepare yourself to bring your 3-4 year old in for an assessment by the future school. At this young age, schools mainly look for social skills that suggest the child will fit into the school community. They will be looking for children who share and socialise in a small group. They will probably read a story to check if your child can sit and listen, and they will ask questions on the story they have read. Additional tasks carried out individually might be: Recognising and writing of your child’s name, correct scissor use, putting a picture story into a sequence, recognising numbers to 10 and/or count to 10. There is nothing really to prepare for the day as such, what is required is really to make sure your child picks up these social skills in the first years of his life. If you read bedtime stories and encourage storytelling and communication at home, those tasks during assessment should present no problem. All good nurseries would also teach children about sharing toys and being polite to other children and adults. If you want to read more about assessments, read this excellent article on Schoolhouse Magazine called “Testing Times” featuring interviews with pre-prep headmasters on their approach. Glendower Prep School also gives a good description of skills sought at assessment on their website.

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9. Understanding 4+, 7+, 8+, 11+ and 13+ assessments When you hear about all the “pluses” out there, you can get quite confused about how often your child will be tested over first 10 years of her life. All the “pluses“ serve a different purpose and your child might be able to avoid many of these tests. Here’s what they are all about: - 4+: assessment for Reception entry, done by some Central London independent pre-preps, mainly looks for social skills, curiosity and school readiness - 7+: test for entry into prep schools containing English, Maths and Verbal Reasoning papers - 8+: original test for prep school entry. 7+ became more and more common as each school tried to get the brightest candidates a year ahead - 11+: this is an important exam for transfer to secondary school. It is used by state Grammar schools in some areas, as well as (mostly girls’ or co-educational) independent schools. It includes English, Maths, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning papers - 13+ or “Common Entrance”: this is a test for 13 year olds, mainly boys, for entrance to the country’s top boarding schools. Some girls take the Common Entrance for entry into co-educational boarding schools such as Marlborough. By choosing a school that is pre-prep and prep, you can minimise the number of assessments your. Luckily, there are more and more schools for children aged 4 – 13 (e.g. Knightsbridge School) nowadays.

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10. London’s Top Secondary Schools When looking at primary schools, it is a good idea to check if they place a good number of pupils into these secondary schools. The top London secondary schools, taken from this BBC news overview of the top 200 UK schools, are:

1. Tiffin Girls School (girls' grammar school in Kingston-upon-Thames) 2. Hampton School (independent boys' school in Richmond) 3. The Lady Eleanor Holles School (independent girls' school in Richmond) 4. North London Collegiate School (independent girls’ school in Edgware) 5. Tiffin School (boys' grammar school in Kingston upon Thames) 6. St Paul's School (independent boys' school in Richmond) 7. (independent boys' school in Westminster) 8. Lycee Francais (independent mixed school in South Kensington) 9. Southbank International School (mixed international school in Kensington) 10. St Paul's Girls School (independent girls' school in Hammersmith) 11. City of London School for Girls (girls , City of London) 12. The Godolphin and Latymer School (ind. girls school Hammersmith) 13. Putney High School (ind. girls' school in Putney) 14. South Hampstead High School in Camden (ind. Girls’ school in Hampstead) 15. Henrietta Barnet School in Barnet (girls’ grammar school in North London) 16. City of London School for Boys (independent boys' school in the City) 17. Latymer Upper School (mixed independent school in Hammersmith)

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Further Resources

School guides Londonpreprep is my website that profiles all the top London pre-prep schools. The blog also contains regular updates on attractive alternatives in the state sector and international schools. The Good Schools Guide – the most in-depth guide of all UK schools. It also includes many useful articles on understanding the British school system.

Inspection reports and league tables Primary school league tables Secondary School league tables Ofsted Inspection Reports Independent Schools Council Inspection Reports

Useful articles Getting through the prep school maze on the angels & urchins magazine Testing times – excellent advice on 4+ pre-prep school assessments on the Schoolhouse Magazine London’s top Secondary Schools on Londonpreprep London’s top international Schools on Londonpreprep Affordable Private Schools in Central London on Londonpreprep Where to move for the best state primary schools? on Londonpreprep Books to read with your toddler on Londonpreprep Books to read with your preschooler on Londonpreprep

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London Boroughs Starting Primary School Booklets The following booklets contain a full list of state primary schools in each borough, including their admissions criteria and statistics (such as catchment areas, applications per places). Camden: Starting School in Camden 2013 Hackney: Hackney Primary Schools Brochure 2013

Hammersmith and : Starting School 2013/2014

Haringey: Primary School Admissions booklet Kensington and Chelsea: Starting School in Kensington & Chelsea Richmond: Richmond Council Primary Admissions brochure Tower Hamlets: Starting School in Tower Hamlets booklet Westminster: Westminster – your choice for Primary Education

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About London Pre-Prep London Pre-Prep is a community and information portal dedicated to helping London families and expats relocating to London to make the best educational choice for their children. While I was researching schools for my first daughter, I always wished there was a website that shared news, reviews and profiles of all the top London private and state schools. That’s why I decided to set up London Pre-Prep. I hope you find this guide helpful!

Our services For parents: The London Pre-Prep website shares a lot of free information about London schools. If you are looking for more personal advice about choosing a school and admissions or about relocating to London, feel free to contact me at [email protected] For schools and local businesses: for advertising enquiries, please contact us under [email protected] and we will send you a media pack with our rates

Anke Gosch Founder & Editor www.londonpreprep.com [email protected]

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