[LONDON 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 www.londonpreprep.com Page 2 London Schools Demystified 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 Knightsbridge School and the Garden House School) 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! www.londonpreprep.com Page 3 London Schools Demystified 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, Hammersmith, Holland Park, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill). www.londonpreprep.com Page 4 London Schools Demystified 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. www.londonpreprep.com Page 5 London Schools Demystified 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? www.londonpreprep.com Page 6 London Schools Demystified 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