Kippun Associates Blog

London Secondary School Search

If you’re a parent of a child in Year 6, you are probably looking around at different secondary schools and considering your options.  There are many choices in London, although sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough.

Some families have the added option of leaving their child at their current prep school and then applying to move on after Year 8. In past years, most girls moved on after Year 6, while many of the boys stayed.  More and more girls are choosing the option of staying on at their current prep school until Year 8 and some are transferring to prep schools for that 2 years of being a big fish in a smaller pond.

So how to sort out your choices.  It’s not easy and every parent wants to get it right the first time.  Start with a list of schools that you are interested in, go see them all, even if you are not sure you’re interested, whenever possible, bring your child. Make a list of what is important to you in a school – class size, drama, art, sport, etc. and then right after each visit rate the school according to your child’s needs, including notes.  Be realistic, if your child is a middle of the class kind of child, some of the top London independent day schools may not be in their reach and may just put them under pressure.

 That should help to narrow your list to 3 or 4 schools that your child can flourish at.  Look for the school that your child will fit into, enjoy and that will make your child stretch to their full potential.

I’ll be visiting schools with my daughter and trying to follow my own advice this year.  I’ll be blogging about some of the schools we visit together.

One of the most difficult things for many ex-pats to grasp is the number of really good Independent (private) schools in London.   In some neighbourhoods, you’ll find 5 or 6 within walking distance of each other, all good at educating children in their own unique ways.  When moving to London, we often advise families to find the school first, then housing second.  That said, it’s a good idea to narrow down neighbourhoods and one way to do that is determine how long a commute the workers in the family are willing to make daily.  Based on that, you can narrow down areas to search in.  Despite the fact that private schools are all over London, it can be a challenge to find a space at one.   It’s always a good idea to start early and be open to different schools.

As luck would have it, the day I brought a client to visit ACS in Cobham was a bright sunny day.  We both thought that the school was impressive, regardless of the weather, but a sunny day always makes things sparkle a little bit more.

The school has great facilities, including big bright classrooms, a library jam packed with students, an inviting 25m pool, a healthy kitchen and big playing grounds.  The Interactive Learning Centre was truly amazing.  It is a state of the art auditorium equipped with audio and video conferencing, as well as a voting panel at each seat.   We were told of a debate the IB Students had with an IB school in Canada – what an opportunity.  The overall atmosphere was a friendly inviting one.

They offer an American-based curriculum starting in the early years and ending with either an IB Diploma or an American High School Diploma and are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.  The kids who decide not to do the complete IB programme have the option of doing either an IB Certificate in specific courses or AP classes.   We were told that the kids leaving move on to Universities throughout the world, including top tier US & UK Universities.

Great facilities, combined with a solid academic program make ACS- Cobham a good alternative to GCSE’s and A-levels.  In my opinion, it’s worth a look.

Finding the right nursery school can be stressful anywhere you go, but in London there is a lot of pressure.  If you put your child into nursery X will they get into the top independent schools?  How do you know what is the best nursery for your child?

I suggest you sit down and make two lists:

1. Parent’s expectations  - what do you expect from a nursery: reading, counting, quantum physics, entrance into a primary school…

2. Child’s interests – what are your child’s interests: playdough, pushing a shopping cart, finger painting, singing, space to run, space to sit quietly… 

Put your list aside for a few days, and then come back to it.  Are your expectations realistic?  Quite often we expect far too much from our little ones and then become disappointed when they don’t meet our goals.  If a child doesn’t read when coming out of nursery, is their future ruined?  (I would answer no, but that’s for a future blog.)

 After you have put some thought into what you are looking for, schedule tours at the local nurseries and get an idea of the environment.  Can you picture your child sitting on the carpet in the circle listening to a story? Is there outdoor space where the children can run and play?  If not, where do they go for exercise and how do they get there?  Are the children there happy?

Nursery is the first step in your child’s educational journey, it’s up to you to make sure it’s a positive one.  If you instil a love of learning early, it’ll make the journey smoother for all of you.