The Villa

[WorkingMummy]

One of my children has just been offered a place in the reception intake at The Villa (Camberwell) for next year. They have asked me to accept or decline by the end of the month, which is before assessments at the Dulwich Schools even take place.

Before I actually knew anything at all about schooling round here (ie before we applied for this our first child to go anywhere) I was very attracted to the idea of getting the kids into a school where they can stay put until 18, and choosing between schools basically by looking at their exit data for 18+ and working backwards from there. But then I toured The Villa, absolutely loved it and, among other things, became really sold on the idea of NOT making a long term committment to one place before my child has even learned to write. And so The Villa become my first choice. I am thinking of accepting and withdrawing our applications for the Dulwich Schools immediately.

Are there any parents out there who get the logic of this? And are there any Villa parents who can reassure me that I am not letting my heart rule my head, and that The Villa truly is as exceptional as I think it may be.

WMx

[SarahJaneS]

Dear WM,

I can't comment on the Villa at all I'm afraid, but as I understand it, the benefit of being in a school that does not go all the way through to 18, is that at the appropriate age, be it 7+, 10+,11+ or 13+ ( the various different entry points for prep and senior schools ) is that you can make a much more reasoned assessment of the type of school that is going to be right for your child. Which, as you rightly point out, you have very little idea about when they can't even read or write. For example, I moved my son at 10+ as he was ready for a bigger academic ( and sporting ) challenge than his twin sister. She appears to be a much later developer and her now emerging skills are more art and drama and she would not thrive in a hot house academic environment. Both these characteristics have only begun to appear in the last couple of years ( they are 11 now ). I have also decided to go down the single sex route rather than co -ed, but again, I would have not had any idea about that at the start of their education and had just automatically assumed that it would be co-ed.

As other threads have suggested on similar topics, every child is different in terms of their developmental ability . At the end of the day, you will have a gut feel about what suits your child and your family best.

SJx

[hiattdennis]

It's exceptional go for it! I was in the same boat with my first child and didn't bother applying to my local state school after a visit around The Villa. Did the same for my second child too. Good Luck!