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Reviewed

Fulham Prep and Pre-Prep

Independent school · London, W14 9SD
  • Primary/prep
  • Co-ed
  • Ages 4-13
  • From £21,120 pa
  • 655 pupils

A comparatively new kid on the block compared to more established rivals, the pre-prep and prep are popular in the local area. Children clearly love the place and throw themselves into a plethora of activities with refreshing enthusiasm.

Why read our school review?

Unlike other websites, schools can't pay to be included in The Good Schools Guide. This means our review of this school is independent, critical and fair, and written with parents' best interests at heart.


Overview & data

Pupil numbers
655 ·
Religion
None
Fees
£21,120 - £23,451 pa
Local authority
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Linked schools

Headteacher

Executive head

Bex Tear

Since 2022, Rebecca (‘Bex’) Tear BSc MA PGCE PGDip, previously head of Badminton School. She read chemistry at the University of Exeter, followed by a PGCE at UCL’s Institute of Education. She was head of sixth form and senior deputy head at Wycombe Abbey and before that taught at St George’s, Ascot. Along the way she completed a master’s in leadership in education and a postgraduate diploma in entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School.

A whirlwind of energy, she teaches science in the prep and is very visible in and around the school’s senior, prep and pre-prep sites, zipping back and forth between them on her trusty fold-up bike (parked in reception when we arrived). ‘It’s a moment of quiet to think,’ she says. Clearly a good sport, she came third in the five-kilometre Santa Dash during her first year, sporting a Santa’s beard, and dressed up as a fox (from Fantastic Mr Fox) in a hunting outfit and full face paint for World Book Day. ‘You’ll have to get the Spider-Man outfit next time,’ joked the deputy head.

Moving from Badminton has been ‘a real sea change’ but she’s enjoying the opportunity to be part of an international group (Fulham belongs to the Inspired Group, which has 20 schools in London alone), sharing ideas with fellow schools. In the past some locals saw the pre-prep, prep and senior school as separate entities but she’s keen for them to be more connected and is working hard to highlight the school’s distinct offering. When she arrived the school’s core values amounted to 18 words – far too many for pupils to remember. She surveyed the whole school and pupils quickly came up with four key phrases – universal wellbeing, global responsibility, inquiry and innovation and positive engagement.

‘I really rate her,’ said a parent, praising her ‘very strong leadership’. ‘She’s very energetic and committed.’ Another said: ’She’s very receptive, very much at the forefront of the school and she makes time to see individual parents.’

Her husband is head of chemistry at Exeter School and they have two sons at university. Outside school she enjoys cycling, cooking, theatre and walking her two border terriers. An avid reader, at the time of our visit she’d just powered through Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teaching Us about the Business of Life, a leadership book by James Kerr. ‘Everyone should read it,’ she says.

Leaving in summer 2025 to become head of Downsend.

Since September 2023, Ed Fielding (head of prep), previously head of primary at Nord Anglia in Hong Kong. He grew up in Surrey, attending Hinchley Wood, a state school in Esher. After his primary education degree at the University of Roehampton, he taught in a range of London schools, both state and independent. As well as his head’s role he teaches ‘a bit of games and citizenship’. His wife Jenny is a physiotherapist and they have three children, the elder two at the pre-prep. In his spare time he’s a keen tennis player.

Since September 2023, Joanna Copland (head of pre-prep), previously vice-principal of the Thomas’s group of schools and before that deputy head of Thomas’s Clapham for 14 years. She teaches nursery and year 1 children and is a firm believer that children want to be ‘happy and engaged’ at school. ‘If they are happy they will thrive,’ she says.

Clearly a good sport, she came third in the five-kilometre Santa Dash during her first year, sporting a Santa’s beard

Entrance

Non-selective. Main entry in reception is based on the date of registration, so the earlier the better. ‘It’s first come, first served,’ says the pre-prep head. No assessments for nursery and reception children but year 1 and 2 pupils attend a taster morning. In the prep, assessment includes an online test, activity day and interview.

Open days
We are offering both virtual tours and in school tours, ensuring prospective parents can always see our school.

Exit

On average a quarter leave after the pre-prep, heading for schools like King’s College Junior School, Putney High School, St Paul’s Juniors and Kensington Prep. The rest progress to Fulham Prep. Some leave after year 6, mainly for relatively local schools, while others head off at the end of year 8 to a mix of day and boarding schools. Recently, most to Fulham School, Harrodian, Queen's Gate and Putney High. Others to St Benedict's, St James Girls, Ibstock, Kew House, Fulham Boys and Francis Holland Sloane Square. ‘We pride ourselves on the diversity of schools they go to,’ says the prep head. Two scholarships in 2024.


Latest results

Average points score (2024)

School
0.00
LA avg.
37.14
Eng. avg.
35.69
Data highlight

What is this?

These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.


Teaching & learning

Qualifications taken in 2024
  • GCSE
  • IB

Learning support & SEN

0.2 %
Students with a SEN EHCP
26.1 %
Students with SEN support

Pupils

655
Number of pupils

Money matters

Sibling discount of 10 per cent. In cases of family hardship bursaries are considered ‘case by case’.

Fee information
£21,120 - £23,451 pa

Our view

Launched in 1996 with a single class by Jane Emmett, who’s still the safeguarding governor, the prep and pre-prep are on separate sites. The prep is housed in a magnificent building, closer to west Kensington and formerly the home of Holborn College. It was the setting for the Grange Hill TV series in the 1980s although today’s parents are probably far too young to remember Tucker Jenkins et al. Stunning library, with a vast wooden tree in the centre and a tree house on the mezzanine floor. We visited during book week and pupils were enthusiastically perusing new titles (The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey was a winner with year 3 and 4 children). The prep has an acre of outside space – a lot for a London school – including a football pitch and climbing wall.

The pre-prep occupies a renovated Victorian school on Fulham High Street (drop-off is at the much quieter back of the pre-prep). Inside it’s a delight, with large classrooms and a calm, pastel nursery. Two big outside play areas, with an Astro, a wooden pirate ship and a working garden, where children grow potatoes and herbs. A second, more recently renovated building houses classrooms, dining hall, hall for assemblies and drama, specialist teaching rooms, library and music room. The pre-prep and prep both offer wrap-around care – a boon for busy parents. Children can arrive at 7.30am and stay till 4.30pm or 5.30pm.

The prep is easily the largest part of Fulham School, with three or four forms per year group, each with their own tutor. Classrooms are big and bright – we joined a year 4 class learning about Roman numerals and a year 6 coding class doing Python programming (year 7s make websites and year 8s design apps). The prep recently bought a set of VR headsets so staff plan to use them in myriad ways, like looking at volcanos in geography or learning about the structure of the eye in science.

Setting for maths but no other subject. French and Spanish taught all the way through and Latin or classical civilisation added in year 7. Between years 5 and 8 some pupils stay on, others leave and new pupils join; the school’s solution is for everyone to follow the same curriculum, whatever their future destination. Specialist subject teachers from year 5. Small class sizes throughout – maximum of 20 in the prep and 18 in the pre-prep (but usually around 15).

The pre-prep buzzes with activity. On the day we visited, nursery children were merrily singing Five Little Speckled Frogs outside with their teacher while year 2s were busy chronicling their recent walk around the local area (we were very impressed that they could spell ‘aerial’ at such a tender age). French, music, dance and sport with specialist teachers from nursery upwards. Nursery and reception classes have their own teaching assistants while in years 1 and 2 there’s one across two classes. ‘My children absolutely love it,’ said a pre-prep parent. ‘There’s never been a day when they haven’t wanted to go in.’ With men currently making up just two per cent of the early years workforce in England and Wales it was refreshing to see three male teachers in the pre-prep (including the pre-prep deputy head). ‘It’s very important, especially for the boys,’ said a parent.

The prep caters for a range of learning support needs, including ADHD, dyslexia and ASD. ‘We work with families to identify the support that children need and put together a suite of support,’ says the head of prep. Learning support team, led by a SENCO who has been at the school for more than 20 years, offers help one-to-one, in small groups and in class. However, a parent told us that while children love the school and the teachers are very approachable they wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for those needing significant learning support.

Budding musicians take individual instrumental lessons and there’s a choice of orchestras and ensembles to join. The prep has an impressive five choirs so children of all ages and interests get involved. It also holds a singing assembly every Tuesday and an annual carol service at the local church.

The prep’s art room is light and airy, with all children encouraged to express their creativity. A keen focus on entrepreneurship throughout; prep pupils take part in the Fulham Traders project once a term, launching their own businesses (making and selling everything from tie-dye T-shirts to dog treats).’I want to encourage an entrepreneurial mindset at a young age,’ says the executive head. Prep school clubs run from 4pm till 5pm and include an optional, supervised homework club for years 4 to 8, robotics and pet club.

Even though the prep has a reasonable amount of outside space, it uses the 35-acre King’s House School Sports Ground in Chiswick for sport. Pupils were thrilled to spot the England rugby team training there recently and even more delighted when players donated their signed shirts. Main prep sports are football (boys and girls), netball, hockey, rugby, athletics, cricket and tennis. The majority get a chance to represent the prep in matches against other schools, although girls told us they’d like to see more tournaments.

Very clear pastoral structure in place so children know where to seek help. Form tutors are their first port of call but a counsellor visits the prep twice a week and the deputy head pastoral keeps a weather eye on pupils, particularly if they have low self-esteem or anxiety. ‘We aren’t an academic hothouse,’ he says. ‘We don’t pressurise children academically but they sometimes feel under pressure to go to certain schools. We are trying to prepare them for their future lives and giving them the tools to navigate the challenges they may face.’ The head is adamant that community and generosity of spirit are essential for wellbeing and pupils learn from the start that there is a wider world beyond school. The school welfare officer is a trained nurse and there’s an art therapist too.

House system in place throughout (houses have local connections – Bishops, Crabtree, Hurlingham and Peterborough). Clear rules on mobile phones. Up until year 5 children must hand them in on arrival at school. After that pupils put them in a box at the start of a lesson and get them back at the end.

Pre-prep and prep pupils are mostly local (from a two-mile radius). Some are dropped off by parents while older ones walk, cycle and scoot. The school runs shuttle buses between the three sites so parents with children of different ages don’t have to do multiple drop-offs. Smart navy uniform for all (boys wear ties) and we loved the nursery children’s chic navy and white gingham smocks. Food is cooked in-house (we can vouch for the excellent vegetarian curry) and there’s plenty of choice.

The pupils we met were smiley and polite. ‘There has never been a day when they haven’t been happy here,’ a parent told us. ‘There’s a really good community spirit,’ said a prep pupil. ‘I have never been bullied here. Everyone is encouraged and no one is ever left out.’ Two face-to-face parents’ evenings a year, though some would like to see more, and a number of new teachers joining recently.

Pupil voice is important – there’s a school council, with house reps for each age group, plus a head boy, head girl and prefects at the prep. Lots of international families and some children are bilingual. Thriving parents’ association – reps for every year group and a host of charity events.

A keen focus on entrepreneurship throughout; prep pupils take part in the Fulham Traders project once a term, launching their own businesses

The last word

A comparatively new kid on the block compared to more established rivals, the pre-prep and prep are popular in the local area. Children clearly love the place and throw themselves into a plethora of activities with refreshing enthusiasm.


Inspection reports

What the school says

We help children identify and develop their talents to give them the confidence to embrace challenges in other areas. From the most academic child to the most creativ to the most driven to the most supportive, our young students are encouraged to take delight in the learning process. Children are encouraged to discover, inquire and explore topics through practical lessons, excellent resources, open discussions and exciting excursions. This approach leads to long-lasting personal and academic success through an enjoyable and effective process. Our community nurtures lifelong learners who are driven by discovery and achieve more than they ever expected.

Contact the school

Address

200 Greyhound Road
London
W14 9SD
Get directions

Have you considered?

School data & information Fulham Prep and Pre-Prep 200 Greyhound Road, London, W14 9SD
655 Pupil numbers

We do not receive results data for this school. Find out more.

Average points score (2024)

School
0.00
LA avg.
37.14
Eng. avg.
35.69

What is this?

These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.

Entry and exit data

Here we report figures on pupils moving between schools at the usual entry and exit points, as well as student destinations into higher education. We publish publically available data for state schools. For independent schools, The Good Schools Guide collects data from its prep schools as to where their pupils go on to. Find out more

Our review contains additional entry and exit data reported to us and is updated annually. See the review

Recent feeder schools

Recent leavers' destinations

SEN overview

Fulham Prep and Pre-Prep is a mainstream school. The school may provide support for students with special educational needs as detailed below. If you require more information on conditions the school can support, we encourage you to contact the school directly.

SEN statement

Provided by the school and not part of our review

As a non-selective school for 4+ entry, we have a few children who prove to be dyslexic or dyspraxic. Should this be suspected, we request that the child has a full educational assessment with an educational psychologist. If necessary, we can then provide some 1 to 1 support, no more than two half hour lessons per week, for which a charge is made. This programme is supervised by our SENCO together with our part-time dyslexia specialists. We also have the services of a paediatric physiotherapist who spends one day a week in school to help children who are known to have dyspraxic type difficulties. We are an academic school and prefer, where possible, to limit the number of special needs children in any one year.

09-09

0.2 %
Students with a SEN EHCP UK mainstream school avg. 3%
26.1 %
Students with SEN support UK mainstream school avg. 14.1%

SEN conditons supported

Schools report the conditions they might be able to support. Please note, this may not be a complete list. Find out more.

Conditions (Might cover/be referred to as) Provision
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Social skills
HI - Hearing Impairment
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty Learning needs
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment Sensory processing
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic, Tics, Tourettes
PD - Physical Disability
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health Anxiety, Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication Selective mutism
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty Complex needs
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Auditory processing, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting Yes
VI - Visual Impairment Special facilities for Visually Impaired
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