WHAT? WHERE?

This relatively young London Prep (formed in 1996) looks like it’s been around much longer, occupying a grand old Victorian school building (one that was used for filming Grange Hill no less). But it’s a far cry from the reprobates of the 1980s comp – the kids here are smart, polite and confident but not bolshy, and throughout my time at the school doors were held open and conversations had with eye contact and engagement as standard.

Fulham Prep has 336 students in Y3 – Y8 (although Y9 of the Senior School spend half of their week here also). It has been part of Inspired Education for 10 years (the group has schools all over the world including many in London), and makes up ‘Fulham School’, which incorporates the Nursery, Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior School on four sites in the bend of the river that defines Fulham, west London. Class sizes are 15-16 with a maximum of 20 with four forms in Y5 and Y6 and three in Y8 and Y9.

FACILITIES

GENERAL SCHOOL

Fulham Prep is fills its one acres of outdoor space with four astroturf or tarmac play areas for sport and larking about and a shared playground that’s due for a big refit this summer. Replacing the old equipment will be climbing and sliding opportunities but also platforms to climb onto and gather in little groups for break-time catch-ups – acknowledging that not everyone has steam to run off at break.

The main building houses classrooms in a variety of layouts: theatre style seating for the older ones poised to move to the Senior school and more conventional rows or grouped desks for the younger ones. All have interactive whiteboards but also conventional ones that slide over the top and the vast high ceilings and big windows mean you never have that stuffy classroom feel.

Lower down the school kids have a home room, moving for specialist teaching in sport, music and so on, while older years from Y5 have a different room for every lesson. The library space is bright and welcoming and is somewhere to retreat to if break-time soccer isn’t your bag and, on the day I visited, it had a buzzy but contained vibe.

There’s a cute reading loft and as I wandered through it with the executive head, Bex Tear, the kids were calm and relaxed but polite as she chatted to them about their book choices and turned away the ones trying to come in with a biscuit in hand.

The modern science lab is impressive with a three-pronged desk layout as well as gas taps, sinks and all the beakers, petri dishes and more you could wish for. The other two science labs are next on the refurb list.

On the tech front there’s more – a metaverse classroom called the Amazing Innovation Classroom. It’s available to use across the curriculum and with VR headsets for each child to join an immersive experience, whether that’s hiking a volcano for geography or ordering food in a Spanish restaurant.

In the latter case, students at one of the Inspired schools in Spain acted as the restaurant staff, with the two sets of students interacting in a secured VR space. The school has a green screen for filming, podcast recording equipment and a robot building kit among the other bang-up-to-date offerings plus an IT suite, for as long as that serves a purpose.

SPORT

Netball, basketball and football can be played on site on the half-pitches behind the main school building. There’s also a dance studio in the music block. Football is huge here, especially among the girls who’ve been bringing home the silverware at various London tournaments, and an ex-Fulham player runs the school’s club. Other sports on offer include cricket, rugby, netball and hockey, as well as gymnastics, athletics, basketball, tennis and swimming. These are mostly offered at King’s House Sports centre, 10 minutes away by bus. Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, squash and fencing are among the more niche sports offered as afterschool clubs.

CREATIVE ARTS

The Art Room is a favourite space of many of the pupils – a bright loft room well-stacked with materials and decked with inspiring work by students. There’s no dedicated DT space or lessons but the school has a kiln for pottery and kids undertake technical drawing and challenges like miniature set design.

The music building is alongside the playground and has five practice rooms and a drum room. Kids can join one of three choirs (Junior choir, Fulham Singers or Chamber Choir) or five orchestras (Junior orchestra, Chamber orchestra, Jazz band, Junior brass, or Fulham band) and there’s music theory groups to help blitz the exams. The school’s own performance hall is host to more casual coffee morning performances and assemblies or there’s the larger Parrish Performance Hall for the full bells and whistles a 10 minute drive away.

Drama is taught to every year group and there’s a production in Y4, Y6 and Y8 together with class performances throughout the year and a whole school spring production. Other big events are the carol service and speech day so there’s no lack of opportunities for them to have ‘their moment’.

LITTLIES

The Nursery and Pre-Prep of Fulham School share a site on Fulham High Street and take little ones from ages 3yrs up to Y2.

ACADEMICS

The word of the week when I visited was ‘mellifluous’, which says it all really. Expectations are high on the intellectual front. In Y4, Philosophy comes into the curriculum where kids learn the art of discussion and debate topics like digital art while learning how to respect one another during discussions and accepting that sometimes there’s no wrong or right answer.

Some exit at 11+, a handful with scholarships, moving to schools like Putney High, Whitgift, Westminster and St Paul’s and boarding schools like Eton, Bradfield, Harrow and Tudor Hall, something the school supports, with rigorous exam prep and advice when selecting the right school – they don’t expect every child to be a lifer. Various tools including Atom, Century and CAT testing is used to asses progress so kids are ready for any format of exams and those staying on for Fulham Senior take the Common Entrance.

PASTORAL CARE

The form teacher tends to be the first port of call or head of year, but pupils can also see the school’s full-time nurse or the counsellor who comes in one day a week. There’s a house system to bond kids through various competitions (and pit them against one another of course), and ‘Fulham Families’ which are vertical groups across year groups who meet every week to collaborate on environmental, service and charity projects. It all helps to help with familiarity across age groups and playground and corridor camaraderie.

THE HEAD

Thomas Lewis took the top job in April 2024, coming from Wetherby School. He’s energetic, engaged and passionate about tech, encouraging staff to use the school’s VR set-up and get regular CPD. He’s also a big believer in investing in mentoring and wellbeing of both staff and pupils, fostering a nurturing atmosphere which genuinely feels like a place you can put your hand up and have a go without judgement.

QUIRKS

Alongside the more cerebral pursuits of philosophy, debating and ‘word of the day’, there’s the sublimely fun – at the end of term there’s a whole school Rock, Paper, Scissors championships.

WRAP AROUND CARE

The school day is 8.15am – 3.45pm but can be extended to 7.45am – 5pm with clubs, plus there’s a homework club Mon – Thu 4pm – 5pm. Praise be. Lunch break allows time for clubs but there’s also a broad after-school offering of 50 or so activities including robotics, chess, science and pet lovers, plus multi activity camps offered at the school during the holidays.

SEND

There’s three staff in the enrichment department – a SEND lead and specialist peripatetic teachers. Small group and 1:1 teaching is offered before and after school and during lunch where needed and there’s a rigorous (but discreet) testing culture to track children’s progress and offer support. A weekly HoDs meeting is set aside to discuss academic or pastoral concerns.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Y6 – Y8 can travel to school with mobile phones but they must be handed in to form tutors at the start of the day and are returned at dismissal.

TRANSPORT

There’s bus routes covering Brook Green, Barnes, Carnworth Road/Cloncurry, Fulham, Goldhawk and Chiswick, South Kensington, Putney and Wimbledon routes can be added on request if there’s enough demand.

FEES

£7,516 per term for the Prep, which puts it around mid-range for the London prep market.

WORD ON THE GROUND

This is chichi west London – Queen’s Club is a stone’s throw away – so expect high achieving parents, a strong international cohort and lofty ambitions (posters around school advertised talks (FED talks!) and debates on topics from propaganda in sport to NFTs).

That said, the school has a strong sense of community, and philantrophy is huge (£31k was raised in one term) thanks to an active PTA. The kids rate lunch, with two hot choices, a salad bar and urbane options like quinoa or Korean chicken. Like the rest of the school, the dining hall is tidy and smart – it’s a case of constant refurbing and refreshing here so the place never looks tired.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

The school values of global responsibility, responsible decision making, universal wellbeing, and embracing innovation and enquiry are paid more than just lip service – the kids have a ‘values card’ in their blazer pockets that are stamped when they demonstrate them. It’s typical of the grown up vibe and high expectations here, while also feeling nurturing with every child feeling ‘known’ and an easy rapport with staff.

Good for: Families who want rate intellectual stimulation above exam prep will enjoy the extras here like Philosophy and Debating. There’s also the option of a relatively stress-free Year 8 if you decide to roll on to the senior school. Having space on site is a boon – no wasted break time spent on buses to nearby playgrounds and commons

Not for: Out-and-out sport or music stars may find facilities and comparative peers lacking here – this is an environment for all-rounders.

Dare to disagree? Be my guest! Check out the website for more and the admissions page to find out about applying.

Fulham Prep School, 200 Greyound Road, London, W14 9SD.
+44 20 7386 2444.