8282 Tatler School Guide 2020 tatler.comPHOTOGRAPHS: THEODORE WOODBASSETT HOUSE
SCHOOL
60 Bassett Road, W10 6JP
Website bassetths.org.uk
Head Philippa Cawthorne Pupils
180 day: 94 boys, 86 girls Ages
3–11 Term fees £6,400
This non-selective favourite nes-
tled in Ladbroke Grove has just
unveiled a new 3,500 sq ft build-
ing and outdoor area without
increasing pupil numbers – quite
something for a central London
school. Deputy Head David
Wingfield (who apparently made a
fabulous dame in the staff panto-
mime) recently introduced the
Singapore maths method to the
school, and one impressed re-
searcher described him as ‘one of
the most assiduous and motivated
teachers’ she had ever met. The
pastoral care is excellent too –
there are off-timetable enrichment
sessions, an in-house life coach
and peace lilies (which, according
to NASA, purify the air) placed inevery classroom. Recent leavers
have won scholarships to Latymer
Upper and City of London School
for Girls, and, reportedly, the only
complaint pupils have is that the
school day ends too early.BROOMWOOD
HALL
68–74 Nightingale Lane,
SW12 8NR
Website northwoodschools.com
Head Carole Jenkinson Pupils
Upper: 240 day girls. Lower: 180 day
boys, 180 day girls Faith C of E Ages
Upper: 8–13. Lower: 4–8 Te r m
fees Upper: £6,880 Lower: £5,610
Charmingly traditional yet with a
very modern outlook – children are
given iPads for classwork from Year
4 and there are coding and streetdance clubs – Broomwood gets re-
sults that are good enough to match
up to its hot-housing contemporar-
ies while remaining non-selective
and priding itself on a familial,
stress-free environment. Around
half of its pupils have siblings at the
school and almost everyone lives
within walking distance. Girls sit
both the 11+ and the 13+, with
leavers heading to schools such as
Alleyn’s, JAGS and Wimbledon
High in London and Benenden,
Woldingham and Wellington fur-
ther afield (the 2018 leavers won 18
academic scholarships). Students
from the Northwood Schools – cur-
rently Broomwood and Northcote
Lodge – will have priority entry to
the senior school on Garrad’s Road,
a new addition set to open in 2020.BUTE HOUSE
Luxemburg Gardens, W6 7EA
Website butehouse.co.uk Head
Helen Lowe Pupils 316 day girls
Ages 4–11 Term fees £5,843
Head Helen Lowe says she has the
best job in the world and it’s easy
to see why. With no grades, ex-
ams, streaming or prize-giving,
Bute House appears to be the anti-
thesis of its more academically
punchy counterparts, yet still
yields fantastic results with leavers
moving on to St Paul’s Girls’,
Godolphin & Latymer and Fran-
cis Holland SW1. Girls emerge
confident, happy and refreshingly
self-aware, having been told
throughout that ‘they are the girls
who will become the women who
will make change happen’. A little
luck is certainly required for the
4+ non-selective ballot, but at 7+
there are 44 places to be filled by
inquisitive girls with a sense of hu-
mour who aren’t afraid to admit
gaps in their knowledge.EATON SQUARE
SCHOOLLondonPREP10-19-Schools-Guide-PrepLondon.indd 82 09/08/2019 13:25