WHAT? WHERE?

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney playground

Hurlingham School is a co-ed, non-selective Prep school in Putney for pupils 2-11 years. Originally founded in 1947 in Putney, the family-owned Hurlingham moved to its current 60,000ft red brick purpose-built site by Wandsworth Park in 2001, with a Nursery (2-4 years) added in 2017, on a nearby separate site. Popular locally, this South London Prep has 391 pupils on the roll call (52% boys to 48% girls), mostly from local families – a diverse mix, with just over half as ‘white British’ and 45% pupils speaking another language at home. Class sizes vary from 14 to a maximum of 19.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney exterior

FACILITIES

/SPORT

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney netball

Given the current head Simon Gould was formerly Head of PE atThomas’ school, there’s plenty of enthusiasm for sport but like so many London schools, the majority of sports are off-site – However, with Wandsworth Park on the doorstep, the children are playing football, rugby and cricket within a two minute walk. A short minibus ride soon gets the netballers and hockey players to their astro turfs.. The Year 6 girls made it to the Netball IAPS National Finals and also won a borough football tournament so there’s plenty of opportunity for talented kids to shine though Hurlingham is definitely not a school where the shiny trophy cupboard is the over-arching aim – the view is that an obsession with winning is usually parent (or teacher) based and that it’s much better to focus on participation, learning how to be part of a team and trying different sports.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney football

Case in point is Sports Extension Week which is basically offers a smorgasbord of alternative sports to have a go at – everything from climbing, trampolining and beach volleyball to spikeball (go on, look it up, I had to!), dodgeball, gymnastics and ultimate frisbee. Reception pupils can try karate and ballet on rotation and then select one to take part in for the Spring and Summer Terms. From Year 1 pupils can then select ballet and karate as a lunchtime club, available all year round – four of the boys this year have chosen ballet over karate, which reflects the give-it-a-go, non-judgemental attitude pervading the school.

/CREATIVE ARTS

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney music room

Plenty going on across music and drama. There’s a multi-purpose hall for performances of class assemblies, and hour-long Revues, performed by individual Upper School Year groups (3, 4 and 6 – not Year 5, as they’re focused on studies). The Revues are basically a retrospective of their school year in dance, music with larger/smaller roles for the kids depending on the appetite to perform and also include the teacher which is a cute spin on the idea. Year 6 also get to jazz-hands it with an end of year musical. To create an extra drama space, the quiet Thinking Space room on the first floor of the Arts Centre is currently being tweaked to help create an intimate theatre space with a stage.

The music offering has all the usual choirs, ensembles, school orchestra, ukelele and recorder groups along with Solo Spotlight concerts for those who want to shine. There are four music practice rooms, and some lovely bright well-equipped teaching rooms too. Though uptake of instrumental lessons at 40% is a lower than some schools I visit, there’s a brand new musical director with grand plans and I did get the feeling that music was a strong element of the children’s learning here.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney bongos

/GENERAL

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney art on walls

Art feels like a sweet spot here, with the school having held a Gold Level Artsmark award for many years. There’s a lovely, bright art room, with Specialist teaching in Creative Art and Design Technology for all children from Year 3 and the kind of enthusiastic, have-a-go art teacher you want for your children’s formative years. Everyone learns to both hand sew and use the sewing machine here as part of a focus on Textiles, as well as screen, block and 3D printing, all different paintworks, and air dry claymaking. With an emphasis on enjoyment and creativity, the kids are encouraged to pop in at breaktimes if they feel a Da Vinci moment coming on, and there’s also an after-school Art club.

You’ll love the school library, replete with all the books, papers and comics your kids could desire but with an added indoor treehouse that no doubt turns library time into something magical.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney library tree house

There’s a science lab with another enthusiastic teacher (there’s quite the roll call of them at Hurlingham) that Years 4-6 can use, complete with obligatory skeleton and Bunsen Burner licenses.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney science lab

Finally worth noting is the onsite outdoor classroom.Outdoor Learning is an important curriculum area with Reception attending Forest School and all the other year groups making the most of local outside spaces.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney forest school

ACADEMICS

Hurlingham School delivers, with its reputation for academic success further enhanced since Simon Gould came on as Head in 2020. The 2024 leavers gained 22 scholarships out of a 51 , with children going to a wide variety of schools. French and Spanish are taught by specialist teachers from Reception, with Latin added from Year 4.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney children studying

However, beyond the academics the school gives equal weight to pupil enjoyment /mental wellbeing / character skills with its Enrichment Programme that focuses on all the modern buzz words of resilience, empathy, problem solving, teamwork, debating, healthy living, compassion and leadership. So if you’re Exocet-driven for your children’s success on exam results only, you may want to fire your missile elsewhere.

LITTLIES

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney nursery playground

Hurlingham Nursery became part of the school in 2017 and it’s just a 10 minute walk from the main site, at Gwendolen Avenue, Putney. A big plus is the automatic entry to the main school from nursery – around half of the Reception kids come from the Nursery, which makes the transition much smoother.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney sand pit

When they reach Reception, they’ll be in one of three Reception classes on the ground floor that act, according to Hurlingham, as a ‘school within a school’ to allow a gentle introduction to big school, with their own playground area directly accessed from the classrooms as well as their own hall space.

PASTORAL CARE

Hurlingham is explicit in giving equal weight to wellbeing as to academic attainment and it shows. There’s a Deputy Head for Operations and Pastoral Care, external professionals such as Play Therapists and Counsellors, there are mental health champs patrolling the playground, but the heart of the pastoral care comes from the form teacher and wider staff, who know the children well and meet weekly to check on any emerging issues.

SEND

There are 6% of pupils with special educational needs, most taught within the classroom although there’s also a separate learning support room . The school has a dedicated Head of Support and Neurodiversity.

THE HEAD

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney simon gould head teacher

Simon Gould joined the school as Head in 2020, and oozes enthusiasm and passion about trying to create something unique at Hurlingham. Disrupting the norm of emphasising academic attainment as the top marker for the school, Gould is all about creating a ‘learning community’ that includes teaching life skills, and making sure the lessons bring pleasure, with the regular school-wide question to the kids “Are you enjoying the classroom?”

As a family owned, stand-alone school, there’s a freedom to do things a bit differently here and Gould brings an exciting sense of disruption. His tenure has been marked by a huge improvement in parental involvement, an emphasis on teacher development which he sees as important for creating happy teachers that bring joy and impact to lessons, smarter use of tech (including AI and AR) for learning, and a raising of academic standards at the same time as shifting dial from 11+ obsession.

Asked what could be improved, he rattles off a whole list – not because there are particular issues, but because Hurlingham is “hell bent on always improving”. Developing pastoral care further, more wit diversity, inclusion and sustainability, and at the moment he’s phasing out sets apart from Maths in Years 5/6 because there’s academic evidence that if pupils are assigned in a set they stay there – both the child and the teacher’s expectations are also fixed. Now he’s started a podcast Heads Talks where he interviews other head teachers about the best teaching (great intel for parents and the school publicity doesn’t harm either!). In short, he’s pretty impressive.

WRAPAROUND CARE

Pretty good. You can drop off your kids at 7.45am and 6pm in ‘Extended Tea Club’ which includes a cooked hot meal, Families can also use the ‘Sibling Club’ provision where a younger sibling who finishes school earlier can stay in club until their older sibling is collected.

QUIRKS

Hurlingham isn’t a school that will surprise you with its strange traditions – as a youngish, purpose-built school, it’s a pretty open book, although its distinctive light blue blazers and caps will give most other private school uniforms a run for their money in the style stakes.

There are some unusual clubs on offer, including the Young Archaeologists Club, and there’s an unusually passionate parental buy in to the school that sees Quiz Nights selling out in a single day. Not quirky but certainly unusual, but I’m also loving the fact that the school is looking to become an Ultra Processed Food free school.

ISI REPORT

The most recent ISI report was from 2022 and shows excellence across the board.

FEES

Less ouchy than some competitor schools, charging £6970 at Lower School (Years R, 1 and 2) and £7210 for Upper School (Years 3-6).

BURSARIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS

You can’t argue with 22 scholarships out of a cohort of 51 in 2024. This year the majority were academic, followed by drama, then music and computing, but 2023 was a bumper year for sporting scholarships so it just depends on the year and the talent.

TRANSPORT

There’s a shuttle bus service that collects from Southfields and Fulham. The nearest tubes are East Putney and Putney Bridge.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Pupils are not allowed to bring phones to school although in the Summer Term of Year 6, pupils are allowed to walk to and from school by themselves ahead of their move to Senior School. On arrival at school, they message their parents and again just before they leave the school gates before the phones are taken. A new policy is currently being implemented that will exclude the use of smartphones.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney children carrying sports gear

Very positive. Parents love the warmth and energy of the school, the Head is popular, the academics are strong and the children are happy. Parents acknowledge the purpose-built school isn’t as pretty as some of its more traditional local competitors, but it’s not a deal breaker when there’s so much else going for it.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: It’s hard to see what child wouldn’t thrive here with such an emphasis on wellbeing and love of learning. I’d say the parents who send their kids here are probably less transfixed on specific next schools, so Hurlingham will suit those who have a more holistic vision of the school’s role in their child’s life.

Not for: If your world view is one of toughening up your child for the pressures of life, this high-achieving, nurturing school isn’t for you.

Hurlingham School,122 Putney Bridge Road, London SW15 2NQ. Tel: 0208 8747186.

Hurlingham School & Nursery, Putney

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