We are overjoyed to have received a glowing review from Muddy Stilettos - the UK's leading luxury lifestyle website! This only motivates us to continue delivering the highest of standards for a London pre-prep. Read to find out what makes Wetherby School Kensington standout among the best. For the full article, click here ore see below.
Wetherby School Kensington
A boutique boys’ Pre-Prep with a progressive, nurturing environment which allows pupils to thrive.
LOCATION
The heart of Kensington in Wetherby Gardens, a stroll from Gloucester Road tube station and South Ken’s multitude of museums. Set in a beautiful terraced building, only the discreet gold plaque, bright red signature front door and line of small scooters give the game away that it’s a Pre-Prep for boys aged four to eight, rather than a residence.
Wetherby School Kensington is an award-winning school which opened just eight years ago, though its pedigree is clear as part of the esteemed Inspired Schools family.
The five-storey building it occupies had a total revamp in 2024 and it shows, with clean white walls, soft grey carpets and large, circular lights. It’s homely, yet doesn’t feel remotely cluttered or bursting at the seams – a tricky challenge for a city school with limited space.
FACILITIES
The school is deceptively large, making the most of what it has, including converting a large basement into an art room and a hall that’s used for assemblies and dining – I noticed that the tables stack way into the wall, a neat bit of space-saving design.
Classrooms are airy and light with high ceilings, clusters of tables and brightly coloured chairs. The school has occasional use (for photos and International Day) of the garden in the square opposite, but for sports it takes advantage of nearby Kensington Leisure or Chelsea Sport Centres for swimming and, as of September this year, the extensive sports facilities at new co-ed school Wetherby Pembridge in Kensington.
A short walk away is also Stanhope Gardens and Bousfield Primary School, both of which Wetherby Kensington has access to for games, forest school and play time.
SPORTS
Interschool competitions are frequent, meaning every pupil gets the chance to compete – there’s plenty of silverware on display in the school reception, so things are clearly going well. All the usual traditional sports are offered, football in winter, tag rugby in autumn and cricket in summer, plus hockey, swimming for Years 1-3, and gymnastics.
THE ARTS
Boys have weekly art lessons (plus lots of fun extras like competitions and gallery visits), and I got to see their work during a tour of the spick and span art room, where Shackleton-inspired sunset silhouettes were being created and an impressive row of clay volcanoes were drying ready for pupils to take home. New head Victoria Playford comes from a fine art background and is enthusiastic about building on the school’s creative success, she’s already got plans for a kiln.
Music’s more than an add on, with all pupils enjoying weekly music lessons plus individual tuition in guitar, piano and violin from Year 1 in the two dedicated music rooms. Orchestra’s invite-only, but anyone can join the choir which is hugely popular by all accounts. Recitals at nearby St Mary’s Church sound spectacular affairs, and are a great way to build confidence in pupils while keeping parents up-to-date with children’s musical progress.
ACADEMICS
There’s no doubt Wetherby’s excelling in all of the core areas and more, with a very high standard of learning which begins in Reception. A quick glance at the day’s lesson plan revealed a structure more akin to Prep, such as handwriting, maths, English, French (children from 1-3 Years), science and ‘reasoning’.
It’s little wonder the work books I viewed in Year 1 were so impressive (their handwriting alone was neater than Muddy’s journo scrawl), however anyone under performing is identified by teachers and given extra support from the get go.
The new head has strong contacts with leading Prep schools (think Westminster, King’s, St Paul’s), visiting them regularly to keep parents informed about teaching methods and what to expect from the next stage. She has also hosted Future Schools talks for current parents where, most recently, heads from 11 illustrious potential future schools attended. Families can feel confident that she’s there to guide them all the way through the 7+ and 8+ exam process, hence the exemplary results and offers.
SEND
I was particularly impressed with Learning Development at Wetherby. There’s a really slick process in operation starting with observation followed by teacher intervention if necessary, after which a plan is put in place and then tracked to ensure pupils are blossoming rather than simply coping. If they’re not, the plan is tweaked.
The team’s experience ensures pupils are given a terrific start that’s bespoke to their specific learning needs and the small class sizes make it easy to implement. There’s virtually no chance of your child falling behind here, which alone is worth the fee.
HEAD
Victoria Playford swept into Wetherby School Kensington at the start of the year like a breath of fresh air from Mulberry House School. Charismatic and fizzing with positive energy, she has already set about implementing changes, from introducing Parent Ambassadors to strengthen the school community to serving hot chocolate in her office to all 115 pupils (in groups of six!), in order to get to know them better individually – what a lovely initiative (and an impressive amount of hot choc). She’s also introduced a School Parliament and a Debating Club, where boys choose and discuss topics as diverse as ‘Which are better, books or TV?’ and ‘Should there be a school uniform’ (they agreed there should!).
She’s keen on pupils having a voice within the school, for example Wetherby Kensington celebrated its first International Day at the end of summer term in the private garden it overlooks – an initiative put forward by the school’s Head Boy who wrote asking for permission to use the green space which was duly granted. Power to the pupils. She also revealed to Muddy that she’s an ISI inspector, so she really does know what works (and what doesn’t) in schools. I was left with the impression that it’s an exciting, innovative time for Wetherby with Victoria Playford in the top job.
QUIRKS
Wetherby Kensington is the first school we’ve reviewed that celebrates Father’s Day with The Great Tie Swap, where kids and dads switch ties for the day. Cue lots of giggles, over-sized knots and cute pictures (take a look here!)
ISI
The last report was in 2023 and the school met all the required standards with bells on.
MOBILE PHONE POLICY
Sorry screen addicts, it’s a mobile-free zone.
WRAP AROUND CARE
There’s no specific wrap around care, however extensive after school clubs, think coding, cooking, football, drama, chess, art, martial arts, debating (the list is lengthy), means most kids aren’t rushing out of the door at the end of the school day.
FEES
Keeping things nice and simple: £10,990 per term, inclusive of VAT.
WORD OF MOUTH
Rumours about the waiting list for Wetherby School Kensington being lengthy are largely true (some parents register their child from birth!), however staff I chatted to said it’s ‘always worth giving us a call.’
MUDDY VERDICT
An exceptionally kind, caring school with genuinely warm, friendly staff who will ensure your child flourishes. I felt it was particularly good for pupils who might struggle in larger class sizes and independent thinkers – Wetherby School Kensington is producing inquisitive pupils who go on to thrive at the next level of their education.
Good for: If you want the feel of a close knit, village-esque community but with all the advantages of a modern school in the capital, Wetherby nails it.
Not for: If acres of green space are important to you, then you’d better look beyond the London borders.
Dare to disagree? If you want to take a look for yourself (or get your child signed up for school years as far ahead as 2030) register your interest here.
