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Our view
Set just off the heath in a leafy pocket of Putney, this warm, family-friendly prep school achieves that holy grail of being both academic and nurturing. Every child here, from those who need stretching to those who need extra support, gets bespoke attention and is challenged both academically and to discover who they are as a person. In fact, everything at Prospect House is perfectly balanced – from the equal emphasis on outdoor learning (there’s a great on-site forest school where English and maths lessons are held) and tech (every pupil has access to an iPad) to the 50:50 split of boys and girls. A real south-west London gem.
Where?
The school is located over two sites: the lower school (nursery to Year 2) at 75 Putney Hill and the upper school (Years 3 to 6), a five-minute walk further up the hill. Both were former houses and retain a homey feel, with a lot more outside space than you’d expect for the location. As mentioned, there’s a forest school on the lower-school site, as well as a generous play area, and the upper school site has bags of space to run around in – they’ve even managed to squeeze in an epic all-weather football pitch. Most families live within walking, scooting or biking distance, and there are bike parks at both sites.
Head
Kelly Gray took up the headship in September 2024, bringing with her bags of experience (as well as her twin daughters, who started in Year 5). She was previously head at Bassett House and has also taught in state schools in Leeds and Slough. She tells us Prospect House is ‘the dream school’, and she loves having the dual perspective of being both the head and a parent. Her vision for the next few years is on outdoor learning: ‘I want children to want to come to school,’ she says. They already clearly love their maths lessons outside – this is the first place we’ve visited where pupils have told us their favourite thing about school is learning maths.
Mrs Gray works closely with lower-school head Sarah Belshaw, visiting the site at least every other day. Mrs Belshaw is one of the most compassionate educators we’ve met. She’s in her fifth year at Prospect House and pours herself passionately into everything she does, from teaching to engaging with the wider community. In the nursery, she tells us she’s instilled a ‘curiosity approach’ where ‘natural moments of curiosity’ grow into ‘wow moments that develop a thirst for learning’.
Admissions
From nursery upwards, admission is first come, first served regardless of age, and the process is expertly coordinated with several induction events that foster a connection beyond the school gates – we love the way parents are invited along with their children to spend a day at the school the summer before joining.
Academics and destinations
The curiosity-first approach to learning starts in the wonderful nursery where everything is made from natural materials – lots of pleasing wood and hessian display boards. Phonics, maths, handwriting, plus specialist teaching in sport, drama, music and French are all taught – on the day of our visit, the children were counting conkers in forest school. A fenced-off playground area with water and sand play is shared with reception, when learning becomes semi-structured with daily phonics and maths, as well as discovery time spent role-playing and exploring different cultures and traditions. A lot of thought and creativity has gone into each stage of learning: English and maths lessons in forest school, science too for practicals, visiting a boulangerie on Putney High Street to order juice and a sweet treat in French, iPads to aid reading and listening skills. We love how pupils are all set their own personal challenges, with Years 3 to 6 given bespoke learning targets and individual interventions by specialist English and maths teachers.
Parents as well as pupils are wonderfully supported through the process of choosing a senior school. Prospect House draws up a banded list of options specific to each child – a single sex, a co-ed, an aspirational and a back-up – and the head meets with every parent to talk through the list. Pupils head off to 40-plus schools, including Emanuel, Surbiton High and Lady Margaret School. Everyone is prepared for the 11+ assessments in-house (verbal, non-verbal and spatial-reasoning teaching all start in Year 3), with a carefully planned timetable in Year 5 to allow pupils to continue with hobbies. They even have interview practice, with one bad-cop interviewer and another playing good cop to prepare them for anything.
Co-curricular
An ethos of having fun defines the sport at Prospect House, and the outside space is mapped out for different activities by different ground coverings. There are exercise machines, table tennis tables and the all-weather pitch; pupils also go running on Putney Heath before school (the running club is one of the most popular activities). From Year 2, children spend a whole afternoon at Roehampton Fields, and they also go off site for matches.
There’s lots of music too, with three lessons per week in the lower school and two in the upper. Everyone is either in the junior or senior choir and there’s also an audition-only choir, as well as two orchestras and a handful of ensembles. In the playground there’s a soundproofed cabin for individual lessons, and the school will find a teacher for any instrument a pupil would like to play.
Drama is buzzing with lots of productions, big and small. Art is often linked to current exhibitions in London. We saw some great Tudor-style self-portraits by the Year 5s, and some innovative AI-based imagery on First World War trenches by Year 6. Painting, etching, lino-cutting, sculpture and textiles are all on offer, and the dedicated art room is bursting with creativity.
Clubs include everything from cookery and construction to coding and chess, with residentials to Sussex and Dorset starting in Year 3. There’s a ski trip for Year 6s during term time, with those who don’t go choosing different activities including golf, riding and coding to do at school instead.
School community
Pastoral care is taken seriously, with an emotional literacy programme starting from reception and Zones of Regulation used up to Year 6. Wellbeing ambassadors are chosen from Years 4 to 6, with pupils interviewed and trained. We really noticed the closeness of the children here, with older pupils taking on big sibling mentoring roles. ‘We are a home,’ says Mrs Belshaw, and we certainly felt that on our visit – there’s a real cosiness, with staff and pupils bonding like family. There’s also a strong relationship with parents, most of whom are dual working, as well as the wider community.
And finally....
This is a school that oozes family warmth, and the care that goes into each individual is beyond impressive, with creative teaching, innovative use of tech and dedicated staff all part of the wonderful mix.