My child previously attended LWS, and I noticed a significant decline in their academic progress during their time there. When we transferred to another school, it became evident that their reading skills were several years below the expected level for their age, and they were falling behind in other subjects as well. While LWS is a small school--which can be beneficial for children with special educational needs (SEN)--the quality of teaching is so poor that I would rather have my child in a larger class at a state school and use the money saved on private tutoring. Some of the teachers at LWS have a limited command of English. At one point, an English literature class was being taught by a Polish teacher whose English was inadequate. While this might be somewhat understandable in an underfunded state school, it is entirely unacceptable in a private one. Additionally, the school offers minimal sports activities, with just one afternoon of sports per week. Despite advertising swimming lessons on their website, these never materialized during my child's time there. Beyond academic concerns, the school is poorly organized overall. LWS offers bursaries to too many families and therefore failing to hire adequate staff/teachers. The school offers tuition for nursery/primary/secondary children and my suggestion for them is to just concentrate on nursery and primary and provide quality rather than quantity. I would not recommend LWS to parents who are seeking a strong, well-rounded education for their children. read more

As a parent whose child has been at LWS for 7 years it saddens me to hear the reviews on this page. By all means I am not saying you haven't had bad experiences but all I can do is speak my truth of the journey my son and I have had at LWS. LWS is not a school that focuses on marketing and sales so when I decided that it was the right school for us, it was through my own research, recommendations and a very warming meeting with the head who showed us round the classes and departments and left us to make our own decisions. I have quite a unique experience as one of a parent and one that has worked inside on events at the school so have spent lots of time in the classrooms with the teachers and pupils during class time. Overall my experience had been a school with happy pupils, professional teachers who care and a safe environment. The biggest attribute is how diverse the school is and how small it is and the pupils are non-judgemental, help each other and care for each other. I'm not saying problems do not exist of course, but in a school with only 90 pupils and class sizes of 10, they would stand out like a sore thumb and a solution found rapidly. The main point of all this is, how does my son feel about the school. I always check-in with him asking if all is well with other pupils, staff etc. Now my son is 11 and has just started year 7 at LWS. The response is as you can imagine somewhat vague and I'm lucky to get a sentence out of him but seriously, it was my son who chose to stay at LWS for the secondary school after having a choice to change and after having 3 visits and entry days at other schools in the area. My son is polite and courteous, empathetic and non-judgemental regarding race, mental health, status...this is a nod to the ethics and values of Lucy the head. No matter what stories my son has to tell me every Friday when I pick him up, usually about friendships and who has fallen out with who or whose best friend has changed etc, no matter the complaints about homework (there is a lot of moaning at 11 years old) he enjoys LWS and wouldn't change for the world. He knows he has the choice if ever he wants but he doesn't. If you have any doubts about the school, have a walk past when it's home time. You will see how happy the kids are and the quality of children there. The due diligence I do when it comes to any choice for my son is extreme. I want the best start for him and rush into nothing. I suggest you do the same. Stop at nothing until you are a 110%. Pls contact me if you are thinking about sending your child to LWS and I will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you Lucy and all the staff for doing your best, changing with the times and taking adversity head-on and seeing all as a positive to change for the best. read more

Lloyd Williamson School - LWS Logo - Elementary Schools Near Me - London, XGL

I am writing in response to the trolling by 'A.Joke' It greatly saddens me and my staff. We, as educators, teach our children to be decent, accepting and fair. There should be no place for trolling in decent society. I have not given the school five stars, the staff and ethos of the school are excellent. I do feel, however, that no school should be complacent, we meet new cohorts of children and parents all the time and need to adapt to their views and ideas all of the time. We will always strive to do the best for the young people under our care. Whilst we strive for excellence in ourselves we should never be complacent. Lucy Meyer read more

These reviews below couldn't be further from our experience with LWS. Our little son has just started reception here and he couldn't have landed a better place. The reception is taught almost as a Scandinavian forest school and the children are out in the outdoors everyday. The outdoor surroundings are very much used in the teaching. The children mix with the older children so there is such a lovely sense of belonging. There are hugs, warm feelings and happiness here. read more

Great School, friendly and professional staff! Health & safety at high level... Was pleasantly surprised how knowledgeable the staff were about risk assessment and the general safety of pupils. Great central location for the nurseries and schools around West London / Kensington. Very cosmopolitan, multi-cultural, open-minded and diverse. Food is catered at the premises with a chef providing great dishes including vegetarian, low-calorie, gluten-free, kosher and halal meals. My kid loves it there! A very personal & professional approach to my child's education -- with great, smaller sized classes where everyone gets good attention... a great PLUS!!! Highly recommended to ALL, but visit to judge for yourself... 5 ***** Stars from me! A+++++ read more

This is an awful school. It is hardly trolling to speak the truth. My child also had an awful experience and was functionally illiterate at age 8. Some of the teachers were nasty bullies and liars. I wish I had never heard of this wretched school or fallen for the sales pitch. My child subsequently did well at a local state school, where there are qualified professional staff. read more

The 'village school' warmth and atmosphere is unrivalled. There is an intimacy and kindness that pervades this school in a way it would be impossible for other schools to achieve. I love the down-to-earth community of interesting people and teachers who value the happiness of the children as much as helping them reach their full academic potential. I couldn't be happier the school is now extending to the older years as my daughter was daunted by going to a bigger more impersonal school, and here she wants to get to school as early possible and stay until as late as she can. The times are also a godsend to a working parent as me as I don't have to worry about her staying late and it's much more affordable than other childcare options. The children are nurtured in a way that they develop their own personalities and enjoy spending time with children of al different ages and backgrounds. And that is something rare and rather extraordinary. read more

Wish someone had warned us is all I can say. If you are looking for a nurturing and caring environment for your little one, keep searching, you are not there yet. Our child resumed LWS nursery a vibrant, happy child. The first year, our ordinarily healthy child was always down with one illness or the other. At a point, she contracted Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, was home for about 3 weeks and we didn't get a single call from the school to find out why the child was absent. Then she moved up to the next year and the real nightmare began. She changed slowly, would cry all the way to school begging to be taken back home, lost all her self confidence and pretty much stopped communicating. We found out very late that she was taunted consistently and had 2 horrible teachers who for reasons unknown to us were cruel to her. When we became worried, I visited the school unannounced a couple of times and each time, found our daughter in tears. On a particular visit, I discovered that someone had put a nappy on our daughter who was already dry and out of nappies. The last straw was when the teacher summoned us to a meeting and pronounced unintelligently that she had concluded that our child was on the autistic spectrum. We pulled her out of the school immediately and had to keep her at home for 9 months to help her recover her self confidence and get her out of the shell she had withdrawn into. We were so worried at that point that we started dragging her from one specialist to another. None could find anything wrong with her. We were eventually told that this seemed to be a child who'd gone through a traumatic experience and clammed up in the process. 9 months later we put her in a state school with very kind teachers who found the autistic spectrum suggestion ludicrous. They were determined to support us in getting our child back on track. I look at her these days and I am moved to tears. Finally, we have our daughter back. She comes home with great assessment remarks and her teachers always say she is such a delight to have around. read more