The Lyceum

Date Of Visit: Feb-11
General Comments:   Academically, this seems to be a really great school and a good prep for the private route but there is one big problem -  there is practically no daylight in the entire school! As far as I'm concerned, this is a deal breaker . I was quite impressed by the school overall but the location in a busy part of Shoreditch bordering on the City and the unpleasant building really did put me off. The school did seem to be doing the best they can with what they've got but for me, if I'm paying for private I 'd want the excellence to be reflected in the facilities as well as the educational approach. Another thing that I was put off by was the fact that kids have to bring in packed lunches and there is no food cooked onsite. All in all, whilst I can appreciate that this school is probably a fairly certain path to top notch private education, if I'm objective and take the 'snob value' out of it, most state schools I've seen offer a much better overall service, taking into consideration the overall environment the kids spend their time in.
Fees: £3650 per term (increases by 10% each year) + Afterschool clubs cost extra
Languages:  French from the start, Latin from age 9,  very strong.
Music: Day begins with the whole school listening to a piece of music. For example this week  - Michael Nyman. Normally a lot of opera because the head is very keen on opera. This is really great.
Uniform:  Yes, a lovely uniform w hat, if a little over the top.  
Food: Surprisingly, they do not provide any food, kids have to bring packed lunches. no food.
Sports:  yes, plenty of sports. They use local fields in the City and go swimming etc.

General atmosphere: Disciplined, children seem engrossed in learning, small school. Seems like a good community.