Mandarin Ducklings Nursery

"I'm sorry to say that I don't understand the concept of teaching young toddlers nursery rhymes in Mandarin, I came to check up on my daughter and saw little children singing in Mandarin and it was bizarre to say the least. Its a wonderful setting but I believe out of touch with the world, given the hype surrounding Mandarin has largely waned from the 00s. Surely having a good command of English would serve these children more useful."

"How lucky we were to find this amazing nursery. My boys started here just before their 2nd birthday and have absolutely thrived under the care of all the wonderful staff here. Not only have they helped my boys grow into wonderful, caring, inquisitive and very healthy 4 year olds they have given them an amazing educational grounding ready to start their school journey in the next few months. They both have a wonderful grasp of phonics, a deep love of numbers, can write their own names, sing numerous songs in mandarin and have truly developed a love of nature. I'm frequently being told what is and isn't 'good for the planet'. The nursery setting couldn't be more delightful, right in the middle of Marble Hill park, which essentially becomes their extended playground on daily visits out. I can't recommend this place highly enough."

"Our son attended Mandarin Ducklings Marble Hill for over a year. We loved the bilingual education, and our child picked up on things quickly and developed his language skills faster than we imagined. We appreciated the focus on the outdoors from the play space to the allotment and the walks in the woods. The activities like ballet or the performances at Christmas were lovely. I felt that we received good information about his day and any concerns they felt we needed to know about. He developed strong friendships with other children and his teachers. We recently moved away from the area, and our son continually talks about his friends and teachers from Mandarin Ducklings. We miss this nursery very much - the staff provided a safe, loving, and highly educational environment for our child. If we lived in the area our son would continue to attend until he started reception. Highly recommended."

"Our daughter attended the Mandarin Duckling’s home setting from when she was 15 months until she was 30 months, then she transitioned to the Marble Hill Park setting. When we first viewed the setting (Julia’s home), we were struck by the fact that one of the children was so close to Julia that we actually thought it was her daughter. To us, this summarises the level of care and love fostered by Julia, Maggie and Trista, then Paulina. Our little girl never cried when we dropped her off. It was also very clear to us that this nursery thoroughly nurtures the mind of the children. Julia loves and understands each of the children she looks after and adjusts accordingly to help them grow. The Montessori approach, tailored with Julia’s in-depth understanding of young children, worked very well. The fact that children also learn Mandarin Chinese could end up being very beneficial."

"Set in Marble Hill Park, this has to be one of the best and most enchanting locations for a nursery ever! Mandarin Ducklings is a special and delightful space which was fantastic for our 3 year old son. He was very well looked after by the lovely team, who all clearly enjoyed caring for the little ones... And for parents, there is the added bonus of having a lovely walk in Marble Hill Park at drop off and pick up times. A good choice for us and warmly recommended : )"