Sydenham GDST, JAPS or Alleyn's

[ridinghighinapril]

We have an offer from Sydenham for Reception 2015 and are waiting to hear from JAPS and Alleyn's.

It is highly unlikely that our daughter will get a place at the latter two, as i) there are relatively few places and ii) general life got in the way and we have barely had time to read a bedtime story for the last few months let alone do anything else.

However, I don't want to leave it until the 5 day window (between receiving offers and acceptance deadline) to figure out what to do if we happen to receive offers from JAPS and/or Alleyn's.

We are not bothered about single sex or co-ed (she has a younger brother), although at the age of 4 my daughter plays with just girls.
She/we are not white (if that makes a difference) or rich (relatively).
Our daughter doesn't seem to be particularly sporty; enjoys colouring-in/books/puzzles/ dancing/having responsibility.

Our thoughts on the schools from the Open Days and meeting staff at the assessments

• Sydenham seemed warm and nurturing;
• JAPS pre prep also warm;
• at JAPS middle school tour the Yr 6 exams were mentioned several times and I got the feeling it was quite pressured (not sure if for the parents or pupils or both). Also got the impression there was a lot of homework from age 7
• Alleyn's seemed warmer, loved the musical aspect but not very ethnically diverse in the middle school (e.g. may be one non-white in the whole of Yr 6). Although I did notice more of a mix in the pre-prep. Perhaps things are changing?
• I have heard from parent that their son tended to be overlooked by the teachers as he was not particularly sporty or extrovert (granted this is only parent's opinion);
• JAPS academically excellent, not sure how Alleyn's or Sydenham compare but I know they are far from being rubbish schools.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, as you can tell I have been giving this some thought but none-the-wiser. Ultimately, I don't think we'll have a choice but any advice is welcome and may be useful for others. Thanks!

[MortaIWombat]

Alleyn's Junior has a new Head coming in in September, so it's a bit of an unknown quantity. But yes, it is currently very white and very sporty. And it has another white, sporty Head on the way.

If you find your child only plays with those of one gender, as one of mine does, there will only be other eight other girls in her year - perhaps worth bearing in mind?

It's certainly decently academic, and has lots of clubs.

[YvetteN]

I can only share my experience of Sydenham High as this is where my two girls are. They both started from reception and one is now in year 6 and one is in year 1. I chose this school because I loved how happy and confident and polite the girls I saw and met during our first visit were (which was not during an official open day - just an ordinary day) I love the mix of cultures and backgrounds. From day one my eldest daughter has loved school and has always skipped into school. Now in year 6 she continues to have a passion for learning and is intent on going to the secondary school. My second daughter is equally happy so far, despite being a very different character from her sister.
From an academic perspective I am very pleased with the performance that both of my girls are achieving and somehow this is achieved without piling on hours and hours of homework. My daughter enjoys a lot of her homework (strange I know) - there is plenty of it but not so much that there is no time for all of the other things she enjoys.
The school is certainly very nurturing too and the girls learn to be kind, thoughtful, considerate as well as being courageous, determined, diligent, competitive etc.
No school is perfect but Syd High has proved to be a great choice for my girls.
Good luck with making your decision.

[ridinghighinapril]

Thanks, both and your responses reaffirm my initial impressions.

YvetteN - you say no school is perfect, which is indeed true, but would you mind explaining the negative (or less favourable) aspects of Sydenham. Feel free to message me if you prefer. Thank you.

Opinions from others, please - more the better! Thanks

[davejudgement]

My DD left Sydenham with 10A* & 2A at GCSE, has gone on to do A levels at top state grammar.

Great school; if your DD wants to achieve there she will.

I avoided other two you mention like the plague, way too elitist and pushy, egoistic parents by the truckload IMO

[ridinghighinapril]

Thanks davejudgement, great results!

Fortunately, I know some lovely parents who have children at both Alleyn's and JAPS. However, I don't know any Sydenham parents, hence turning to MN for opinions.

The holy grail of happiness and achievement!

[TwoOddSocks]

Just wanted to comment since I actually attended Sydenham high (primary and secondary) and Alleyns for 6th form (although my personal information is about 10 years out of date) I also know parents of current students and a few teachers. I'd definitely go for Sydenham for primary. It's difficult to describe but the atmosphere within the school is lovely. There's a feeling that the students are cared about as individuals and there's a greater range of backgrounds and a greater acceptance of individuality. I'm sure there are lovely kids at all three but I think Sydenham in particular fosters an attitude that is more friendly and caring in the way the students treat each other.

The standard of education is great at all three although JAPS and to a certain extent Alleyns may be slightly more pressured.

[PF1001]

Hi there,

We've been offered a place at Sydenham High for Reception 2015 and are still mulling things over, but I think we will accept the place.

My daughter is at Oakfield Prep at the moment but we have since moved to Sydenham. We tried for JAGS and Alleyns but were not successful.

Like many others in this thread, I really liked the feel of Sydenham High and it really did seem to have a nurturing approach to their education. My daughter thoroughly enjoys Oakfield but my concern is that they only run until 11 yo and I would be applying to Syd High, JAGS and Alleyns again at that point anyway.

I worry that for whatever reason, she may not get into any of the three schools at the 11+, whereas if she is already in Syd High at that point, she (subject to senior sch assessment which they really prep them for) will be at least offered Syd High so there are less stresses and pressures on my daughter at the 11+ time.

Not sure if this helps anyone, but I have to say it has been quite therapeutic writing this email in making my final decision!

Px

[what34]

My DD has been at GDST Sydenham High school for girls from junior school and is now in the senior school. Here are some of my thoughts as I notice there's not a lot about the school on mums net.

I think the girls are all happy and nice and polite which is very important, but academically aren't pushed enough (in the London independent school league tables GDST Sydenham has middle ranking).

It's a small school with few facilities - no pool, sports field miles away (5 miles?). Sports is not their strong point ether though they do offer an impressive range of sports and breakfast/ after school clubs. It’s a nice leafy environment, a lovely building and old character house, with a brand new £1M cafeteria.

My DD is quite happy there. She’s normally gregarious, but sadly hasn’t made really close friends at the school. Not really sure why but I hope this changes soon. We don't have enough contact with the school but from what DD tells us, the school appears to be run quite sloppily and the staff don't seem particularly interested. But then that might be just her version. At parents evening the staff were great and supportive and full of praise for her achievements - but I can see she's not being pushed enough.

We learned this from experience - to get an academic scholarship for year 7 entry you need to hire a private tutor, to get your DD to the standard required to do really well in their entry exams. Don't rely on the school to help you get to the standard.

In the end it depends what you're after. Sydenham GDST doesn't compare to Alleyns and Jags - even though the annual fees are similar.

[5ydenham]

My DD has just finished her GCSEs at Sydenham High. Up until year 11 the school was excellent for her, really nurturing and a fantastic atmosphere where girls grew in confidence and flourished, we couldn't have been happier with our choice of school. However, in my opinion the school has leadership problems that have resulted in some pretty major mistakes during the last academic year. The Head is hardly seen, the GDST have allowed her to take two term long sabbaticals practically back to back and the deputy head resigned. Perhaps it is this that resulted in so many mistakes during my daughter's final year (we have moved her to a different sixth form). Mistakes include teaching the History GCSE class the wrong syllabus and preparing them for the wrong exam paper, destroying the girls art work without adequate notification and (I really shouldn't laugh) allowing a student to present a wooden barbecue for her GCSE Design and Technology course work. There are a lot of very unhappy parents from the GCSE year and many have moved their daughters. What a shame this school has gone down hill as I was genuinely grateful for their contribution in helping my DD become the young woman she is, I hope they fix things quickly.

[lulalalala]

Hi, We are really interested in Sydenham High for our DDs when they are of age. Can I ask what the assessment for reception was like and what activities they did? DD1 seems reasonably clever for a 3 year old. But her cousin 'failed' the assessment for reception at Hampstead High as she couldn't use scissors (she's a lefty)!!

[ridinghighinapril]

Unfortunately, my DD wasn't great at telling me what she got up to during the day, regardless of whether it was her day at nursery or at an assessment, even though I did my very best to find out!

All I know about her Sydenham assessment is that she pulled another child along in a cart (with the help of a teacher) and and that she spent most of the time in the playground. The parents also had a brief interview with the head.

Assuming it is similar, things she did at other assessments include listening to a story, 'dancing' and singing.

Did Hampstead Heath give feedback to that effect about your niece/nephew? Bit harsh if that is the reason and worth avoiding if the school are unable to observe that in a child and assess appropriately. It's hardly a rarity!

[lulalalala]

That's what my SIL told me and that she couldn't hop on one leg :S. But I wonder if there was something else? She tried again at 7+ and got in and goes there now so it obviously didn't put SIL off!!

I'm an ex GDST pupil myself, but only went in at 11+ so don't know much about the reception assessments at all.

[ridinghighinapril]

Glad it worked out for your SIL and her DD - goes to show how unreliable the assessments are!

Being able to write their name seems to be common theme, although I don't know whether DD was asked to do that at Sydenham.

They did have a reception taster morning, which is a great way to help your DD become comfortable in that environment prior to her assessment.

Good luck - sorry I couldn't be more help!