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Does anyone have any experience of Windsor primary schools (state or private)? Upton House is our nearest (same street) or Queen Anne's is very short walk. Also considering Bishopsgate, St John's Beaumont or LVS Ascot as all the above have places (Queen Anne's won't know until beginning of Summer term). St Georges has long waiting list and I'm not sure we could keep up with the Polo at Papplewick (photos on website)!

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Thanks Science Teacher - I have a boy so that may be why I left your school off? If not which one have I missed, I need all the help I can get .
Problem is we currently live abroad so I need to arrange a load of visits over a 2 day period (and I'm going to have to bring DS with me). I know Windsor well but have never focused on schooling a 5-6 year old before. Glad to hear the positive reports about Queen Annes.

Thanks Science Teacher, all really helpful.
I think I can guess where you teach, begins with a B. I confess I had no idea they took boys to age 7.
The main problem with the forward planning (i.e. next school)is that we don't actually see ourselves staying in Windsor in the long term as we will have to shoehorn ourselves into our existing house when we return to the UK.......but we're not sure exactly where we'll be....bit like sticking a pin in a map an hoping for the best. But like all the best laid plans you never know what is just around the corner.

When we moved from the US to the UK, we had to find schools in a hurry. The county (Surrey) could not offer us anything, and we ended up just phoning around to see what independent school could take us. Fortunately, Bishopsgate had places, so we ended up there without even seeing it. It was a good move . We never really thought of any further than the September of that year - just relieved to have somewhere.

Now that makes me feel much, much better as I'm not really focusing much beyond September right now. To be honest I was suprised (and relieved) for find that LVS, Bishopsgate, St Johns & Upton all have places at the moment.

We are coming from Austria where DS is in his 3rd year at a local Kindergarten, so no where as structured as UK Reception class (no formal reading/writing). They start school age 6 here. He has a Sep birthday so he'll be going into Year 1 as one of the oldest but will no doubt be behind in reading & writing. That being said he is now fluent in German which I'm so proud of (rather more than can be said for DH & I). I would love to be able to keep his German going but I suspect it will be a struggle.

My DD started in the UK system in Year 2, aged 6.5. She had come out of KG in US, and was not able to read. By half-term, she was in the top group. At six, they are really ready for learning and are like sponges.

Science teacher - I think you are at my old school!!!! I was there from age 4 - 18, I think that some of my old teachers are still there (only just, as I'm now nearly 40). It used to be B.C. and is now B.S. Is that the same one?

The later reading/writing thing seems to be proven here i.e. they start school in Sep having already turned 6 (6 by 1 Sep in year of entry) and I'm told that by Christmas they are effectively reading/writing....and that's what I'm hoping for. I also hope the German will resurface in later years.

I suspect that if you said my name to a few of the "old guard", they would turn pale. I was not exactly a model pupil. My year was in the upper 6th the final year of the last nun headteacher.

About 15 years ago I went back to visit on an alumni thing. It looked so different - all those rooms above the old hall. They used to be the nun's rooms and we used to try and sneak up there to have a look. We never quite plucked up the courage to go past the first couple of steps!

I also have fond memories of being unbelievably drunk in the sixth form common room during a summer ball. Is it still opposite the staff room down the first corridor on the left after you go in the door on the RHS of the school?

Sorry to hi-jack CM - don't let it put you off the school. It was a very, very long time ago!

I remember Mrs Q but can't think who the Mrs L is... Will have to phone my sister.

Now thinking through the old school photo to try and remember Mrs D.

I think I heard about Mrs H through my cousin who was good friends with her daughter.

Yes, Sister P was my headteacher. I was frightened witless of her, right to the very last day.

I met her again about 2 years ago and she was absolutely charming - I can't believe I was so frightened of her. I think she genuinely just wanted the best for me, and I was a wayward child!

I think your colleagues would be most amused to hear that I'm a teacher myself now, and have been deputy head of a school

i went to trevelyan aged 11 - is it still there? looked like flats last time i drove past. I don't know about the primaries though.

I thought trevelyan was fairly awful - it was quite a while ago though!

Trevelyan is now flats, it's also wger I took my dog to evening puppy socialisation classes (when it was still a school).

What does Windsor state schools seem to be a bit grim, considering catchment area? Whereas Slough seems to have a number of good grammer schools?

Sorry, that was "Why do Windsor.."

agghhhh, can't type. Trevelyn is also "where" not wger!!!!

There is a middle school called Trevelyan. It's on Bolton Road, and looks fairly modern.

The mixed school, Princess Margaret Rose closed down a few years ago.

Slough's grammar schools are interesting. I worked in one for a while, and it was an eye opener. Needless to say, I am happy that DS is in an independent school.

Windsor has strange demographics which explains the makeup of the schools. The Queen might live there, but this does not mean that the rest of the town is ultra posh.

The Trevelyan I'm thinking of was on the roundabout at the end of the dual carrigeway as you come off the M4. It definitely looked like new flats last time I went through Windsor. They must have relocated it, I think it was a Middle school?

yes trevelyan was a middle school - sounds like it has moved location - it was on the roundabout but that is now luxury flats!!

i went to windsor girls too - yes - mixed demographic about sums it up!! windsor boys school is very good apparently though

Trevelyan is fairly close to Windsor Girls and near the TA barracks. It has a fairly mediocre reputation, with more people wanting to go to
st Edwards. St Peters and Dedworth pretty much take pupils from their local areas.

I was teaching at WGS a year ago on a maternity leave. They just got a new head after the retirmenent of Mrs Ch, and who was set to shake things up. It was a very comfortable and happy school but with not very stretching expectations for the girls. WBS isn't much different, from what I hear.

Ooh, just remembered who Mrs L is. She was my 6th form tutor.