Colchester Grammar

[rexrabbit]

Is it all prep school snobs and nerds?

[stillconfused]

Are you considering this for your your DS? I assume he is not yet in year 6? They do an open evening (just had one) which gets packed as so many children (or should I say parents..) want to get in. We have just been and boys seem "ordinary" enough. I think there is a good cross section there. A lot of children look at both KEGS and CRGS and find Colchester more relaxed - where we live a good amount of children from primary state schools get into Colchester. If you are considering best to go and have a look.

[rexrabbit]

thanks for your reply, still confused. Didn't know that about KEGS. Col school won't tell prop of intake from state/private: any idea?

[snorkie]

The only two children I know who go there both transferred in from the private sector. They are both very clever but not what I'd call nerdy, neither seem at all snobby.

[stillconfused]

No - I must admit that both my DS and I preferred KEGS but we were shown around by a year 8 boy who was really nice, which probably helped. I asked him the same question and it appears that there is a "mixture of both" which I would assume also applies to Colchester.

We are at the stages of putting down our preferences and I would also be interested to know the "make-up" of boys there. I can see what you mean - their prospectus sounds very public school to me, too. The fact that every year a few children from our school get in sounds to me though as if there is a good mixture there. I suppose it's the same old thing about private schools preparing their children so well for the 11+ exam that they are more successful at getting in but that would be another discussion thread altogether ...

[rexrabbit]

Col told me they 'preferred not to make that information public' but I could squirrel it out of the selective schools association.. so off I go. Simply because I would like my clever son to spend his teenage years in something like the real world...

[Alouiseg]

For the last few years the "local" private schools has literally only got through a couple per year, the further afield private school (Nayland) was more successful but recently the highest numbers locally have come from the local "good" state schools.

[Alouiseg]

I know a few boys there now and my brother went there too. Not a nerd amongst them.....

[rexrabbit]

encouraging...

[cyclefreak]

From what I know.. some local primary state schools such as Brinkley Grove and Hamilton have been very successful in having pupils achieve a place at Colchester Grammar. E.g in 2010 Brinkley got 7 in and Hamilton 9. Littlegarth a local private school has achieved barely any. The state schools are much more in tune with target setting and have started coaching their highest achieving students in small groups for free...! As a previous tutor with 1 of the local 11+ tuition companies I can see this is having far more success than 1:1 tuition did in my experience.

[CardyMow]

I know last year of 2 pupils that went there from Highwods community Primary, and I know my DS1 (at H'woods) in Y4 will be getting a tutor through the school (I will have to pay) in Y5 with a view to getting into Colchester Grammar.