St helens vs Dr challoners high school

[sunnyriver25]

Hi all,

My DD has been offered place in Dr challoners high and St helens school Northwood,I would like to get feed back from current parents.

[Parent2019]

Hello all ,

My DD has been offered place in Dr challoners high and Northwood college private school. I would like to get feed back from current parents- which one is better .

[KittyMcKitty]

State school places aren’t allocated till March?

Which did you / your daughter prefer?

[Zinnia]

If you are close enough to Challenor's to get a place there, I would take that over the commute to Northwood (particularly for Northwood College, sorry). It's not just about the 20 mins on the train etc but distance for school events and most of all socially when your DD is older. Unless she (herself, not you) has really fallen for St Helen's, I would pick Challenor's.

[Parent2019]

Great. Many thanks zinnia . I have to rethink about the commute. DD is ok with grammar but just wanted to know if private schools have something more to offer in terms of developing personality / making them confident/extrovert etc .

[Parent2019]

@kittymckitty. Yes you are right but hoping DD will be offered a place as she qualified. Fingers crossed @1 st March national offer day . Just want to be prepared as will have only few days to accept offer.

[BubblesBuddy]

You can look at how Bucks allocates places to DrC High in previous years on their web site. You can usually tell from that if your adddress would be likely.

As it’s a premier grammar, I wouldn’t compare it with St Helen’s. Just not the same.

[Believability]

Challenors over Northwood College, it’s a no brainier for me. Challenors is also more ethnically diverse which would be an advantage for me too.

[Parent2019]

Great. There are lot of detailed stats/table from bucks on internet. Thanks a lot @bubblesbuddy

[Parent2019]

Thank you @believabilty .

Challoner is Premier grammar school as mentioned @bubblesbuddy .

[Parent2019]

Thank you for highlighting that not grammar schools are at Same level. Challoner is high and if ethnically diverse that works for me.

[KittyMcKitty]

Thank you for highlighting that not grammar schools are at Same level

All Bucks Grammars admit in exactly the same way so I would disagree that some are more premier then others - some are more popular but I think that is primarily down to location (my children are at Borlase btw).

11+ forum predict DCHS to go to 6 miles out of catchment and they are normally fairly accurate although I’m guessing you are in catchment. They are down on the number of 1st preferences.

I don’t know the other school you mentioned but DCHS is a good school. A private school will provide a different environment to a state so it boils down to your personal preference.

[KittyMcKitty]

Sorry forgot to attach this.

www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/download/file.php?id=62

[BubblesBuddy]

Well league tables would show they are not all the same. This is because some are more popular and others fill up (or not) with successful appeal children. They are all great schools though. It’s clear there are differences and the Bucks Grammars are not identical. Many parents are aware of this and make choices accordingly.

[KittyMcKitty]

BubblesBuddy

I think it’s disengenuous to imply that successful appeal children are of lesser calibre- I’ve known many “appeal children “ leave with 10 a stars. The 11+ is a flawed method of selection and the effect of heavily tutored ooc children on the process disadvantages Bucks children.

Anyway that aside they all achieve excellent results (and should do as they have pre selected students) so to say one is more special then the other is pointless. In general the “leafier” the part of Bucks where the school is the more popular it is.

[BubblesBuddy]

And I know appeal children who have really struggled. Mostly due to over tutoring and unrealistic parental expectations. So anecdotes tell us nothing.

However results tell you the Grammars are not all the same. They are all very good, and outstanding in fact. However they all have low fsm, all high achievers and presumably engaged parents. So why are there differences? Of course the children are not identical. Also some Grammars are effectively the only one in an area such as RLS. There isn’t a choice. There is choice in Aylesbury and Wycombe and you can see the differences in results. However the op would still be best advised to choose the grammar if offered a place. We do agree on that.

[Parent2019]

Thank you @bubblesbuddy .

Do lot of private school children write the 11 plus exam and try to into a grammar school at 11 years Or do they mostly continue in private school ( perhaps change their private school at 11 years due to scholarships at nearby private school)?

[BubblesBuddy]

Parent 2019: It really depends which private school your child attends. Some do not go above 11 and the expectation is that their pupils move to a grammar, a secondary school or another private school at 11. There are several schools that are viewed as 11 plus crammers.

Some prep schools are attached to independent senior schools, such as Pipers Corner, and the girls would mostly transfer into the senior school and not leave for a grammar school. Other schools such as Godstowe and Caldicott prepare pupils to transfer at 13 to senior boarding schools. A few will leave at 11. Parents tend to choose these schools because the destination of their children is mapped out! They are not wanting grammar or Day schools.

It is running a risk to assume that any grammar will have places at 13 plus. Therefore if a parent does not wish to continue with private education into a senior school, at 11 or 13, they will accept a place at a grammar at 11 if the DC has qualified. If a child is being aimed at WAS or Eton, staying in a school that preps for this is vital. Less competitive independent schools and those that recruit at 11 give parents more options if they choose that route but most boys will transfer to independent senior at 13, not 11. Therefore bigger choice for girls!

[Parent2019]

Thank you bubbles buddy.i am thinking about St. Helens and Northwood college which are from 3 years to 18 years .

[Budsbegginingspringinsight]

Appeals children 😂😂 hilarious how the snobbery goes on.
My DD Will be appeals child she missed by half a point.

She wasn't tutored. Do you she's going too struggle at grammars against DC who have had masses of extra time work and tutoring for two years

It's not my DD whose going to struggle,

[BubblesBuddy]

Bud: Please read my post! I said appeals children who have mostly been over tutored. That is a fact I’m afraid. There is no such thing as half a point in Bucks. It’s 121 for a guaranteed place. 120 is the next score down. They often allow 120 in on review anyway and these have already taken place. If you didn’t tutor then half a point is such a small margin, wherever you live. I hope you win your appeal.