Reading Boys, Wilson's School, Tiffin Boys

[mmaji]

Hi, if you could choose between these 3 great schools, which would you choose and why (provided you could relocate to be close to the school)?

I'm in this very position and not able to decide. I liked all 3 schools and now am in a position to choose but am not able to decide. My son is happy to go to either of the schools. :)

[colander]

Don't know much about the other two, but Reading School has a catchment area of about 6 miles so if you do relocate make sure you are in it. People I know with their boys there speak highly of it.

[Floggingmolly]

Isn't Tiffin selective? Afaik it doesn't have a catchment area, it's open selection.

[mmaji]

Yes, Tiffin is selective. I am in the Reading catchment area and while Reading Grammar has an excellent ranking and lots of DSs seem to be happy there, Tiffin seems to be the more popular school. I wonder if it's purely because it's in a nice area in London. Oh well, it's a difficult choice. My DS has passed both comfortably and is likely to get a place in both but it's difficult deciding between them. :)

[AmazingDisgrace]

If you are in catchment for Reading why would you even consider uprooting your family for Tiffin or Wilson's? In what way would you consider them to have any greater benefit to your son?

[PatPig]

Just go to the local school. It would be insane to move for any of the other schools, they have the same funding and opportunities and there is really nothing between them.

It's also much cheaper to live in Reading than in Kingston/Wallington.

The only reason these schools differ is that people gaze endlessly at the % of A/A grades and end up making insane decisions to trek their dear children across 20 miles and buses and trains on the basis that school A must be better than school B because school A gets more As, despite having got into a selective school on their doorstep.

Hint: the school doesn't get the As, the children do. One school being slightly more selective will mean a greater % of As, but it doesn't make it better, in fact it might be worse.

[wombler]

Tiffin has a lot of 'hype' around it but Wilson's actually gets better results - possibly because the children are not tired out, trecking half way across the country to get to and from school.

If it were me, unless there were strong reasons not to, I think I would go with the catchment school.

[PatPig]

Wilsons does more thorough testing doesn't it? Not just silly verbal nonverbal crap.

[thecatfromjapan]

Send him to the closest school. For all the reasons PatPig listed + the fact that travelling has a huge impact on their social lives.

[thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts]

There are usually 5-600 applicants for around 100 places at Reading Grammar and the results aren't out until Feb-March so I'm a bit surprised you know your son has got in. Have they just done the tests?

All the reports I've heard of the school say it is excellent but the competition to get in has got very fierce.

[thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts]

Just had a look and they have changed the system since we lived near the school so test results have gone out already. It is an excellent school and all the boys we knew who went there really loved it.