I notice a number of old threads on choosing girls schoolas around Guildford so I thought this post might help anyone deciding on girls' schools in the area at the moment. (New thread)
I have had girls at St Catherine's for almost 10 years, through Prep, Senior and 6th form. The Prep school is strong, well run and the culture is open and honest. The head is a genuine and is proactive in ensuring children are treated as individuals. However this is not the case across the road at the Senior school. The cuture there is very different. It was once described to me as " a bit draconian" which I now realise is the least of its problems. It does have some excellent teachers but sadly they are in the minority. They have too many staff members who struggle with the quality of their teaching and their behaviour in class. Over the years my children have been shouted at, called names (yes really) and when parents take the trouble to complain about a teacher ( and there are many, many instances of complaints) the policy is for the teacher to deny all. Any request to bring in other pupils as witnesses is denied. Any escalation to senior management literally takes weeks and your daughter will be quizzed over and over again to the point where they realise any complaint is not worth it and they begin to fear retribution from the teacher in question. This intimidating approach to processes is particularly true of their bullying policy. They adopt a "no-blame" policy- which initially sounds great (and probably is if you child is the bully in question) but essentially means that any complaint by a child of bullying means that child is "interviewed" at length, in class hours, to everyone's knowledge, causing more drama and pressure on an already victimised child. The bully gets to respond (but lying is obviously very common) , but I know of many cases where the outcome is "what can we do to address the sensitivity of the child who has lodged the complaint". By never acknowledging any blame lies with the bully, the victims stop complaining (or more likely eventually leave the school) and the school gets to claim they have very few instances of bullying. Trust me: bullying is very common. When over competitive girls find themselves in an environment where the teachers get away with lying and covering their tracks, and the girls can intimidate and bully with no real threat of consequences, bullying is bound to be a problem. Sadly this culture has got worse over the last 5 years I would say, not helped by a head that refuses to hear this message from concerned parents. I know parents from almost every year with these issues, and many that have just moved their girls out- its ultimately all you can do when you hit trouble. It is hugely unfortunate as some teachers are truly dedicated and the girls love them and the facilities are undoubtedly outstanding. However unless pupils can be protected from the individuals who bully and intimidate (both girls and staff) I could not recommend this school to anyone. Things are not so bad (for us at least) that I have had to move my children out-although we have come close, but they will be leaving before 6th form to places that value individualism as well as kindness.
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St Catherines Bramley
100 replies
Frequentdriver · 28/11/2019 19:42
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