Beechwood Sacred Heart Tunbridge Wells?

[BadgerCorner]

Does anyone have any experience of Beechwood Sacred Heart School please? Is it a happy school? Does it prepare children for the 11+ or assume they will continue into the senior school? Is not being religious a problem? Thank you

[JoETW]

Hello there, I wondered if you had any response to your message about Beechwood? I have visited a couple of time and considering it for my son who would go into Year 9. I just wondered if you had any feedback and whether you had planned to go there?

[Wilberforce42]

Bumping to see if anyone replies - we are also thinking of Beechwood for our dd.

[JoETW]

Hello there Wilberforce. I've not had any replies from anyone but I have now visited the school a couple of times. My son is nearly 13 and I'm looking at year 9 entry, how old is your daughter? If you'd like my feedback, I'm happy to email you. Kind regards, Jo

[robbieudo]

Hi JoEtw, i am also considering Beechwood for my 3 kids, one of them secondary. As i can't find any comments and can only visit the school in summer i would love some insight. tia

[bingandflop]

Hi daughters friend (who is here now and they are all playing with balloons lol) goes there. She is happy and her parents are very happy with the school

[JoETW]

Hello there. I have a 13 year old who is due to start soon. I really like the school. It's small, friendly and really welcoming with a calm feel about the school. The headmaster is very nice and is good at listening to your needs - no big sales pitch which I found refreshing. They are in the process of planning a new sports facility including new provision for art and design. This will enhance the school and its sport provision. The school is quite traditional in appearance and it is in truth a little tired in some areas but I think the new facilities will really help and make it more attractive. The learning support department is headed up by a very nice lady who is really on the ball and looks at ways to help should you need it. I found her to be particularly helpful. Its a small school and some of the year groups are smaller than you might find at other independent schools but I believe the groups get bigger further up the school. I have looked all over and think that its nurturing, friendliness and pastoral support outweigh some of the more superficial expectations of independent schools - it may not have all the bells and whistles but I think it offers a nice learning environment with good levels of pastoral support. They also operate a no phone policy which is music to my ears. Good luck with your visit in the summer.

[robbieudo]

Thank you very much, your review makes me look forward to visit the school.

[Kentmoves2018]

Hi

We’re moving to Tunbridge Wells, and looking at prep schools anyone know anything about Beechwood Prep? Facilities, class sizes etc, sport etc?

[Daniells]

Has anyone got any further advice about Beechwood as I am considering it for my daughter for Y9
Thank you

[elkiebaby]

Hi! I thought I would drop in an update as not much online RE Beechwood T.Wells. My son is in prep and is absolutely thriving. It's a fantastic and nurturing school, he started there after Christmas and has come in leaps and bounds in both confidence and academic/ learning. There's a fantastic mix of learning and a nurturing/ playful environment. He bounces into school in the mornings.

The head of prep has recently moved over from Somerhill in Tonbridge, he is making fantastic changes to the prep school and it's having a lot of investment and really positive progress is being made.

Before joining I was worried about the school being religiously pushy but this is far from the truth, all faiths are celebrated and welcomed.

I honestly can't fault it

[Wilberforce42]

Hi Elkie thanks for the info. Glad your son is happy it sounds like a great place. Sadly I think unless we can secure a bursary we will won’t be going to Beechwood in the near future despite our hopes.

[AussieMeg67]

We have 3 children that have been to Beechwood One still there in the high school, one left to go to Judd to do A levels as it was the only school that could offer the subject mix, and a third, a boy, and left at the end of prep to go to Judd Our girls passed the 11+ but decided grammar wasn’t for them
We have had a 10 year association with the school and highly recommended it It goes to year 13 so children can stay on or go to Grammar Excellent Care and the teachers know the children and the parents Our children enjoyed their time at Beechwood

[fridgeraiders]

Just wondered if anyone had any more info on Beechwood, particularly learning support? Also, numbers seem really small for 3-18, how big are the classes/years for the senior school? Small is good, tiny can make friendships tricky.

@elkiebaby how is your son getting on?

[elkiebaby]

@fridgeraiders my son absolutely loves the school. There are 9 in his year group and it’s heavily weighted towards girls. He really loves it there and it’s such a lovely school. They’re really nurturing. I can only comment on the prep school but I really wouldn’t fault it 🙂

[fridgeraiders]

thanks so much. It doesn't have the facilities of some of the other schools but I do hear good things about it. I never really considered it before as we are not catholic but that doesn't seem an issue

[elkiebaby]

@fridgeraiders I was the same, but we’re not religious at all and it’s not remotely a problem

[lizzy789]

Hello, just read the thread about Beechwood and considering sending my daughter there from September going into year 9.
Would love to hear any feedback on the senior school 😃

[Becs19]

@lizzy789 The senior school has a lovely atmosphere. Being a small school the children are all known really well and their individual talents nurtured. The Learning Development department is really good and offers help where needed. Alpha schools has come on board so it is no longer a Sacred Heat school and therefore doesn't have religious designation. There is also going to quite a bit of investment into the school over the summer. Senior school is going to a more campus feel. I think pretty much every classroom is getting a freshen up plus a some new teaching spaces too. My children are in the prep school and love it. Parents who I know that have children in the senior as well are very happy and their children are doing well.

[lizzy789]

My daughter started 2 weeks ago and absolutely loves it 😍😍😍

[Becs19]

That is such fab news! So glad she has settled in so quickly - as a school they do really look after them!

[Cremebruleesessionguitarist]

Just reading this thread as considering this school (senior) - Can anyone tell me class sizes? Pastoral care ? Pro's and con's? Going to look next week but useful to get parents perspective.

[lizzy789]

My daughter started last term in year 8. She is super happy there with having made lovely friendships already.
Everybody was very welcoming.
Class sizes are small (12 in her class) though some subjects like games and drama I think there are more.
My daughter also keeps mentioning how great their teaching is.
Can only recommend that school.

[Cremebruleesessionguitarist]

@lizzy789 Thank you for replying, that's really helpful. Sounds like what we are looking for especially the small class sizes. Good to hear your daughter has settled in so well.

[lizzy789]

Feel free to dm me if you have any other questions

[soxy]

Hi, just rebooting this thread as it's hard to find many parent reviews about Beechwood out there.

Our daughter who in Y6 has been offered a place at Beechwood in September as well as a place at a good local comp St Greg's. Neither of us have come from private school backgrounds so we were pretty impressed when we had a tour of Beechwood and the really small class sizes. Seemed a very relaxed and friendly place and not at all snooty.

Building work going on at the moment but the plans look nice on their website.

So we just wanted to ask some first hand feedback from current or past parents on how their child got on there? We haven't visited any other independent schools in the area so don't have much to compare it too. The location of Beechwood is a good fit for us as anything much further out of Tunbridge Wells wouldn't be practical.

It's a big chunk of money for us so just trying to do as much research as possible. We have a good gut feeling about the place and our daughter really likes it, so it would be great to hear from anyone who can give us their own thoughts on it. Thanks!