Private schools in Northamptonshire

[Cyprusmam]

Hello! We are thinking of moving to UK from Cyprus during the summer, somewhere around Northampton. Could you kindly recommend/comment on private schools around that area.. And how difficult or easy do you think it will be to get into for my son (in year 8 at the moment) with no particular academic achievements... He plays piano and sings, loves golf. Are there any good music schools in the area? So far i found four schools i think might be ok : Wellingborough, St.Peter's independent, Pitsford and Quinton. Any of your answers will be highly appreciated!

[DraggingDownDownDown]

Not heard good things recently about St Peters. I know of two parents who have withdrawn their children from there (they were not supported with their SN).

Have heard good things about Overstone Park.

[NoUseForAName]

My brother went to St. Peter's, he hated every minute of it!

[celestialsquirrelnuts]

Oundle

[momb]

Oundle and Pitsford are both very academic with common entry exam. Wellingborough is more rounded IMO (still has the Grammar school feel), but I know people with a less positive view than I.

Overstone and St Peters both claim to offer a more rounded education but I have no personal experience of either.

[momb]

Oh, forgot Kimbolton: they are a good all round with lots of extra curricular too.

[gebla]

From experience I would say Pitsford or Oundle are the best. Quite hard to get a place, though.
Spratton is great as is Great Houghton.
I would steer clear of St Peters, Quinton is okay.

[Cyprusmam]

Wow! Thank you all! My son's choice (well - by looking at the web sites) was Wellingborough... Mine was St.Peter's - its so much cheaper then other schools, i guess you get what you paid for... So far we were not very fortunate in our choice of schools... Two years waisted in Cyprus, grades went down, interest in learning too... Oundle is too expensive, i will not be able to afford it, our max is 4,000 pt unfortunately... Thanks again!!!

[momb]

Do you have your heart set on Private sector? Northampton Boys School is excellent and you may stand a chance if not applying in Y7.
Very similar learning environment to Wellingborough IMO and co-ed in the 6th form.

[dramaqueen]

Cyprusmam, I have sent you a PM as I have kids in one of the schools you have mentioned.

[Cyprusmam]

Dear Momb, i have been told horror stories about state education in UK, my son been private all his life, so while i can, i would prefer to keep him in private... Even in those schools things are so different from the Middle East and Cyprus schools we have been to, that i am very much afraid my son will not fit in....

[Cyprusmam]

And by the way - what is wrong exactly with St. Peter's? Just curiosity....

[trinitybleu]

Going back a few years now but I passed the exams for St Peter's, Wellingborough and Kimbolton and chose Kimbolton.

St Peter's didn't have a 6th form nd when their girls came to Kimbolton it seemed to have been very small and insular in comparison.

I liked Kimbolton but didn't appreciate it at the time! Lots of extra curricular stuff, good discipline and lovely buildings. Good bus service too!

(My 10 year old self discounted Welllingborough as you had to go all day Saturday and that meant no more going to see the Saints play rugby!!)

[DraggingDownDownDown]

Very very small so if you don't get on with classmates there isn't much you can do friends wise.

Have seen better, more up to date facilities In state schools.

[Cyprusmam]

Thanks again to everyone who answered! Now, i just hope that my son will be able to get into one of the schools! And not St.Peters! :)

[Daisygirl078]

I would avoid St Peter's at all costs especially if child has SEN. My child stayed 3mths and it was a very long 3mth, the school is dirty and in disrepair and they have three toilets for each sex in the entire school with children from both the primary & senior sharing. The SENCO is useless and they do not welcome any concerns or criticism. You want to look into Oundle, Kimbolton, Pitsford or Quinton. All of which have excellent reputations. If you google St Peter's it has had issues with Ofsted in the past, they recruited a new head but it is still a very poor school. We took our child out & placed her at Quinton which has been hugely supportive of her SEN. The sportsfield at St Peter's is the local park, got fed up of cleaning dog mess off her trainers. Just an awful school. Look elsewhere.

[pollyron7]

Hi Peanuts2003,

We have met the headmaster with a view to sending our daughter there. We are so glad that you have posted your comments as we have been in a bit of a dilemma after reading the previous posts. This is a big move as its into first year of senior school. What year are your daughters?

If you have any other points to add about the school we would love to hear them.

[Ttbb]

Oundle is pretty good. It is ok a lovely safe little town and has boarding as an option as well. Their results are quite good, they even send some of their students to American universities. I wouldn't mind my children going to oundle

[Sonnet]

For someone that mentioned Great Houghton upthread - it closed years ago

It depends what you want out of a school. Wellingborough is the largest but will give you an all round education. Quinton is very small so socially maybe a problem. Can't comment on Pitsford as have never heard much about it - good or bad.

If he is due to move in to year 9 in September it would coincide with a move out of the Prep School to the Senior school at Wellingborough so he would be with other new starters which may be a positive.

I would suggest you visit a few and get a "feel" of the environment.

Good Luck

[noname11]

My experience of St Peters Independent School in Northampton is that the SEN teacher did not have a clue, and gives out wrong information; most of the teachers are very unhelpful, and do not provide any materiel for children to learn/revise from. Most of the teachers have been at the school for so long, and are not accountable to anyone. The Head is very defensive towards her teachers, who can do no wrong. They need to look at why children keep leaving, and why the class was reduced from 15 children to 2 or 3 children within 2 years

[TattingerFizzer]

Oundle very academic and even if you get a bursary or scholarship if a child doesn’t achieve their GCSE requirements they will throw them out. The Head is ruthless, only cares about league table results! Northampton School for Boys (NSB) is a much better option or some of the local kids go to Stamford instead of Oundle!

[LindaBB]

If you decide to enrol your child at a fee-paying school in Northamptonshire, take a thorough look at the contract before signing.

Terms and conditions should be clear and immediately available. If it's a single page letter on headed paper, a couple of short sentences, something about agreeing to 'regulations' - DON'T SIGN.

Otherwise, this delightful vagueness may lead you to just trust these nice people, but they have the upper hand if you complain about the school at a later point, because you have to dig out express terms from reams of policies listed on their website.

Speaking from experience!

[Mrscooky]

We have recently moved to Northampton and I’m looking at the options for secondary schools for my daughter. I have looked at Ofsted reports (mostly very old ones) and results tables. Can anyone comment on the reputations of the schools please? We are considering private schools as well as state schools. We are Towcester side of Northampton so Sponne school is also an option. TIA!