Recommendations for private 6th form in Shropshire for creative DD?

[SilverBrumbies]

DD will probably want to do English, Art, Photography, Media or similar at A'level. By which time we plan to be, possibly, in or near Shropshire. She is quiet and needs a bit of nurturing, confidence building etc. Can anyone recommend an independent school please?

[SilverBrumbies]

bumping to ask, does anyone know anything about Ellesmere College?

[BadgerB]

Have you looked at Moreton Hall near Oswestry. I don't know it from personal experience but it has an excellent reputation

[happygardening]

A boy at my DS's old prep who needed a similar type of school went to Oswestry School afraid I don't know any more about it than that. Another friend looked at Morton Hall (they're abroad) I think it's got strong academic aspirations and probably wouldn't offer A levels like media studies or photography but I could be wrong.

[SilverBrumbies]

thank you - Moreton Hall looks too academic! Oswestry School looks good and offers photography A'level - I hadn't heard of these schools and they didn't come up on my searches so I'm very grateful to you. If anyone has any other knowledge please do tell me

[middleclassonbursary]

Not Shropshire but St David's a College in Conway (obviously offers boarding) and about 84 miles from Shrewsbury has a very caring reputation.

[offtoseethewizard64]

Why does is have to be private? There are some good state 6th form provisions in Shropshire. Shrewsbury 6th form College has a good reputation and offers a wide range of subjects. Thomas Adams school is also good and probably covers the subjects you are looking at. 6th form at Adams Grammar Newport takes girls but is more academic, as is Newport Girls High.
Ellesmere College has a strong emphasis on sport from what I have heard and I know people who have removed their child as they were doing too much sport and not enough work. Many of the Independent schools are very academic so probably concentrate on the more traditional subjects. Have you looked at Shrewsbury Girls High - although it is not uncommon for girls who have gone there to leave after Yr 11 and go to Shrewsbury 6th form college

[SilverBrumbies]

well I think she needs as small class sizes as is possible but perhaps some of the state provisions you mention have small groups. I will have to investigate this further of course, but I was assuming she would be better served by going private.

[Sweetmotherfudger]

Adams has class sizes of about 15 I think.

[Citrasun]

Coming a bit late to this thread, but I live in North Shropshire and have children at Moreton Hall. Moreton is a fantastic school and although it has great academic results, it is non-selective and has a very good arts/music etc department. It is great for nurturing & building confidence.

Oswestry is a lovely small school. Has a very friendly, family atmosphere & I know lots of children who have attended & are very happy there. The down sound is that their academic results aren't great & it does not have such good facilities as the other schools in the area. It is also having a change of head this year, which is the second change in 3-4 years.

Ellesmere has a reputation for being very sporty, but apparently it does also have a good arts department. My feeling is that it is a 'tougher' school than either Oswestry or Moreton.

[SilverBrumbies]

thank you Citrasun - further to your post I have revisited Moreton Hall's website and actually perhaps I was blinded by the academic aspect and now I can see that my DD could be suited to this school after all, so I am not going to write it off. It has a slightly limited selection of subjects at A'level for my DD who would not be choosing "hard" subjects.

But who knows, anything could happen over the next 2 years and especially if my DD gets the support she needs over the coming months (she is about to be assessed for Aspergers but it is so mild you wouldn't know and has so far presented in that she's not attained what she should in academics, is just "coping", although doing very well at Art). Appropriate support in the near future may mean she can actually reach her potential in GCSE maths, science etc.

I'm not suggesting maths/sciences at A'level, but maybe she will gain confidence to do, say, Design Technology or Drama at A'level.

In any event, I feel she does need some nurturing.

[Pointeshoes]

Thomas Adams is a state boarding, and don't go there, it's awful.

Shrewsbury 6th form has an excellent reputation. My brother went there and loved it. Has small class sizes too.

Moreton is well known for nurturing the individual and sounds really suited if you want to go private.

Oswestry school is going through a lot of changes, it's lovely but you could get the same education from Lakelands school in ellesmere and I don't think the 6th form is great actually at oswestry. I know some children leave oswestry at 16 to go to the 6 th form at the marches as they offer more of a choice regarding subjects.

Ellesmere college is extremely sporty and competitive.

[SilverBrumbies]

What is The Marches like?
Definitely Ellesmere College is not for us then!

[Citrasun]

Glad you're re-considering Moreton. It really does nurture & boost confidence.

The Marches has a good reputation, but it is a big school. I have discounted it for my children on size alone. My eldest also has mild aspergers & I feel they would be totally lost in such a big school.

[sleepdodger]

Shrewsbury sixth form is excellent, many of the private schools have people leave to go there, however if you wanted to stay private (assumption currently is) there are several options- mainly though where will you live?

[sleepdodger]

Btw feel free to pm me

[HarrietSchulenberg]

How about just across the county line into Cheshire? Bishop Heber is 5 miles from Shropshire and attracts lots of pupils from Ellesmere, Moreton Hall and Cheshire private schools, especially in the VI form. Outstanding state school but no boarding, if that's what you need. VI form entry is very competitive, though.

[SilverBrumbies]

Morning!
No, it's not an issue of staying private sleepdodger - DD is currently at a state school, so she would be moving from state to private for sixth form.

We are thinking of downsizing after DD's GCSE's (2 yrs from now) and moving out of the relatively expensive area where we live atm. With some of the profit from our house sale (we are happily mortgage free and I can be pretty sure there will be a profit) we can earmark the fees for private 6th form. That's the theory anyway.

DD is currently at a very big state school which is very good and has served the other DC's very well indeed, but I am beginning to realise it's just not right for DD and so the idea is to bring forward the house move previously planned for when DD leaves school, and combine it with a school move as well.

I was thinking non-boarding but it seems boarding is preferable in many schools by 6th form. It seems to be the norm, anyway. Perhaps DD will gain in confidence and be up for boarding by then. In which case we don't even have to live that close to the school!!

Harriet good idea, no reason why we couldn't cross the county line! I have just been thinking Shropshire as I have friends there really, and have visited and know it's nice etc.

[stealthsquiggle]

I have heard good things about Lucton from a pastoral perspective - but it may be too small to offer all the subjects your DD wants, and is quite sports-focused, I think.

[sashh]

Is she wanting to do an art subject at uni? If so it will be her portfolio rather than her A level grades that count so have you considered an FE college?

She could do a L3 Diploma along side an A Level in English.

[sleepdodger]

Would defo advocate visiting shrewsbury sixth form then- v strong in art and design and then people either to uni or via scat for foundation year and then on
Many people as before now from private into state at this stage here
Happy viewing!

[SilverBrumbies]

sashh yes - if she gets into uni!
sleepdodger thank you for that - another google has made me see that Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Shrewsbury College are actually 2 different places altogether! The first one I was aware of and it didn't look suitable but the second one looks really great.

The video tour of Shrewsbury College was pretty hectic and would send DD into "overload" but that's just a tiny detail. Somewhere like that looks lovely and obviously fees are tiny compared with the likes of Moreton Hall aren't they!

I just can't get away from the idea of an independent place being better for her - probably just my bias having seen her underachieve in the state sector thus far. My other DCs have done well in the state sector I hasten to add.

Who knows, perhaps DD would have underachieved in the private sector too. Private school teachers aren't experts in spotting certain learning disabilities any more than state school teachers are.

[SockQueen]

Shrewsbury 6th form and New College in Telford both have decent reputations as state schools.

Have you had a look at Wrekin College? They go in for music and drama a fair bit. Not sure if Photography or Media are A-level options there but it would fit the bill on the smaller classes and despite being private isn't super-academic.

[H0neysuckle]

Sorry to butt in but do any of you know anything about Shrewsbury High prep school??? Can't find any info anywhere!

[moops1]

Hi, I'm new here.. Have you had anymore thoughts SilverBrumbies? You may well have chosen already. (Not sure how to make you username go bold?)
I have two children currently at Oswestry School and have been amazed at how their confidence has grown since they only started in September! One is at the lower school and one at the senior. We feel the facilities are great my senior school childs work has uncovered a hidden artistic streak, alongside a sudden drive to try an achieve a commendation wherever possible, something definitely never shown at his previous school!
My eldest has also needed some additional help that has only been recognised since being at the school (I had been trying to raise slight concerns with the previous school for several years to no avail), hence we feel the learning support team is excellent.
They have both settled in so well and we have all felt very welcomed to the school. My eldest was a shy and quiet character and came from a class of 32, however now is enjoying a class of 14 and has no qualms about putting a hand up or giving something new a try. Having just taken an English speaking board exam as if it was just another day at school.
We started at the same time as the new head who is very approachable and has some great ideas for the future.
I feel that it is academic and the results seem to show it is definitely on parr with the likes of Wrekin and better than Ellesmere however I'm not really that up on the tables etc. With the addition of many great extracurricular activities that the children are encouraged to take part in. One of the other main reasons we choose the school was because of the very warm welcome we were given when we initially phoned for information from the admissions team, then again when we came to visit the school. The feel of the school when we were shown around was really lovely, we had a very polite and informative 6th form girl who had started boarding in year 4 as our guide.
Other than that I don't know much about the other schools, especially 6th form, but felt you may like info from a parent of one of the schools available to you. I personally highly recommend Oswestry School.
Good luck in your search. Feel free to PM me if you want.

[T112]

Hi, i am looking for a boarding school and was thinking about Thomas Adams, what are your views for this school?