King's School, Canterbury???

[Tessagrey]

Just want opinions on Kings Canterbury. Academics, Pastoral, Sport etc.

[EleanorRigby123]

We have several friends with DC at Kings and they are very happy. It is academically selective - but still takes a broad range at 13+. Sixth form is more academic and there is a large cohort of very bright students. Significant numbers go on to Oxbridge and almost all to Russell Group.
The key point is that your DD will fulfill her potential there.
It is a full boarding school which is important if you are based abroad. Quite a few enter at 16 so your DD would not be the only one without an established friendship group.
The music is exceptional. Sport is good. Some teams include national and county players but there are opportunities for all. Never heard any complaints about pastoral care.
I think you were also looking at CATS in Canterbury. That has a totally different ethos.

[Tessagrey]

Thanks a lot Eleanor,
We actually do live overseas and my DD will full board. She'll be coming to the UK in year 10 and I'm hoping she will fit in OK.
She's very academic and King's sounds like a perfect school for her. Very excited to go see it in december.
Just wondering, to join school teams such as hockey, lacrosse etc. would you have to already know how to play? In Dubai, we do not have hockey or lacrosse but DD is very keen on all kinds of sports.
By the way, we did look at CATS but decided it wasn't for us.

[EleanorRigby123]

You do not need to worry about having played before. They have three or four teams at every age group. So if you have never played hockey or lacrosse before you will do some basic training to learn the rules and then start in the C or D teams. If you are good at sport you will move up. But you can have a lot of fun in the C and D teams. Friend's DS had never played rugby before going to Kings, started in the 3rds, moved up to the 2nds and now plays for the Ists. So everything is possible.
They also offer tennis, netball, rowing and girls cricket. Very few girls have done rowing or cricket before they start at Kings so your Dd would not have to catch up very much.

[Tessagrey]

Thanks again Eleanor,
My DD is very keen to learn new sports.
I was just wondering if you knew what is the accomodation like? Is it 4 girls a room or doubles or singles??? Is it ensuite or shared?
Also, does Kings provide coaches or any type of transport to the airport?
Finally, are there extra fees for stationary, textbooks, transport to airport, etc.??

[EleanorRigby123]

Depends on the house. Will be a mix of fours/threes doubles and singles. Smaller groups in older years.
School arranges taxis to and from airports at the beginning and end of terms. Usually shared between groups of pupils to keep costs down. If goung to/from London City it can be quicker to take the train (Canterbury- Stratford International to London City airport)

[Tessagrey]

Thanks Eleanor,
Just a few last questions. How big are the classes??? Are there ability-based sets???

[EleanorRigby123]

Sizes vary depending in subjects - but relatively small. There are ability based sets for most subjects for IGCSE so you can be in top sets for maths say and bottom set for French. I think history and geography are mixed ability. You can getva lot of info from the website under academic.

[Tessagrey]

This is the 4th time I'm saying it but thank you Eleanor,
Do you, by any chance, know anything about Shrewsbury School? Or Cheltenham Ladies College? Or Queen Margaret's School?

[EleanorRigby123]

Sadly no direct experience - though Cheltenhan Ladies is proably the best know. Shrewsbuty has only recently gone co-ed. Queen Margarets a smaller school.
If you have not already done so have a look at the ISI reports for each school which will give you some insights into the boarding day mix, and the provenance of the boarding pupils which can be important.

[Tessagrey]

Well thanks anyway,
I checked the ISI reports but they are all very positive so its hard to pinpoint a school as worse or better than the rest.

[tothinkabout]

Bit late to the discussion but I cannot recommend Kings more - wonderful pastoral care , fantastic encouragement of academics - I have very very happy child who joined this year in Shell as boarder / thinks the lessons are "exciting" / teachers very supportive - real step up from Prep in a good way - has been encouraged to try new sports and the girls and boys mix very well.

[Tessagrey]

thanks tothinkabout,
Do you know if King's has specific strong points in academics; for example, really strong at humanities or sciences etc.
Also, would you say visiting the school once is ok?
Finally, what kind of questions did u ask when u were on your tour of the school.

[Tessagrey]

?