Nonsuch vs Rosebery

[Justnike]

Am very confused whether to send my DD to Nonsuch or Rosebery. She is not very academically inclined, as her interests lie in sports and extra curricular activities. Having said that, she has cracked the selective test for nonsuch and all Kent schools. She is performing exceptionally in her primary school in academics but academics is not her first choice. Wondering if she would thrive in Nonsuch? Also, how culturally diverse is the school? When i went for the open day, only saw girls from minority ethnic backgrounds. How is the pastoral care there? Have heard exceptional comments about rosebery but not so much about nonsuch

[AnotherNewt]

Can you specify where these school are?

Nonsuch to me is a much tutored-for grammar, so if not academically inclined, then unlikely to be the right fit of school. But you might mean a different Nonsuch?

[BigSandyBalls2015]

If she's not academically minded then I'd say rosebery def. regardless of whether she cracked the selective test, nonsuch is an extremely academic school and she'd have to be very keen and motivated to keep up.

[MarchingFrogs]

I assume that your DD was allocated one of these schools on March 1st and now has been offered a waiting list place at the other? Or did you put Nonsuch above Rosebery, but are now considering asking to change the order of your preferences?

If the comprehensive school offers more of what interests your DD as well as the academic curriculum (and at the end of the day, she will follow the same GCSE curriculum wherever she goes), then I would seriously consider it.

Which school did you and your DD prefer overall when you visited them?

[LIZS]

How is she holding offers from both? where do live, which is the easier, and more social, journey?

[gazzalw]

OP one of SIL's best friends DC go to Rosebery. The eldest certainly nailed the type of GCSE results you'd hope for at Nonsuch. I guess what I'm saying is that there are lots of high achieving girls at Rosebery too and your DD might thrive in the rather less pressured atmosphere. And being one of the clever ones at a comprehensive rather than 'average' at a super-selective?

[gazzalw]

How can you even still be debating this six weeks down the line from Offers Day? Surely you should have accepted one place by now?

[MarchingFrogs]

How can you even still be debating this six weeks down the line from Offers Day? Surely you should have accepted one place by now?

They could have been offered and accepted the one school on March 1st, but placed the other higher up on their CAF and have now been offered a place at that school from the waiting list

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

She is not very academically inclined So why put her in for 11+ exams?

Our DS wasn't an overly academically conscientious student despite being naturally quite bright (he passed three 11+ exams and two other selective tests). He went to a grammar school but frankly we don't think it was the right option for him, with hindsight. He didn't really flourish and didn't do as well as he should have done in his GCSEs. Now he's in the sixth form (doing the subjects he loves) he's doing much better (so far, still relatively early days).

Let your DD go to Rosebery and not feel that pressure. She could always transfer to Nonsuch for sixth form if she does brilliantly and becomes more academic with time?

[JoanOfNarc]

She must be academically inclined if she passed the exams. I am a bit confused about the Kent tests as surely you can't live near Kent grammars and Rosebery? Personally, if she's passed I would send her to Nonsuch unless you were concerned with how she deals with pressure.

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

PS As I've asked OP why put her DD in for 11+ thought I should explain why DS did. He wanted to sit the 11+ exams and was keen on going to a grammar school at that point in time. He had always been top performing at primary school (without much effort), so didn't really fully understand how hard he would be expected to work (or the pace at which they'd go) at a super-selective grammar. I would say he never really got into the groove of hard work until Year 11 and by then he'd coasted for so long that he couldn't really make up for previous shortfall in diligent study!

[Justnike]

Marching frogs- that's absolutely right about what you are saying. We had placed Nonsuch higher on the CAF and accepted Rosebery. We have got a place in nonsuch from the waitlist. And have to now accept or decline nonsuch

[Justnike]

JoanOfNarc - we live in Surrey and nonsuch and rosebery are at a commutable distance. You can sit the Kent tests if you are willing to relocate. She scored high enough for the OC cut off .

[trojanhorse2]

As other posters have said very able girls will achieve at both schools - know lots of stories of siblings attending both and doing equally well.
I would consider the following:
commute - can she walk to Rosebery v train or bus to Nonsuch?
Nonsuch has wider catchment whereas Rosebery has a smaller catchment - more local friends? Friends in London v Surrey?
As another poster said nonsuch is a very much tutored for school, and tutoring does continue once at the school for many.
Your daughter would likely to be in a higher set at Rosebery - if she has got in occ she likely to be top middle at Nonsuch but not v top.
Extra curricular offers at both schools.

[MarchingFrogs]

Justnike, presumably you are genuinely in a quandary to be posting your question on here. You could try the 'game' of telling your DD that the place at Rosebery has been taken away / there wary mistake and she doesn't have the offer of Nonsuch after all - and see what her reaction is to each (write the scenarios on bits of paper, scrunch them up and pick them out of a 'hat' to add a genuine 'shock' element) . For that matter, try it on yourself.

Unless the comprehensive school was very much an 'it will have to do if we don't get anything better' entry on your CAF, you / she must have felt that it would be a reasonable fit for your DD. Absolutely no 'shame' in deciding that on nature reflection, it is actually a better all round fit than a grammar school - and it would free up that place at Nonsuch for someone else, whose current allocation may be much more of a 'better than having to home ed' option.

[ChocolateWombat]

If your DC passed and not only that, got a score high enough for a coveted OC place, then I don't think you need to worry about her abilities.
People often worry their kids won't come at Grammar, but if they passed, they should be fine.

[RaindropsAndSparkles]

Looked at both for dd for 6th form. Much preferred Rosebery. Staff and management were more helpful and vibe was +ve. We disliked Nonsuch finding it unfriendly and the staff weren't working as a team. I understand now that Nonsuch has had significant mgt issues for a long time and poor leadership.

We didn't apply for Nonsuch. Roseberry knocked Sutton High into third place. DD wd have been happy with Roseberry if she hadn't met her other indy offer.

I thought too that Rosebery had overtaken Nonsuch vis results?

[GreenStars]

She sounds academic if she passed the nonsuch test and the Kent grammar schools too!
I went to Rosebery even though my parents were much keener on Nonsuch and/or Sutton High as I had it in my head it was so competitive and overly academic. I was naturally good at exams/tests but didn't think of myself as academic- maybe similar to your DD? For me, Rosebery was the perfect environment to thrive and I got 10A* whilst enjoying myself and not feeling overly pressured. This was 8 years ago but I have a younger sibling still there, I'd say it's 'gone downhill' since but only slightly and no more than other schools really.
However I wasn't overly interested in extra curricular activities in terms of sports etc and I think the facilities and so on are still better at nonsuch.

[trojanhorse2]

We were in similar position as OP a couple of years ago. Then management issues were very much apparent - acting head etc. However, the school has much more stable leadership now that it is part of a Education Trust. We also didn't have a great experience on the open day - very pushy parents and rude PTA volunteers, who weren't keen to discuss the school. DD found the girls not v friendly on exam day. But there was lots to like - facilities, results, quality of teaching etc.

Moreover, Nonsuch has changed a lot in the last 30 years or so since I attended; back then there were 120 girls in a year, v few girls outside of the LBS and having tutor was rare and only for girls who were struggling!

Before offer day DD stated that she didn't want to go to Nonsuch and would prefer Rosebery. In the end we were offered Rosebery on offer day and a wait list place a couple of weeks after. But we opted for an indy as we agreed with DD that it was the best fit and she is thriving. Ask your DD what her preference is - she may already have a firm view.

I would also look closely at the transport; the year DD would have started Nonsuch, I commuted via Cheam to work and trains were constantly cancelled etc. Many of the girls changed to the bus as a result, but I think it is only every half hour.

As as most of Epsom is in catchment, if you have an OC place I am assuming you live outside the centre of Epsom (if you live in Epsom). Two years prior to applying we moved appx 0.5 miles within Epsom and our new address was OC. Too far to walk to town centre (40 mins), so either a half hour bus or lift to station to then catch a bus or train. For DD to attend Rosebery she would have only needed to catch the bus or get a lift to the school (nearer than the station). For us Nonsuch really had to show a lot of 'added value' to merit the extra journey time and potential stress to DD of trains and buses not connecting.

Do you have any other DC? We have other DC to consider and DD's younger brother was unlikely to get into Glyn. Nonsuch would have worked with Glyn or Sutton Grammar in terms of pick ups, but our state back up for him was in Leatherhead!