Charterhouse, Oundle, Rugby, Marlborough or King’s Canterbury

[Beyondthesea123]

We are living abroad and our DS is currently applying to many senior schools. He just got an offer from Charterhouse. He is really into football and pretty good at it but he is quite and kind. We've heard that Charterhouse has a problem with bullying but not sure if those issues have have been solved yet.

We are also applying to Oundle, Rugby, Marlborough and King's Canterbury. We are just wonder if any of these schools are more suitable for quite and kind boy who is good at hockey and football but not so keen in rugby. Which school are the most friendly and forward thinking? We would love your view please.

[Parkinssheet]

DS is at Rugby. Rugby plays rugby (which they call football) during the autumn (advent) term, hockey during the spring (lent) term and cricket in the summer (trinity) term. Football is also played but not as a major sport. The F and E block (years 9 & 10) play the major sports, and can also play minor sports, D block, LXX and XX (yrs 11,12 & 13) can select a sport each term. If association football (soccer) is very much your DS's thing and really dislikes rugby football then, as much as I think Rugby is an excellent school, it may not be for your DS.

[THEsonofaBITCH]

Charterhouse doesn't play rugby and has very good football teams. I read on MN about bullying but most of it seems to be from 10+ years ago. We are currently at Charterhouse and haven't heard of many issues though one house has had a run of "swirlies" which I wouldn't stand for.
Marlborough is good, I don't know anything much about their sports programs but we liked the atmosphere and early co-ed start at Marlborough. I don't know about the rest.

[Dancingdreamer]

My DD was at Marlborough. She loved the school however it’s a big school and DCs are expected to be quite resilient and self-sufficient so you have to be quite tough to survive there. For the right child however, it’s an amazing school with a quite unique feel and ethos which we just didn’t find anywhere else. For boys, its main sports are rugby and hockey. I think they played some football but it wasn’t serious and most boys do end up in a rugby team at some point. Happy to try to answer any questions if you PM me.

Also, if your DC likes football and hockey have you considered Repton? It’s main sports are hockey and football -and they are serious about both sports - but there’s no rugby. It’s also a smaller school so less chance of getting lost. I am not sure what year you are applying for but it sometimes has late places available.

[Beyondthesea123]

Thank you for your kind information. How are the boarding houses and pastoral care at Rugby like?

[Beyondthesea123]

Dancingdreamer, Thank you for your kind information.

[Beyondthesea123]

Parkinssheet, Thank you for your kind information. How are the boarding houses and pastoral care at Rugby like?

[StuntCroissant]

I was also going to suggest Repton. Slightly smaller (650ish pupils) and I think a quieter boy would do well there.

I'm sure Rugby's pastoral care is great but why would you send your son there if he's into football? Surely a football school would suit better?

[Beyondthesea123]

Stuntcroissant, thank you for your kind opinion and recommendation. We also applied to Repton because of football but since they they are a little less academic than the rest of the other school that we applied my wife would prefer our DS to go to other school ( I do not kind a school which is fun, good and less pressure). Our DS is also applying to winchester, went for an interview and waiting for the result, in this case I think even if he gets in it would be a little too academic for him.

The scenario is if he goes to Repton he is likely to be in a top set, if he goes to Charterhouse, Oundle, Rugby, Marlborough and King’s Canterbury he would placed into a very good set while if he goes to Winchester he would be in a middle or bottom set.

Most reasonable school for him to go is Charterhouse but we are exploring which school could be more suitable for him. Charterhouse is quite good academicly and play football but I just worry about not many student would be there during the weekend and not quite sure if it is too tough for a kind and quite boy like my son. However after hearing from people here at Mum’s net ( Thank you so much THEsonoftheBITCH ( this is the name of the nickname of Mum set user not an insult) ) that the school is less tough and if he gets into the right house he would be fine, we are now a little less worried. We are just need to identify a gentle house.

My son likes Oundle a lot because it has a great DT and Science lab but it is quite big and do not play much football. We are also worried about crossing the street because our DS sometime does not look at the car carefully.

I like the atmosphere at King’s Canterbury but my wife thinks the two campus is a little apart and our son is not that musical. Our son still has not seen the school yet.

We have not gone to see Rugby and Marlborough yet.

[Beyondthesea123]

I suppose to type I do not mind the school that is fun, good and less pressure. Sorry for a misspell.

[Dancingdreamer]

Beyondthesea - It does sound like Charterhouse ticks a lot of your boxes. However, I wouldn’t dismiss Repton just on academic grounds. We looked at a number of the schools you mention for my DCs and I don’t remember their results being significantly weaker than Rugby or Charterhouse. Repton do however have a group of students who are serious sports players (aiming for GB squad hockey etc) who are less focused on academics. Remember also that schools like Rugby, Marlborough and Charterhouse have always boosted their A level results by importing a lot of very bright girls into their 6th forms. I believe that Oundle does a similar thing but with bright DCs from Asia (but my information here is second hand so may be wrong).

When we visited, I didn’t get the impression that Repton did this. The students it tended to bring in at 6th form were joining for the sport. Once you take the Repton sports players out of the equation and remove the bright girl effect from some of these other schools, the results are all similarly solid. However I do agree that whilst a bright child will often flourish anywhere, it is good to have a cohort of similarly able DCs to engage with. I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Takeittotheboss]

After reading through this thread and your others in education, I reccomend that you take another look at Repton and also consider Shrewsbury. Academics are higher at the latter. Football is a main sport not rugby. Exeats and term ends have transport laid on by the school to airports and elsewhere. Plus it actually is full-boarding and doesn't empty out on weekends.

[Dancingdreamer]

Sorry I am skipping between all your posts. I would add that Marlborough and Rugby are also definitely full boarding. Repton has some day pupils who basically do all the same as the boarders but just don’t sleep in school.

[Beyondthesea123]

Thank you Dancingdreamer and Takeitotheboss for your kind advise. I will take my family to have a visit at Repton and Shrewsbury. Full boarding is very important because we are hardly in the UK and we want our son to enjoy the weekend.

[Parkinssheet]

I only know about about the house at Rugby that my DS is in, but I don't think there is a bad one.
The pastoral care has been excellent, the trick is to get on well with the Matron.
If you want more information please pm me.
Rugby also imports sporty children for the 6th form, usually rugby players. But their results at GCSE, as well as at A-level, have been steadily improving and it very much has a feel of a school that takes its academics seriously and is on the up.
We have been delighted with the pastoral and academic support our DS has been given. It's a great school.
Your DS will have to play rugby if he goes though. The clue is in the name really.

[Beyondthesea123]

Parkinssheet, thank you so much for your kind information.

[LostSoul69]

“son likes Oundle a lot because it has a great DT and Science lab but it is quite big and do not play much football. We are also worried about crossing the street because our DS sometime does not look at the car carefully”

Just to reassure you, we live in a very remote place so when my boys arrived at Oundle this was a big fear for me too but now they are careful & confident in the street and can do airports & trains on their own too. When you get to know the school and the town it is not big at all. Last year a boy won a football scholarship to an academy, there is plenty of football & hockey but yes the DT centre is amazing and the Head of DT is so dedicated too. Pm me if you want any further help, Good luck.

[sollyfromsurrey]

OP, Gownboys was always a fairly music orientated house at Chouse and therefore a little less bullish than some of the more sporty houses.

[sollyfromsurrey]

Having said that, I may be a little dated. 10 years or so ago it was a very musical house.

[Hadalifeonce]

Have you considered Oakham and Uppingham?

[Beyondthesea123]

Thank you so much Lostsoul69. I will PM you.

Thank you Sollyfromsurrey, your information is very helpful.

Hadallifeonce, we considered Uppingham but have not yet have time to explored the school. It seems to be the real full boarding school with alot of facility in boarding houses. Do you have DC overthere, please share the experience?

[Hadalifeonce]

My DCs are Oakhamians which is split boarding and day. Love the school, and the ethos. Uppingham is full boarding
Both schools are very sporty.

If you are travelling to look at schools, Oundle, Uppingham and Oakham are quite close to each other, and Rugby is only about an hour away

[Parkinssheet]

Hadlifeonce makes a very good point that Rugby, Oundle, Uppingham and Oakham are all within striking distance of each other and can all be visited in a relatively short period of time.

I would recommend this as the schools are quite different and you will easily be able to feel which ones you and your DS feel most at home in.

I also forgot to say that Rugby is absolutely full boarding, it is important to make sure the school doesn't empty out at the weekend if your DS has no choice but to stay in. It seems to me that the nearer you get to London the more flexi the boarding becomes, some big names excepted of course, even if the say they are full boarding, it's important to be sure.

[Beyondthesea123]

Thank you Hadalifeobce and Parkinssheet for your kind information.