Why does Wallington Boys never seem to be first choice?

Waves at Mumwithtwokids!

We looked at all three for our son last year.

For us the open evening was a bit shambolic at Wallington (although that could have been because we were late to look round and everyone was tired by then) and that put us off rather. Also, the 11+ exam day was not managed as well as it could have been. Those two factors rather tarnished our view of WCGS, although it was the one that initially offered our DS a place. That was just our vibe though and DS's. In the end he was lucky enough to be offered Sutton Grammar which we readily accepted because we had good vibes about it and it's most convenient from where we live.

DS is perfectly happy there and he too thinks it's the right choice now (although he too was keenest on Wilson's left to his own choice!).

I did however think that Wallington was very good on getting information out after Offers Day and was most impressed that their website had been updated in preparation for it. So I would agree with Mumwithtwokids that their pastoral care certainly did seem very good.

I think at the end of the day you have to go with what your son feels an which one you can all reach a happy consensus on. There is probably very little between them really even though Wilson's seems to be currently riding very high in the league tables - but heck Sutton and Wallington are pretty close behind.

I personally can never see what the attraction of Tiffin would be but that's another story....

A school should be about more than just its place in the league tables!

We went through the whole secondary school process last year and from visiting all three schools my son's first preference was Wilson's whilst both my husband and I much preferred Wallington as we knew this would be the right school for him.

When discussing the schools, my DS admitted that he liked Wallington but found it to be quite old inside compared with the rest and this for some reason put him off whereas Wilson's was modern so much more appealing. He started at Wallington this September and he couldn't be happier. The school is brilliant and really cares about the boys whilst also achieving amazing results. Whilst the other two school's are also great I felt they weren't as good on the pastoral side of things which is an important factor for me.

We looked round last year (early for DS who is now in Y6 but started in the Junior form at a local indi rather than 11+). Wallington would have been my first choice, although we only looked at Wilson's not Sutton Grammar which is too far away. I really liked the general atmosphere and attitude at Wallington, which seemed far more caring of the individual. Wilson's seemed very corporate - what can you do for us, rather than what can we do for your son. I also thought the facilities at Wallington were better. But as you say - horses for courses.