Help! Need advice on senior schools SW London/Surrey/boarding

Pier point closed years ago, and I think the Christian centre that replaced it might have closed too.
Frensham Heights is going strong, I know several people who have sent their kids there.

Bradfield and St Edwards are on my list but then so is Radley.

Gosh, the only school I was going to look at in year 4 was Winchester as it has an open day for that year group. I'm utterly clueless on what sort of school would suit ds. I had planned to look in year 5 assuming that was plenty early enough. No guidance available from school as ds has only just started there. Some schools are quite specific on what age you should visit, eg Eton.

Would second St Edward's- it's a great school.

TBH Wellington only really suits outgoing, sporty boys (DH Taught there and we lived in a boarding house). It does provide a good education but putting up with Archangel of Bullshit Seldon for 5 years would probably be more than I could stomach.

One for the 'gently does it list' is Bradfield. It is very unpressured and supportive but still gets decent results.

Sevenoaks is uber academic nowadays. In that direction what about King's Canterbury? I wasn't aware that Hampton was snapping at KCS's tail but our son is U6 now and things do move on very quickly. I don't know why but I thought Frensham Heights had closed years ago - is Pierpoint still around? Perhaps I got the closures the wrong way round?

Should also add, we chose Reed's over Kingston Grammar, but didn't look at St John's or Epsom as they are too far away.

Actually Reed's is ahead of St John's slightly in the league tables (but not Epsom). It is sporty but the focus is also on academic results, although the intake is quite broad.

Academically, would rank 1. Epsom, 2. St Johns 3. Reeds. Reeds very sporty. Epsom more expensive than other - very long day (6pm finish) and 3pm on Sat as much more a boarding school.

I would agree that Hampton almost as difficult to get into as KCS these days - local prep schools finding boys who would have got places in the past not getting in. Harder to get in at 13 than 11.

I think, but not certain, that Kingston Grammar no longer take at 13.

Consider City of London Freemen's in Ashtead (though probably not for boarding as only small number of boarders and mostly sixth form).

St George's Weybridge?

Many look around during years 4/5 as an increasing number of these schools pretest in Year 6 and require registration a term or more beforehand. Sevenoaks was oversubscribed last year and more competitive to get into.

If you think of Bedales then also look at Frensham Heights.
Boxhill is a bit alternative, but not like Bedales/Frensham, did well with a friend's son who had been bullied at Prep school.
Wellington, the only person I know who had children there, had two sons who went to Hull and Durham afterwards. It is pretty fashionable.

Oh and Tonbridge a fab school IMO is almost in the same league as St Paul's (where the head worked for many yearsand hardly any full boarders) Westminster etc.

I (and many others on MN) can't stand the head at Wellington hes a self publicist who could sell snow to Eskimos but we've got atfriends whose daughter is there and they think vey highly of it. Tonbridge and Marlborough are all good schools and over subscribed both will have good standards of pastoral care but ultimately probably not in the St Edwards league it's one of its USP's.
Bedales is not everyone's cup of tea and I've recently rather sadly heard less than complimentary things about bullying and pastoral care which you would have hoped you wouldn't hear from a school like Bedales!

Oh, and IB - good for children who are genuine 'all rounders' academically, but not so good for those that have a real passion and who would happily drop languages - for instance - to concentrate on the sciences.

MY DS is a classic example of a boy who would fail the IB horribly!

I would say that - although not quite up there with the 'Harrow and Etons' - Charterhouse School would only suit pretty robust types. Their pastoral care can be a bit... patchy.

We looked at it for DS, and luckily chose Cranleigh School for DS instead. He is very happy there and I have no regrets.

Don't forget that 'Happy Children Learn'.

Please take DS with you once you've whittled down the list - its VERY important that he's happy with the choice, too.

Starting to look in yr 4 seems very early. How will you know what they will be like in 4 years time?

A friend has a has a very 'sensitive' boy at Radnor House and he loves it - he moved half way through Y7 at a very traditional 'robust' prep where he was utterly miserable and he's thriving - it's quite a small site though so depends on how rambunctious your boy is ...

Definitely have a look at Whitgift - the boarding house looks great and the school has been absolutely brilliant for ds (he's very confident, sporty and 'boyish' though so it's been a perfect fit for him but I can see that it wouldn't suit everyone)

Bearwood?

Whitgift School in Croydon is opening boarding from 2013. Worth a look, I would think.

If he is not especially emotionally robust, would boarding really be a good choice?

St Edwards Oxford? Fab standards of pastoral care (most prep school heads will agree it in a class of its own) good for keen rugby players, the really bright do well and the results for all are improving year on year with the new head and boarders are in the majority. Happy content children although it is quite liberal so may not suit you (its personal choice) and not a million miles from Twickenham.