The Trinity-Whitgift thread of 2013 continued

hott, I remember you!

Hott - yes i felt a little nervous after yesterday. I think i hadnt really realised that its a 'big boy trip' and ds may get a little more independence than previous trips he has been on. But im sure they will be safe and that all the 'risk asessments' have been carried out as one parent asked last night.
Nice of the head to supply new life jackets - makes u wonder what the ones there were like though!

Lovely to see an active thread again. Enjoyed parents evening and particularly headmasters speech - much more engaging then I expected. Lake Garda meeting even better. Sounds absolutely brilliant - teachers all seem lovely and certain the boys will enjoy every minute apart from the coach journey! Uniforms in the wardrobe and have to stop ds trying it on or it'll be ruined by September. Just have to sew the name tags on but despite best intentions bet I'll be doing that the night before school starts!
fatal glad everything worked out for you.

Burnt - I also liked the advice on pre-conceptions (guilty) and have been trying to undo the boxes.

SugarHoney - predictive text turned my "laugh" into "love" in previous post!

We were in the 10 and 11+ group at new parents meeting, with a separate meeting for the 13+ intake. I'd imagine boarding may have featured more in the other group.
As far as I understood the boarding message, it was a reassurance that the boarders and day boys will be integrated - in fact, the head emphasised that the boarding house "belonged to everyone". They will be pushing for flexi-boarding in addition to the full-time boarders. Not having considered boarding at all until now, I found this very tempting.

If DS is anywhere near as difficult a teenager as I was, we may just prevent bloodshed by having him board for a year or two. I also like the idea that he can board for a short period if I have a really tough time at work or have to travel. The point is I found the boarding option very attractive (apart from the fees!), which means the message must have been positive.

Hi burnt - I was indeed on the left, near the front. Ds in a red sweatshirt. All pretence at anonymity now gone

Am consistently impressed with how friendly and down to earth the staff are. Ds is now super-excited about Garda, and was really chuffed to meet a couple of future classmates last night. Roll on September!

Hi all thought id check back to see if any activity here. Enjoyed the parents evening, very informative. Liked the advice about removing pre conceptions from the boys ( im a footballer/ cricketer; actor; non acedemic; brainbox etc) and going in as a blank canvas willing to try anything and everything. Prospect of science biodome being built is mind blowing! And new drama facilities planned too.
Fatal - there were around 3 or 4 parents with ds's at yesterdays meeting. I had a guess at 2 that could be you . Were you in the back row or at left side with short hair? (No need to answer if u dont want to out yourself ).

I agree, frazzled. In fact, it seemed to me that a real effort was being made to dispel the feeling that it is only the best of the best sportsmen who thrive at W. I think they're conscious of this and that maybe it is a bit off putting for some parents/boys. Hopefully it bodes well for my future D-team ds, bless him

hott' sorry, it seemed as if I was ignoring your post! Agree that the head of music came over very well. I really enjoyed the evening and it will be interesting to hear what's said tonight. I'm bringing ds with me tonight... He has been begging to go back to the school so how could I refuse?!

Sorry frazzledforty, I meant to address you but predictive text went ahead of me. Thanks for your comments.

No apologies friaries forty. Thank you for your reply. As we are far away, any comments from you helped as we couldn't attend. Glad to know that you are impressed.

Did anyone talk about the boarding house? Thanks

SugarHoney - apologies for not replying earlier!
Not sure what the others thought of the new parents meeting, but I'm very confident we made the right decision. Yes, the sheer size of the intake is slightly daunting, especially if you come from a very small school. But we met a few lovely new parents (I fished, but don't think I met any MNetters - I'm sure I would have recognised them by their elegant attire and sparkling wit!)

Of course there may be some old hands who would love at my naivety, but I'm really impressed with the school's approach and from what they said I believe that all boys, regardless of their strengths, will find get the chance to shine if they are willing to give it a bash. There was, for example, great emphasis on the fact that the boys who run out for the F team are appreciated as much as the ones who win national colours. I like that.

I also liked that they acknowledge that all boys can't be good at everything - and that they will get extra help if they struggle with a subject.

Their approach to discipline was also reassuring. Whether it's always that easy in reality is obviously a different story, but it sounded logical and supportive, but tough if necessary.

Hope that helps!

Thanks Soup; I checked with ds's head and he was happy to give permission for two days, and said he hoped ds had a wonderful experience. Which was nice .

Does anyone think it would cause a problem if ds came with me on Monday for the Lake Garda meeting? I am a bit stuck for childcare (and ds is desperate to come!) The letter says boys are 'not required' to attend, which isn't quite the same as 'not permitted'...

I don't think ds is going to be able to attend the sports course as its still in term time for him. Do you think it will make a difference if he doesn't?

Both DSs attended one day of the Trinity sports course, in term time. Their headmistress authorised the absence as the children going to state schools have a day's induction whereas DSs wouldn't get this. It's worth checking with your head to see what they say.

They had a fab time but I don't think they would have lost anything by not going.

I am an overseas mom and my son will join Whitgift this summer as a full boarder. As we were not able to join the parents' meeting last night, any comments and pointers to share please. Many thanks.

Whole-hearted thanks for the very generous, frank and kind advice given to me. I think I have the decision now. Will check on 2 more things and then confirm our decision today.

Very Many thanks again.

Now... I'm pretty sure I was sitting in front of an MNer at the new parents' talk this evening...am not going to out her though! But if any of you were sitting behind a woman with short dark hair and a black top, on her own, well...that was me

Tell a lie, 24 in his form, approximately 220 in year but they are whittle it down after GCSE's. I think it's 24 points to stay on and you get A* - 4, A - 3, B - 2. From what I've heard the sixth form is around 160.

Interested to read your thread. My ds is currently at Whitgift in Year 11. He was meant to be going to Tonbridge the deposit was paid but we felt his prep school wasn't doing the job so he did the exam and went in the Summer term of Year 7. Both schools are very different he has friends from his prep school at both. He is not sporty, relatively bright and makes the most of what the school has to offer particularly CCF and is going to do his Gold DoE. I think in terms of life experience W is probably better in terms social spread although T is a fantastic traditional public school. We went to T at the weekend for dd's choir recital and although quite a few kids from the surrounding area board quite a few come from the Far East. It would be interesting to find out what the proportion is. I think you should go with your gut instinct, from my point of view I don't think that it's all down to the academics as everything is so competitive it's about the all-round picture. I think ds has approximately 24 in his year group and there are two parallel sets with six sets, he's in the second set and currently doing 11 mainly IGCSEs and predicted to get main A*s and As. I know that at Tonbridge you need higher marks to get a day play rather than a boarding. A few years ago a parent was only offered a boarding place for her son in spite of the fact that her elder son was a day pupil, she turned it down and went elsewhere, she was also going to send her third son there so they lost out on that too!

Agree with LM . Do you consider your ds to be Oxbridge material , would the schools concur ? Published results are not the be all and end all , you need to probe deeper. How do they achieve them with settings , options, early exam entry and so on. Will your ds' motivation match especially given that you won't be there to over see day-to-day. Does your ds favour IB ? A more significant number of pupils at W will have been in the state primary system and majority will have started age 10/11. At T he'd be among a peer group who have only been there a year.