The Trinity-Whitgift thread of 2013 continued

Thanks all. Really appreciate it. Somehow I never trust my own judgements, but having read this amazing thread, I think I trust you all. Will keep you posted.

So I will spill the beans my ds currently at elmhurst !!!!! Any elmhurst mummy's on here

burnt you have perfectly described my weekends - oh the joy of having a sporty ds. iluv my advise - try and encourage your ds toward indoor sports and activities!! Sorry I have no knowledge at all of KGS.

Iluv - as others have said, I really wouldn't worry about the sporting side. I think the attraction is there for those that are sporty, the coaching is there for those that show an ability to excel, and the support is there for all those that want to take up sport as a hobby or try new things, or to keep fit.
I don't believe it is imposed on the boys, just as music or drama isn't and there is sooo much more for them to do and be involved with.
I think that the impression of the school is one of overall 'sportiness' but if I had just built a £10m sports complex I would want to use it to advertise the school. I can remember being just as impressed with the science labs, D&T dept (my fav subject!), drama facilities etc. Its just that the sports complex leaves the biggest impression.
Anyway you never know you could find yourself wondering 'how did it come to this?' when you're standing at the side of a pitch in winter watching DS doing things you never knew he could, every sat/sun wet, cold and shivering!

Dont know why - I'm feeling the same anxiety as when I was dropping him off at first day of reception ! Will he get lost, will he be happy .. thinking and hoping we have made the right choice.

Maybe we should have a Mumsnet Whitgift 10+ meet-up BOD that way I wont be wondering
Welcome to the ones coming out of the woodwork.

Thanks Croydonmums and Fatalflower, but one last qn. If you were to compare it to KingstonGrammar, what are the most obvious positive/negatives?
I'm thinking many of you wouldn't have considered KGS at all, location wise.

Missmarple I thank you for your compliments. I was a bit worried that I come across as a sad loner posting so much, but this thread has really been a most welcome distraction from the anxiety of waiting and with help making such a huge decision. DW still does not know that I have been posting, she doesn't look herself and I just tell her anything on here that I think she would be interested in.
croydonmum - Sounds like we are now representing over 10% of the cohort here, and we may never know if we ever meet any of these parents - except you of course rugref. The funny thing is, you will get some parents looking at you thinking 'ah, so that's rugratref' and you will know why they are looking, so you will be able to guess who the Mumsnetters are!
But...Now ive said that, they will look away shiftily when they see you - so you can still guess

iluv - at interview I made some remark about ds being an enthusiastic participant in sports rather than an A-team captain. The response was 'you never know, he could end up with a passion for fencing!' (to which I must admit I thought, yessss, you wouldn't think that if you'd seen him have a go on the Open Day )

But the point is, there is so much opportunity there for them to discover a talent they never knew they had, be it in rugby, pingpong, golf, debating or acting! There are almost a thousand boys in the school, they can't all be captain of the First XI...

W does like to celebrate its sportsmen. But there's a lot more to the school than that, IMO. I don't think it's something to worry about.

iluvmyboys welcome to the thread. I know quite a lot of boys already at W all of varying abilities and no one has a bad word to say about the place. All the boys are encouraged to do the best they can in everything be it sport drama academics etc. at 10/11 very difficult to know how the boys will develop and mature particularly in sport. So a boy who's outstanding now in sport may not be in a few years time. The teachers are looking for potential in every single team and not just at the top tier. I know boys who have started on the D team to end up on the A's. The same seems to apply academically as well. I think the only boys who may struggle are boys who simply don't want to bother and even at that the school will do all they can to change their attitude and not just give up on them. I would have to say the exact same applies to T as well.

Hi all.

I had started a new thread on my concern over Whitgift, but Fatalflower pointed me to this one, to get more answers.

Has anyone had this concern on W that has left theirs sons quite dejected at not being recognised as one of their top sportsmen/ academic? Is too much importance given only to the top tier? How do rest of the boys fare - do they get a good deal out of W?

DH thinks that KGS is more suited to DS, as it is a small setting and feels there will more attention going to DS. Also DS is not a huge rugby fan - he plays but is in the lower sets. I want him to feel encouraged in sports too with cricket/ hockey and various others too.

DS I think has his heart set on W, and to some extent me too, but I want it to be the right choice for him. I know you all have done a lot of research and many have personal experience too. Any help much appreciated.

Thanks !

Sorry I meant said not send

kylep possible some of the boys mentioned already have parents posting on this thread!!! I'm sure you send previously you were from state school???

Just dropped acceptance letter to W. peacocks were shrieking boys all on their way in to school all well behaved. Not a moments doubt or hesitation - we have made the right choice.
loveandhope like everyone has says I have little doubt that the boarding side of W will be very well run and really don't think you need to worry on that score. I would happily send my son to board there but like the others live within walking distance.
TCofB welcome to the W 10+ group. Don't know how you've resisted adding to this thread until now.

Burnt-- we will battle in sept , Racegirl my ds is from private sector and we know 4 others from his school going to T, 2 have opted for w so that makes it 8 burnt

AspiringMM that's one of them. If you go to the pupils page and look at trinity news, the last two are on there. Some great footage. Trying to limit myself to 20 mins a day reading the vast amount of information they have on the website as a I keep getting distracted!!
This summer is really going to drag!!

Re boarding at W - the boarding house master was at Harrow and is very impressive

Even though the school has a 'boyish' reputation, the pastoral care at the school is excellent - it has a very high teacher:pupil ratio so that the teachers get to know the boys extremely well. It also has a large, well-funded learning support department so that any undiagnosed difficulties can be supported. If we had the money (it's not cheap) and didn't live a few minutes train ride away, ds would be boarding as soon as the boarding house opens its doors ...

Not..soup is right in that they have always had a small number of overseas boarders so they're not complete beginners - W are throwing money at this project and will not let it fail.

RaceGirl87 -
Is that the video you mean?
I am soooooo excited!!

BurnoutDad - W should pay you for your amazing contribution to this thread!!! You have demonstrated a great display of resilience and fantastic sense of humour. We should have Mumsnet Awards!!

LoveAndHope - Didn't you say previously that someone poached from Harrow is handling boarders? The architecture looks impressive from the outside and the facilities were mentioned during our W interview. We have opted for T though so can't help.

I would have no qualms about letting my DSs board there - although I am only 5 minutes away (and, obviously, they go to Trinity!)

Loveandhope I think the problem is that no one knows about the boarding for sure yet. In all honesty, I can not for one moment imagine that W will not do a superb job of it. They have a fantastic reputation as a day school and I really can't see them making a mess of the boarding facility.

In the past, have they had a very small number of overseas boarders already? I have a vague memory of hearing something like this but I may not be right.

OK lurker outed...
we are W 10+ (SpS) so that makes 6...
thanks to all you posters by the way, this thread has been captivating and supportive.

Hi ALL, please bear with me for (keep on) asking Boarding -related questions, though I understand that most of you here are for Day school only.

As we are from overseas and W's boarding is new, may I seek your very kind views / suggestions on the following -

1. Do you think W's management has the capability to handle Boarding students ( day and weekend schedules, pastoral care etc)right in the first year ?

2. Has anyone of you heard anything about the boarding offer / acceptance status ?

3. What is the reputation of W with regards to its intended Boarding facilites ?

Many thanks.