The Trinity-Whitgift thread of 2013 continued

Croydonmumtods having read your recent posts I'm wondering if you are my wife and we are both posting under our alias in secret :)

We have an offer at W and T but W is 99% selected. Main reasons are location (in relation to us) and DS has W as clear winner due to sports facilities. Not happy with the £3k premium over T though. Spoke to T this week and they still cannot tell me next years fees....in my view it is very poor to make you an offer that you have to commit to but cannot tell you how much it is. - Sure they would not teach this is business studies.

My other concern is that Whitgifts fees are 10% up next year on this years. Can they increase 10 % every year ? If so we are over £20k before DS leaves.
I had very little hair before this process and now I'm left looking like Homer Simpson :(

Sports facilities at W are fabulous although T isn't far behind. I have read everything about both schools and know plenty of children who are at one or other. All say their school is the best! I feel T seems to work harder on attracting the parents to the school but W seems indifferent to the parents but went out of their way to make ds feel wanted. Bottom line both are great schools and will never regret final choice. For us seems likely to be W (ds's choice/ slight edge on sports/ nearer and easier to get to). Tried asking ds 'but what if all your friends go to t' answer 'I don't care I'll still see them I'm going to W!
loveandhope I have struggled to think of even one place worth visiting in Croydon and I live here! It's not that it's awful but it is simply a functional working town. Train and bus links to London Brighton gatwick all good but not recommended for a child on their own. I would ask the question how will you stop an unhappy child getting on a bus right outside school and ending up who knows where. Pastoral care and supervision would be number 1 on my checklist but i have no doubt the school will have considered all the dangers and will be able to put your mind at rest. I'm afraid I know nothing about guardianships but imagine the school must have this information.

Also, I don't think you'd regret either decision when choosing between T & W.

TBH there seems to be very little difference between the schools in terms of facilites, results and opportunities. For us it was the attitude, culture and ethos of the schools that swung it for us. We knew that T was the right school for DS in this respect.

Is there a big difference sportswise between T & W? Both seemed similar to me (although I know nothing about sport!)

Have you read things like the Headmaster's Newsletters? I know Trinity do one every week and they're on the website. It might give you a feel for the school.

somelikeithott no decision made yet but ds determined to go to W. interestingly he started off convinced T was the right school for him but now feels W is the school that will do more for him. He is very sporty so do feel W may be best option but there are obvious financial considerations. So no final decision as yet but leaning towards W and definitely including ds in decision. Have you a preference?

I'm sure you could ask the school on that one. I've already seen ads in local press for an agency requesting for W and another school in Surrey. Maybe they could appeal via OW network too.

Hi do anyone know of good Guardianship service in the area ? Many thanks.

Can anyone tell me how they work out the scholarships?..... i'm curious as to how may are available in each year and in each category - W don't say anything about how they decide.

I don't know the details but I believe they have an amount equivalent to X full fee places (I'm sure I saw the number once but I can't remember where or what it was). This is then portioned out amongst the boys they want to offer scholarships to. I imagine they discuss each boy's performance and how much they want him to be at their school rather than a rival one.

Thanks all again for the kind advice re boarding questions to ask; and the Nearby places to know / visit.

From our country, W has offered a bit more than 10 places spreading Y9/10/12. The boarding house master is from Harrow. We have regular email contacts with him, and he is very responsive and caring. There is also a head of boarding.

Re activities, Mon - Sat seem quite packed already. Sundays is the only free period. It may be good for the boys to have some real rest with no scheduled activities; though the housemaster said trips / outings will be organized after a late breakfast. The rooms have en-suite bathroom and WIFI. For term breaks and end of school year, the school will arrange shuttle bus to the airport.

My DS is 13 going to Y10. It would be quite challenging for him as there will be many activities to try / explore , but at the same time, he needs to spend sufficient efforts on his GCSE Studies.

Goldfish - have sent you a PM.

Thanks Goldfish, I rang T earlier and revised paperwork being arranged. I then rang Foundation who hadn't had email to release the bursary. Re-rang T to request this email be sent. I agree T admissions are lovely, poor lady was very reassuring and patient.They must be inundated.
Might send Foundation email as feel bit embarrassed about ringing again. All the issues about others bursary info being incorrect has got me a bit paranoid.
Once letters have arrived I can actually feel it is happening.

Suz742 - we got a separate letter from the foundation on Friday detailing the total amount we had to pay per year. You'll probably get confirmation of this I the next few days. I think they report this to the school so I would presume the figure you received from the school should be correct. I'm sure it'll all become clear in the next few days. But to be certain you can always send the foundation an email or call them directly just to be sure. That's what we did.

loveandhope I'd agree with other comments here . I suspect , at least initially , it will be older home grown pupils who will take up boarding places. As a comparison the school dc attend only has a handful of boarders in Year 7 & 8 most of whom have parents overseas with a bigger influx at Year9/10. Ask about the programme for full boarders - trips, socials, use of facilities etc - pastoral care, including whether the staff responsible have previous boarding house experience, health care etc. You really don't want your ds to be alone in his dorm at weekends, although he may get invitations from new friends to stay over, and there is really relatively little in the immediate area he could get to easily.

Goldfish, what is the situation with bursary info?I just got told mine over phone late Fri eve by T due to admin error but have nothing in writing yet. Not sure who to contact, Foundation or T. Don't want to find my hopes have been built up if figures inaccurate.
Thought the stress would have been over on 15th, not prolonged even further

loveandhope Must see parts of South Croydon? Hmm... It is suburbia so there aren't many cultural highspots. Croydon is high on the regeneration agenda though, so it should get a facelift over the next few years. The Croydon Clocktower is worth visiting -- great library and nice little museum. However, the school is just half an hour by train to London, the greatest city in the world IMHO. I would hope that Whitgift would be putting on regular trips to museums and other attractions in London. A lot of the best bits of London are free (galleries and museums) so this should be feasible.

Goldfish, in part answer to that question, it does of course depend on what your local state option is. If you have a Sutton grammar school place, then the differences are less, but if you're comparing it against Quest or St Mary's then the differences are huge.

Take your time with the decision, and possibly ask for another visit during school hours next week (you won't be the only parent asking for that).

loveandhope congratulations to your DS. Can I add a couple more questions to your list not as a Whitgiftt parent but as a an overseas parent?

• do ask exactly how many DSs are full boarders in your DS's year group. W offers weekly and flexi boarding too and you don't want your DS to be only one of a very few full boarders. I believe W can have a max of 100 boarders. Often the numbers will be higher in the sixth form as parents sometimes use boarding to help their DSs become independent before university. So this can skew the figures.
• what are the rules concerning the weekends? Can the boys stay away overnight every weekend or are there restrictions. If they can go out every weekend do ask where the full boarders come from. If they are nearby this could mean that many leave at the weekends after sport.

Hi again
We are still totally at a loss of what to do after many discussions over the weekend! We are so disappointed with the bursary team who initially sent us a completely incorrect bursary offer, but also got the scholarship amount wrong and were arrogant and unsympathetic when I called them! T have however been fantastic. The admin team r terrific. We are now waiting until we get the confirmed fee amount before we can make any decision, but it looks like its going to be a lot more expensive than we had hoped! This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make! This would be a huge financial burden for us but we just love the school and so does our DS. I suppose the question is, is it worth it in the long run? I'm new to the whole private school thing, having never gone myself, so need to assess all the benefits and opportunities of going to T compared to the local state school. Any thoughts??

Croydonmumtods and Asterisk, thank you.

I will ask those questions, and will explore with and show my DS of the Areas around. We are regular visitors to London, but have not been to Croydon.

The school registration / admin team have been extremely kind,responsive and helpful, and have already sorted a lot of daily / weekly / meals / airport logistics. Just that as an overseas boarders' moms, seems that we always have some more "details" to ask about.

Can you pls also point me to the must-know and /or must-visit spots around the area ? Many thanks.

A belated congratulations to everyone whose DSs who made it, and commiserations to those that didn't. Seems like there are a lot more scholarships this year than last year (or maybe just a slightly different constituency on Mumsnet this year!).

loveandhope, congrats on your son potentially being in the first cohort of boarders. The kinds of questions I would ask would include (1) how does school intend to supervise visits to town, etc. Although S Croydon is generally a safe area, I would not be happy about 12-year-olds being able to wander around on their own after school, (2) programme of activities over weekends (good balance between down-time and not getting thoroughly bored), (3) school's attitude to 'horseplay'. A friend's son ended up having to have brain surgery after a pillow fight went wrong -- a child put a shoe in a pillowcase and it unwittingly caused a serious brain injury. (4) How will school help to get DS home during holidays? Minibus to Gatwick?

I am sure you will love the school though, and that the school will make a real effort to make boarding a success.

loveandhope don't think you can fail to be impressed by W. Its a beautiful school set in beautiful grounds with fabulous facilities. My only advise would be to try and look beyond all this to make sure it is the right place for your ds. I would also suggest looking around the area if you have time. It is a built up area with lots of shops restaurants etc. Hope you enjoy your visit.

Hi all, this thread is addictive ! Much appreciate and admire, all the very kind words and encouragements that mums/ dads are giving to each other here.

We are from overseas and my DS is offered a place to Whitgift full boarding next year. We have passed the admission test and interviews held in our country. We will be visiting the school soon before making the final-final decision.

Your kind advice on things / aspects we should take note of when visiting the school, would be most appreciated.

Hi all,
just found this thread ( and read the other one - boy that took a few hours.
My DS is going to W on a sports scholarship which we're all really pleased about
and will accept
Can anyone tell me how they work out the scholarships?..... i'm curious as to how may are available in each year and in each category - W don't say anything about how they decide.
Well done to all who have spaces and commiserations to those who went through the wait. It's been a long process and one I am am relieved is done ( though I don't have long before I start it again with my DD!)