notredame senior school at cobham surrey

i think you mean grudge and i believe the poster was referring to a previous school

Sounds like someone has a chip on their shoulder in relation to this school. I have heard nothing but good things about it.

Do any mums at Notre Dame Prep, past or present, notice that it is money driven?
I have seen many parents taking their kids out of NDS over the last year. If you have a story, good or bad. Let us know of your experience in 2018. I am having serious doubts that this school cares for the kids the way they say they do. My story is that I feel they don't do enough in the classroom and rely more on us as parents to do the heavy lifting.
This is a good thread as there are some valid points made. I'd like to see some comments closer to 2018 going into the New academic year. Thanks.

"I would like to apologise for my previous post, it will be deleted as soon as possible by the mumsnet team."

LOL, have you been put on the naughty step by the school for being less than complimentary about them on Mumsnet?

I guess they found it easy to identify you from your DD's starting point

WTAF?

I would like to apologise for my previous post, it will be deleted as soon as possible by the mumsnet team.

Yep, sacked member of staff, unhappy exgirlfriend, untipped car washer - who knows? but it's not helping anyone looking for a school.

Thanks cake - was about to do the same thing. Obviously some agenda there.....

Anon, I have no interest in this school but I have reported your post. This is an education forum and people post comments to help other users choose a school. Personal attacks on individuals who can't respond are not fair or acceptable.

bump

I'm really sorry to hear these horror stories but I have friends who have daughters either currently at the school or who have just left. All of them speak very highly of Mr Plummer and where there have been incidents these have been dealt with swiftly and effectively. What I hear from other parents and teachers at our Prep is that it is a caring and nurturing environment which takes a diverse range of girls and gets the best from them.

I was friends with a girl and her sister who went there when I was in my teens, about 10 years ago. They both hated it, were bullied, had no friends in the school and left nervous wrecks with below average GCSEs.

Doesn't look like much has changed.

My daughter attended Notre Dame from year 5-11. My husband and I thought we'd struck gold having such an idyllic catholic school on our door step ... Oh how wrong we were!

Prep school:
There was a lovely head teacher, Mr. Plummer, who was exceptionally charming and knew most parents on a first name basis - which really added to the personal touch. Some bullying occurred upon my daughters entry. The teachers kept an eye on it and it soon dwindled out. However, D'aprano repeatedly refused to admit that there was a problem and attempted to fob us off.

Secondary school:
I really wish I hadn't of wasted our money. We essentially paid for our daughter to be bullied to the point where I barely recognised her character any more.

Year 7: She was hit, pushed, slapped and spat on by other girls. The teachers did absolutely nothing because the girls who were doing it were "favourites", they never even brought them in for a meeting.

Thankfully, I raised a resilient girl and she actively sought a new group of friends who gave her protection for years 8 and 9. However, most of these girls had to leave the school and she was alone again.

She made a new group of friends and all seemed well. Then disaster struck in year 10. The girls turned on her, she was completely excluded from everywhere, wasn't allowed in the common room or IT suits and ate her lunch in the toilet. If this wasn't bad enough, she stuck through a year of this nonsense and that summer she had death threats posted through our door, warning that if she returned for year 11 she'd be seriously harmed.

I frantically phoned around all local private schools to see if they would take her but being half way through her GCSE's, they couldn't. It was a disaster, teachers did nothing (despite the note being printed on the back of chemistry homework so we knew which girl it was), she was forced into the library and thankfully the librarian let her eat her lunch in there with her.

She severely under performed at GCSE level. The teaching quality was shocking, we ended up paying thousands on private tuition to try and remedy the situation. Four teachers said in year 10 they wanted my daughter to drop their subject so it wouldn't affect their performance table. When she was moved for 6th form she obtained four A levels - all at A grades, so it obviously wasn't her ability!

I hear that Mr. Plummer has now taken over both schools and if anyone can turn it around then it's him. I hope this school is better, it has the potential to be brilliant. This is my own experience and unfortunately, nothing will ever change my mind - this school was abysmal.

I hope that helps - sorry I can't be more unbiased!

I have friends who's daughters are either still at the school or just left this year. All of them rate the teaching and pastoral care very highly. The bottom line here is that you can find an anecdote to fit any opinon you want for a school. The only way is to visit the school, talk with the teachers, address issues as and when they arise and if you're really not happy then take your kids elsewhere. Surely that is the benefit of being able to afford private schooling and if the school doesn't suit your child then do something about it.

Does anyone think it strange too how Manzanas messages have been deleted. Me thinks it's the work of the school or those dedicated to the school to always have positive spin on and control what is read about it. Louplum is I imagine Louise Plummer the Principals Mr David Plummers wife. She is an IT teacher at the school and I believe she just loves the Internet media, she has also been a mum of 2 girls who went to Notre Dame.
It is strange the amount of negative threads I have read about it and if I hadn't experienced ND myself with my own children I would never have looked up the reviews.
They went into ND believing they were in a good school but bricks and mortar and all the money in the world spent on fabulous looking resources can sell the school but it does not make up for exceptionally poor and inadequate teaching. I believe the local state school would have been better.

Help..... I was thinking of sending my daughter here entry into yr 7 but am now not sure.....

Hillarious NigellasDealler you picked up the posters purpose. I've just checked their past post history on mumsnet and funny, they haven't ever posted before. Also that they posted after two comments have been removed, after obviously being spotted by the school.

It is hard to check up on the reality of private schools like this when any slightly negative comment is blasted by an input from mumsnetters who have never posted before, but suddenly appear from nowhere. I think generally you have at least a small history if you are a genuine musnetter.

I posted some great reviews about the school (under a different name) quite a while ago and whole heartedly supported the school until I had a wake up call. All my dd's friends, who were probably no brighter than her and in the local non selective state schools, were doing so much better academically than her at this expensive, selective, private school. Something was going very wrong.

DD's have loved the school. We have done the nursery, pre- prep, prep, senior and sixth form. The school has achieved the best for our girls, they have made great lifelong friends,they have respect for others, and the oldest is a well rounded, polite, caring young lady, now at Uni, having achieved excellent results.The second is enjoying the changes being made at the moment, and is greatly inspired to work hard, and achieve her best. Which is all we can hope for as parents.