The Cedars School, Croydon

I am also considering sending my son to Cedars in September and would like to know more about class sizes and whether the boys are pushed academically as well as spiritually. Slightly worried as new school hence no previous exam results to compare.

Hi Tesse ,

My son is in his 3rd year now. I am one of the proud parents to say that my son was there from the beginning of The Cedars School.We were part of it from the process of launching this school. We feel that this was one of the best decisions we made to educate our son for his secondary education.

The teachers are always approachable and welcoming.They have been encouraging our son in all avenues .
The schools ethos morally helps to build my sons character in faith as well as discipline.
We are catholics and encourage our son to grow up in faith and participate in mass.However the school by no means forces the children to attend mass and given them the option.

As a parent I can assure you that you and your son will be warmly welcomed by this school and will meet your needs.
Good luck :)

Had to reregister, as can't access my old login.

My son is in his second year at The Cedars and he absolutely loves it there, as do his dad and I.

The boys are afforded more freedom at The Cedars than at any school I've experienced. The boys are encouraged to exercise their freedom of choice to make decisions in their daily lives that are right for them, the kind of choices that you'd want them to make when there's no one looking.

While I'm not Catholic, the school's ethos is very much in line with that of my family. In my son's words: "instead of focusing purely on the grades, they focus on building moral habits as foundations for developing our character to grow into great human beings".

I'm not sure what you've heard about Opus Dei, however, we haven't experienced Opus Dei vs freedom at the school - the boys choose whether they go to mass or have reading time and that truly is their choice. My son attends mass half the time.

Hope this helps.

Hi Tesse,
I am a very proud Cedars mum, I have two boys currently at the school, year 8 and 10, my year 10 son has been there since the school opened in 2013, they are both very happy, the support they get from the school is amazing, they are both doing very well thanks to the quality teaching,
The headmaster is extremely approachable and always has time to listen to parents and boys.
The personal tutorial system that the boys recieve every two weeks on a one to one basis with the teacher is second to none! So the teacher are able to understand the childs needs, If there is a problem, I have never ever had to wait a long time for an appointment to see a teacher, they are always available to discuss any issues! ( Oh and always with a smile!!! )
My family is not in Opus Dei and my boys are not treated any differently, they are not forced to go to mass, bearing in mind we are open to any denomination, In fact my boys actually choose to go to mass on their own accord,
Well Tesse I do hope you come to one of our open days, where you would be warmly welcomed and see for your self just like I did three years ago and I have never looked back!!
Imagine your child waking every morning wanting to go to school and learn! how joyful that is!

From a very happy Cedars mum!😄

My son has been at the cedars for 3 years now, it's an amazing school, he is very happy in the school, the boys are free when it comes to religion and opus Dei, i know some of our parents who are not Roman Catholic, and their sons are very happy at the cedars.

Hello
I am considering moving my son to the Cedars. Is your son happy ?
How many years has he been for ?
Thank you for your help
Best wishes

Hello
I am thinking to move my son at the Cedars. Any comments please ?
Do the boys feel free vs Opus Dei ?

Amazing school - would recommend.

Hahaha! Only 3 left at school now and those 3 at secondary school and I only ever did school runs for primary school so not so bad. Independence!

The school does have a particular niche - it offers character development and a personal tutorial system which really supports the boys as they grow up. No frenetic parent/teacher meetings at The Cedars: each term (not once a year!) we get to meet with our son's tutor for as long as we like/need to talk about him - his academics, his friendships, his character - and set targets for how we will support his growth at home, and the tutor in school. The tutor meets with him individually once every 2 weeks so really gets to know him very well. All the teachers feed in to the tutor so we have one point of contact. It's a joy! I have got so tired, in the other schools, of rushing round an overcrowded school hall, trying to see teachers for 3-5 minutes and being told what they're studying, which I could read in the curriculum anyway. No one is able to suggest how the child should overcome certain faults just point out they have them and need to try harder. It can only ever be superficial at this level of contact. This is not how it is at The Cedars. I'm so looking forward to our son having the same tutor walk with him all the way through secondary school.

You could read more about it on the website www.thecedarsschool.org.uk

That's really interesting 10Children. Do you feel that the school has a particular niche?

Am also trying to work out how you manage your school run. I find it hard enough with two children.

Hi, I'm new to Mumsnet. I'm a parent at The Cedars. Our boy loves it and is very happy there. He's our 10th child and this is our 7th secondary school. It may not have all the facilities and numbers that others have but it has something much more - we are really valued and listened to as parents and the school helps us and helps our son in his development as a person, and not just academically or in sports. We also have a son at Trinity. We have had a son go to Whitgift, 2 to John Fisher, one to the Oratory and the girls have all gone to Coloma. The Cedars is what we have been waiting for. Just to correct the comment above: all the fixtures played have been purely with Cedars boys, we haven't 'borrowed' any from anywhere. That wouldn't be right or fair. I was at every rugby match bar one last term and really proud of how they played, winning 8 out of their 11 matches (I think). Let's hope the football this term is successful too!!! The Headmaster came from Wallington and is indeed very well respected. Do go to the next open day.

Not a parent there but am local, and have been impresssed that they got onto the boys fixtures circuit so quickly.