Coombe Girls / Tiffin / Kingston Grammar / Surbiton High / Sutton High / Wimbledon High

Goodness they must have upped their game, when we went to see KGS it was all a bit chaotic and that was what I liked! The LEH/SPGS ones were terrifying in comparison.

I can assure you that for every Olympic level hockey player/rower there are many many very average or really quite bad ones
The good thing about the hockey is that everyone gets a go, and the C and D teams get as many matches as the A and B (certainly for the first 2-3 years, when they diversify into the other sports)

It is a bit all consuming in that they do a lot of stuff, but you can pick and choose in reality - it can seem overwhelming when you see what is on offer, but they try lots of things and they very soon identify what they like and what they don't and pick stuff accordingly.

I can confirm that the pastoral care is brilliant and not just on an emotional/academic support level, for eg I just spent half an hour on the phone to dd's rowing coach discussing a plan for a back issue she has and how to rehabilitate it - she is NOT olympic rowing material at all, but they treat everyone as if they were in this sort of respect. I think the students feel very supported.

I guess it is a fairly intense experience, but in a good way. They children do seem invested in the school, much more so than I ever remember being! Somehow it manages to feel quite laid back at the same time, it is not massively formal and the discipline is fairly light touch in comparison to some other schools I have heard of.

However if that sort of environment wouldn't suit your

I was recommended Ibstock Place as being very good for drama and dance, but ruled it out as it's an awful journey by public transport (including a bus change at Tibbets Corner, which is isolated and not a nice place to have to wait around). But it seems to be in a similar group to Emanuel, which is very strong on drama and even has children in West End shows, so if the journey is doable for you it might be worth a look.

I have a DS who has just started at KGS - and can back up what people have said about the pastoral care. He's had a much easier / more gradual ride than his friends at Emanuel and Putney High.

My DD is a different kettle of fish so am thinking of Surbiton and Sutton. She loves her sports and drama and is in the middling to high band (not the clever table!)

Any other thoughts?

Sorry meant 'Similar level of difficulty to Tiffin Boys'.
The reason that Tiffin Schools are seen as 'harder' to get into is that it's one school whereas in Sutton at least there are more to choose from once you are past the first stage.

Nanglo789 - just to clarify the Nonsuch first stage is the same as the boys sit for Sutton namely the SET - I think to say it was 'easier' than Tiffin is completely misleading. DS1 sat both the SET and for Tiffin boys - they were both of similar difficulty - the only difference he noticed was that Tiffin Maths tried to test more basic arithmetic and then catch you out with three or four step word problems.
Tiffin Girls exam I would imagine would be a similar level of difficulty to Tiffin Girls at first stage hence why I'm mentioning this.

Suttingsucks there are quite a few girls in Wimbledon who go to LEH - I don't think she'll have rouble finding girls to travel with.

Nanglo789 Unfortunately, the SPGS bus only runs from the Village, not much use if you live anywhere down the hill in the cheap bit.

Did anyone else go to the KGS Open Day / Evening? I was quite impressed, I liked the focus on independence and pastoral care.

There's a couple more Open Days coming up, WHS and PHS on the next two Saturdays.

Hi there,
Tiffin is extremely competitive as you get the private school DS trying for a non fee paying school and their papers are the hardest in South/West London.

if you want to see LEH - please see it during the day in summer, we had a lovely time going around the school. Putney high is very good too. Surbiton was ok but their sports ground was somewhere else so we couldn't see it & didn't like the idea of having to travel to the sports ground.

If you are in Raynes park, please consider Nonsuch, the exam is much easier than Tiffin and they still give place to out of catchment applicants where as with Tiffins there is no chance.

If looking for Independent, wouldn't you consider Godolphin and SPGS - both good schools. DD is at SPGS and there is coach from Wimbledon.

If she is already at a Prep she will not need a tutor, your help at home should be enough.

We were from state school and DD went to a group tuition, which helped initially but I did a lot of work with her too. At state schools they do not cover material for 11 plus hence extra work was required at home.

Sutton High suffers from competition from the local grammar schools, like Nonsuch and Wallington Girls. I wouldn't say it's 'easy' to get into, as I do know of some girls who were not offered places there (although it is easier to get into than the other GDST schools like Wimbledon High and Putney High). But I think your DD will be fine based on what you said before :)

KGS open day is this Saturday. Not limited to any year group afaik.
The information evening for parents is this Thursday.

Because the exam is before Christmas a lot of people use it for practice and to have an offer in the bag before the rest of the exams as a bit of a confidence booster. I've known people turn it down for Surbiton, Putney, Wimbledon, KGS etc as those are perceived to be more academic. Everyone I know whose dds have gone there have been happy with it, although I've heard the 6th form is very small and that seems to put girls off from staying on after GCSEs.
I really liked the school when I visited but ultimately went for a closer school

Sutton High is not hard to get into at all. It's the backup for a lot of more academic schools so I can hink they make a lot of offers as they know most candidates will turn them down.

We're in a very similar position (DD in Y5 at a prep school), except we moved a few years ago from RP to New Malden specifically so we were in catchment for the state secondaries...

Been to see Surbiton High - it's clearly a very active, busy school. Lots to do and their most recent results are very good. It's definitely not for us, but that's a personal thing rather than because I don't think it's a good school. They seem to take more girls each year, and if we were interested I'd want to know whether the quieter girls have any chance of being in a play, making a sports team (even if it's a C team), etc. And I do query how much personal attention a girl can get in a school that's practically as big as a state comp. But I didn't discuss any of that with SHS as I knew it wasn't right for my DD so they may have perfectly good answers.

We went to the Coombe open day last year and we liked what we saw. The facilities are clearly not as polished as a private school would be, but the girl who took us round seemed happy there and greeted various teachers warmly and was warmly greeted back. We will go back to look properly, that was really just a "what is this high school thing about?" visit. As you say, not paying for fees would be a real bonus and if there is a good state school available it would be silly not to consider it.

Sutton High - we have a friend with a DD in the prep there. From what she tells us it's not impossibly difficult to get into, so someone on the "clever table" (as you mentioned) should be ok. Her DD has been very happy there, having moved from another prep which was much more of a hot house.

Tiffin - I am also finding it really hard to find info how best to prepare for the exams. The 11+ website is quite useful, though you need to set aside a morning to trawl through. I swing between thinking DD should just write the exam on a "nothing ventured, nothing gained" basis and writing it off as a hot house. One thing I have gathered is that unless you live in the preference area there is no point doing the exam, so unless you move from RP I wouldn't bother.

We're planning to see KGS and LEH (next year when Y5s are let in!). We're also looking at St Catherine's (Twickenham) and Holy Cross (state secondary in New Malden), but we're Catholic so no issues with the faith thing which I know you're not keen on repeating.
Wimbledon High is out for us - again, personal reasons rather than because it's not a good school.

I really want DD to go somewhere where she can make local friends she can travel to school with, and when she's older can go to the movies with, grab a coffee with etc without excessive parental involvement and driving. So the further afield schools (Ibstock, Putney, schools in Surrey) are off our list - LEH is about as far as we'd go.

So all of that is not much help in answering your questions, but we're in much the same boat so I feel your pain!

Surbiton High must be doing something right as it is big. There are buses delivering hoards of girls on a daily basis

Coombe is good and it is free!

Don't bother with Tolworth or Hollyfield.

I have heard good reports about Kingston Academy next door to Tiffins

OP. do be aware about moving costs - is the money you're going to be investing in your new house to try to guarantee a place at Coombe going to equal the cost of fees?
There are no guarantees with state school places, even if you live on the doorstep!
Good luck.

If your DD is at HC you honestly do not need to worry! They prepare them better than any other school i know of.

Whycan't, I assume your DD is at either HC or U. You will receive advice and a lot of help on finding the right school for your DD. HC does very well for senior schools as you can see from their comprehensive exit list for 2016, harder to find the specific details for U.

www.holycrossprepschool.co.uk/page/?title=Senior+School+Destinations+%2D+2016&pid=506

The only surprising thing I can see from HCs destination list is the number going on to co-eds from an all girls prep. My DD is Y11 and she did that when it was quite rare, things change very quickly.

Don't forget to ask the prep what their recommendations are, after all, that's what they are there for! It's usual to get a good steer in yr 5, with any final thoughts/changes right at the end of yr 5 or start of yr 6.