We are a bit stuck (even after paying a private school deposit!!!) and would love to hear any thoughts on two options we still have open for our son, who is pretty academic, but not super-dedicated to work & very outgoing and sociable. Music is no. 1 other interest, but he's a normal fairly musical boy, not a prodigy.
It's def a problem we are lucky to have, in that they are two I think vg schools. He has a good-sized academic scholarship at private St Dunstan's in lovely Catford, which is in walking distance for us, with lots of pupils in our local area. It's not traditionally highly academic, but seems to be getting more so as far as we can see. It seems like a happy, fun school with lots to do, but some people we know cast doubt on its suitability for kids on the more academic end of the spectrum (though I think they may be out of date). It's not particularly difficult for us to find the money now that we have the scholarship offer, though obviously we could think of other ways of spending it! He also has an offer from Wilson's grammar in Sutton, which is a high achieving super-selective grammar. It's 50-60 minutes commute though (but people say that boys meet up on the train, making it quite fun), and I'm not sure whether or not it has the same cheery atmosphere as St D (opinions seem to vary). Music seems fab there. Our priorities are in this order: (1) emotional well-being (2) teaching that is really interesting and engaging, especially for clever kids & (3) co-curricular, especially music, but could do with musical life that is active and fun, not necessarily fantastically high-level. No other kids to take into account. What to do, mumsnetters? Delighted if anyone with any relevant experience has time to share thoughts as we will need to relinquish one of those places!