Queenswood School: Is it any good?

@Zodlebud

I have friends. And connections!!!

@Zodlebud

Thank you for your sympathy about MINE and OTHER'S times there.

I'm happy your children are at least enjoying it for the 60k.

I understand everyone holds different perspectives and experiences however it is important receive a realistic and general opinion. Which is my place to give , as being the most involved person in the school, out of everyone on this whole entire thread.

It's the small things they do like mixing up the dates at the end of term which messes up holiday schedules as it just overall proves their lack in organisation.

Thank you for taking your time to get back to me, as I do think it is important people receive a variety of opinion.

I honestly cannot engage with people who cannot read my previous messages properly.

@TizerorFizz Your daughters left the school many many years ago. You refer to when Clarissa Farr was the head - she left in 2006!!!!! The school has changed a lot since then and your knowledge is significantly out of date. It is unfair for you to provide comment for prospective parents as a result.

@holidaysaway I am a parent with two daughters at the school and am very happy paying the fees. Not one thing I have said is a lie and is based on our personal experiences. I am just as entitled to write good things as you are to write the bad. That doesn’t mean either of us are incorrect. I’m sorry you had a seemingly awful time there. It’s just not our experience at all.

I do object to being called a liar.

@Zodlebud

Not everyone lives in this country! You often see posts in the middle of the night. There is also a nighttime economy. Not something you probably know about but it's there. If poster left Q recently they are probably at uni and not tucked up in bed at 10pm!

There's always going to be mixed views on any school. I'm not sure how many overseas students are now boarding at Q but my DDs found the new intake in the 6th form, especially from China, weren't that interested in anything but work and stayed in their own group. This was well known and was mentioned by parents when DDs arrived in y7. Opportunities were there but drama wasn't their bag or much sport. Music was enjoyed though. It's just how it was. The Nigerian girls were more integrated. It also depended on whether they had homes here and what each girl wanted.

It's always been an issue with day girls not showing up for house events and sports day. They don't always give their full support to house events and, as there are now so many day girls, it can make the boarders a bit annoyed. Parents don't facilitate girls taking part either.

I don't recall any girl needing academic help when my DDs were there. However the school was punching high in those days. Results show it's not now and other schools attract more bright dc. Even you thought your younger DD was too bright for Q! However the small fish in a pond is attractive.

It's inevitable some DDs won't be happy. Was always the case. Always will be.

@holidaysaway My comments are 100% not false, lies, or sugar coated in any way. Queenswood has been and continues to be a school that exceeds my expectations in every way. I do not recognise anything you are saying, some of which is fundamentally untrue.

I have had children at the school for many years now. They have been supported academically extremely well, their extra curricular needs met with bells on, and mostly they are extremely happy.

Invariably people will have different experiences, I am not disputing that, and this is a public forum where they can be shared - but to write that you think I am basically lying is actually quite offensive.

But this is obviously so important to you that you felt the need to write about it at 1.40am……….

It is a horrible school for international students, my daughter was an international full boarder last year however she had to leave to the poor treatment and the low quality of education and the unprofessional service. The british students seem to be well off however the international students are mistreated and are often excluded by students and teachers. the teachers are not caring and are not interested in the students wellbeing and individuals understanding of the subjects. Language barriers could be a struggle for the student and yet the teachers often don't care and exclude the student. for the price we payed for the school we received nothing positive. it is a shame we chose this school for our daughter and I wish we had known better and had done more research on the school before applying. teachers often make racist comments and use offensive terminology. my daughter developed depression and anxiety and had a hard time eating for months. For a boarding school they are unprofessional and uncaring. I truly did expect better but i highly disapprove of this school and would not even recommend it to my enemies.

Sorry to be pedantic but this is what you wrote:

Many students were from Nigeria, I didn't see any Chinese girls (doesn't matter which country but if it's the same country outside of the UK the kids would be more likely to form friendships within that cohort and would be less friendship opportunities for my DD).

It really is a non issue at Queenswood. My DD boards and is friends / hangs out with girls from Nigeria, China, Japan, Spain, the USA and Saudi Arabia. It is a wonderful, diverse community with no major dominance from any country (apart from England). If anything it affords more friendship opportunities and an enriching experience.

I do agree though that where an international contingent dominates the boarding intake it can cause issues in schools. It’s just really not the case at Q.

@Zodlebud I have not assumed anything - as I mentioned, the girl guide told me that the majority of the international girls are Nigerian + 1 other nationality (which I can't recall) and I believe she said it was over 20% international girls. Anyway, that was not a major point and it was more to counter the point about Chinese girls, that I have not seen.

@Frogusha You have assumed that all the black girls are Nigerian when in fact most of them are British.

Of the international boarders, yes, the Nigerians probably make up the largest contingent BUT international boarders make up probably 10% of the whole school. The Nigerian girls are less than half of that number. You make it sound like the school is dominated by one nationality when it is wholly untrue.

@Zodlebud people like to call each names. What is racist about saying that there're a lot of girls of certain nationality? What if I said there are a lot of Ukranian girls? Is that insulting too? The previous posters said there were lost of Chinese girls. I have not see any (or have not noticed them) but have seen quite a few black girls and our girl guide said the majority of international girls come from Nigeria and one other country (which I know can't recall at all).

In contrast, when we were touring Wycombe Abbey, there were loads of Chinese girls. Like I said, there can be a problem with international girls if it's a lot of them from one country and they can be making a group between themselves which would mean less friendship opportunities in a smaller school. Glad that international girls are well intergated in Queenswood.

@Frogusha Some of your information is incorrect.

Computer Science is not optional in Y7 and Y8. In Y9 the girls are given the option of dropping a couple of subjects. Some drop a language, some a humanity, some a creative subject but they all still have a balanced curriculum. In my DDs year there were still two classes in Y9.

Then in Y10 they have all chosen their options and I can confirm that there is a decent sized class each year studying it at GCSE. It’s hardly a write off.

Your comment about Nigerian girls is ridiculous and quite frankly (I hope, unintentionally) racist. There are lots of black girls there. A handful come from Nigeria. The rest are British born and bred. It is a very diverse school with many nationalities and religions represented. They all mix with each other and are extremely respectful of each other. International boarders are also well integrated.

Basic maths on the board? Would totally depend on what class it was and which set. I can assure you that A-level classes have calculus on the board.

The fence is to ensure the girls safety. It’s a boarding school.

St Mary’s truly is a fabulous school but it’s an academic hot house and not available to the majority due to 1) priority admissions to Catholic girls 2) the eye watering fees and 3) it’s a full boarding school - which many parents don’t want.

You cannot compare it to Queenswood in any shape or form. Good comparisons would be Queen Anne’s, Woldingham, Haileybury and Aldenham.

Read with interest as I went viewing but we didn't apply. I felt outside the school look thremendous - the woods, the fields, beautiful buildings. Inside everything was very dated, the bedrooms cramped with steaming windows, teachers and girls looked like they couldn't be bothered in lessons, what I could see written on boards in maths lessons was very basic. There was a tall fence right outside the buidlings preventing the girls from going into the woods - where I imagined they'd be wandering a lot, reading and playing - turned the forest is just for decoration.
In a computer science room I found a teacher and no girls. I asked them why this part of the building was empty on a school day and he told me that girls are not very interested in computer science, it's optional.
Many students were from Nigeria, I didn't see any Chinese girls (doesn't matter which country but if it's the same country outside of the UK the kids would be more likely to form friendships within that cohort and would be less friendship opportunities for my DD).

OP, if you can pay for St Mary's Ascot it was my and my daughter's dream school - see if you can get your DD in. We went there several times for viewings and exams / auditons and it seemed amazing on all fronts. Just very expensive.

@PresentingPercy That's fair, but clever bums on seats isn't what everyone needs. Just because a school gets high results, doesn't mean it's good either, it's just a reflection of the cohort. It sounds like the most relevant feedback from the OP is the criticism towards their learning support as it sounds like that's what realistically will be the draw for a lot of parents in that area. However, learning support is so so tricky. What a lot of parents imagine as 'bespoke' is just not possible in a mainstream setting, however hard they try.

@Foxesandsquirrels It had to be bums on seats to remain viable as the original (quite clever) bums left in large numbers. Completely agree.

@PresentingPercy They aren’t “introducing” Media Studies, it has been running for two years now and the first set of A-levels were sat this summer. 100% of grades were A star to B. Just because it’s not a traditional academic subject doesn’t mean that an A star is any less worthy.

No they don’t send heaps of girls to Oxbridge but nearby STAHS, NLCS and Habs do. Queenswood has never been on a par with these schools historically. Q has positioned itself nicely within the local competition and offers something very different. They are not saying they are academic, so what they were like 10 years ago is not of any consequence. Parents are signing their daughters up in higher numbers than ever so they like what they see. I imagine it is actually a very different school these days to the one you knew but different doesn’t equal bad or that it’s gone down the toilet.

The poster with issues with the school brings far more relevance to the original post than talking about the old head and standards back then - Mrs Cameron has been at the school seven years now so hardly “new”.

I don't want to be rude @PresentingPercy but schools are a business and 'It’s just a shame when you knew what it was' isn't really relevant if it attracts bums on seats. They obviously needed to change something to attract girls and maybe being the top academic isn't what's on the marketing horizon in that neck of the woods. Schools ebb and flow. Highgate was once a school for not very academic boys. Look at it now.

It’s relevant! Results are way down. It remains to be seen if the brightest stay and do well. I know where the school was academically and it’s not there now. Looking at the leavers destinations isn’t going to attract too many high flyers either. None of that info is out of date.

Cheerleaders always cheerlead. Obviously the poster here has issues and although some complaints are spurious, it’s not as academic as it was. That’s a plain fact. Other schools have improved. My example about art does show how a school can take its eye off the ball. I know it’s improved art and is introducing media studies so it’s now definitely appealing to the less academic which is the new league table position. It’s just a shame when you knew what it was.

@animalprintfree Wow, for those fees I would expect them to bend over backwards to make kids and parents happy. I'm glad we chose a cheaper school 🥶

Surprised to hear about the trips, pastoral care, badly behaved girls and facilities (I thought all those things were the main appeals of the school?)

@PresentingPercy Your information on the school is now very out of date.

The school is now highly oversubscribed, with waiting lists and recently there have been many girls not even being offered a place.

Art is extremely good with the GCSE results one of the top performing subjects in the school.

There is no chasing of money.

The parents and children like the head and she must be doing something right to have boosted the school to its highest number of pupils ever. Yes, she’s not some formidable character nor does she come across as a slick business woman but she is approachable and well respected by all. Staff like working with her and staff retention is good.

You do point out your information is historic but it must surely be 10 years plus old now? I am not sure how relevant it is to this thread?

@animalprintfree My DDs didn’t have 100% great teaching either. Art used to be dreadful, for example. Leadership has been a bit average for 15 years. They need a real big effective personality to grab it but plenty of parents want the school now. 10 years ago they didn’t.

However leadership was top notch when Ms Farr was there. After that it went into “finishing school” mode where young women aiming high wasn’t the norm. Girls with opinions were routinely pushed aside for quiet “yes” girls. Previously girls were listened to and encouraged to articulate feelings and thoughts. It wasn’t the school we had chosen.

The school became much more actively focussed on chasing very wealthy parents who would donate to the school. Very much two tiers of parents and, of course, only one group with influence. My DD2 didn’t stay due to issues I alluded to in my earlier post and dismal art teaching. When she left, only 26 girls went from y11 to y12. Around 34 left. More girls arrived from China but the 6th form numbered 36 so many parents felt as we did.

These issues won’t affect you and hopefully the school is stable but far less academic than it was. It was similar to my local girls grammar. It’s no coincidence Ms Farr went to St Paul’s GS.

However boarding does provide friendships. It means DDs get more time to gel and participate in house events and activities. I would reconsider boarding as long days are no fun.

I’m never quite sure why schools like this dip. We saw a huge difference between DD1s cohort and DD2s. DD2 wasn’t as academic as DD1 but her A level results would out-perform many at Q now. Let’s hope the bright ones don’t leave. That’s been another issue as suggested by the other poster. Too isolated for some and they want a day school they can walk to in London. Or take a short bus/car journey to. I think boarding leads to better friendships in many ways but you don’t need difficult DDs in the houses. DD1 never had this. DD2 was with some horrors. Luck of the draw but it matters.