Pipers Corner

Our experience was similar - I completely agree with everything you have said. I think from 80 plus girls in year 11, year 12 6th form dropped to 30 plus girls. Pipers will say it’s the girls wanting to go coed but there are plenty of all girl 6th forms around with waitlists.

My DD has just left Pipers to go to University. One of the first things she said after a few weeks at University in a flat of 8 was "wow, I had not realised how cliquey and b&£chy Pipers girls were ... all the girls in my flat are so lovely, welcoming and open." We always knew there were cliques and groups of "cool" girls who excluded the slightly nerdy, more sensitive types. Often formed by seleb's children or very wealthy backgrounds. I totally agree with all the negative said above. We know of really good, academic teachers who have left Pipers because they are not happy with the way they are treated by "management" they feel totally unvalued, disrespected. Organistion is a real problem. I had numerous issues getting my DD's UCAS application in on time. The school seemed to be almost obstructive at worst or just dis-interested. I raised issues in the past with the Head and responses are were just unbelievable. You wouldn't believe it if I told you! There was a real lack of communication over something really important ! The school desperately needs a change of Head. The school has become more selective but it is not academic. Really great teachers do not stay. In one A-level subject my daughter had 4 teachers over the course of 2 years including one teaching from abroad via zoom! Whilst my daughter was never bullied and reasonably happy at Pipers she was not "included" and found a very small group of quieter friends none of whom have kept in touch, so far. None of that does anything for their confidence or self-esteem. She had friends who left because of bullying. At least 75% left at the end of GCSE's. If they stay to do A-Levels unlike nearly every other school in the country they are not allowed to come home in study periods but have to stay at school during school hours. There are lots of girls at Pipers that seem to be happy enough but it's interesting to see from this thread that I was not the only parent that had issues with the school. Of course, it is hard to find that out as you go higher up the school due to lack of contact with other parents. There is very little choice in South Bucks because of grammar schools and so people will continue to send girls to Pipers despite all the above from me and from other parents because they essentially have a captive audience. Feel free to DM me if you want to chat. I have only spoken about the bad bits. As I said, my daughter was relatively happy. But if you ask me was the best brought out in her, did she achieve all she could have achieved, did she come out feeling ready for the world and confidence. Absolutely not!

Thank you very much ittakes2 and thank you for the link too - really appreciate you taking the time

Read this for more info if you are moving after the application deadlines:

Pipers usually has a wait list for year 7 but they do take girls on to fill places after other girls leave. They are not like a state school where they say have 85 children in a year group and need to stick to that number - they have a number limit for the whole school I believe ie they could push their numbers up to whatever they like in one year group as long as they don't exceed a certain number.
Also - you have not missed the grammar schools in the sense any child moving into a grammar school area can sit an exam and if there is space move into a space at a grammar school. There is also the 12 plus and the 13 plus. Having had two children in different grammars I have been surprised how much movement there has been in the grammars after year 7 right up until year 10.
I second another parent's comments about Claires court which does have a bus to Beaconsfield - my daughter is thriving there now after leaving Pipers the only thing is the bus leaves later than straight after school to allow for after school clubs - Pipers doesn't it leaves straight after school. Depends on what suits your daughter best.

Looks like Pipers changed the photo of the girls on their knees highlighting the main male character surrounded by men! Great because there are some talented girls in the school no need to showcase the paid male actors.

Hi, we absolutely loved our time at Berkhamsted, great teachers and communication, a real sense of community and place, and obtained strong A level results (with Oxbridge guidance too). Had an incident of bullying that was handled quickly and efficiently and left no issues, bus from Beaconafield is excellent and has lots of kids of different ages on it. Genuinely very sad to have left. Couldn’t be more different to Pipers Corner which is a shallow, budget version of a real private school like Berkhamsted.

Headington has a bus route to Beaconsfield. Plus there’s boarding options in Ascot.

Royal Masonic also has a school bus from Beaconsfield.

Further afield, Queen Anne’s and Queenswood also offer weekly and flexi boarding and several girls from Beaconsfield go each year.

Claires Court Maidenhead . Lovely nurturing and underrated school

Thank you BookWormButNoTime, I have visited Berkhamstead and just didn’t like it 🤔. My daughter is not at all sporty and I don’t really like the link to the cadets (I understand it’s not obligatory of course). Hard to explain but I just could not see my daughter there. Thank you for taking the time to reply 😊

@WestLondonMother There is a school bus from Beaconsfield to Berkhamsted School which is more academic. Applications still open for 2024 I believe.

Hello again ittakes2, I thought I’d retry this thread to ask you if you have any sense how over-subscribed the school is (I’m looking for a Y7 place for my daughter in Sept 2024). We’re not eligible for the grammars as we won’t be living in beaconsfield until summer 2024, feeling quite worried as school options are quite limited beyond the grammars! Thanks!

No drama choices, you either sing or don’t get a part. Simple

They took off the toilet doors to stop vaping and girls hiding. It’s moronic

If you are the south side of Bucks Claires Court in Maidenhead might be one to look at. A lot of parents choose it over grammars for the pastoral side. Excellent for sports and creative arts. Down to earth.

Considering you say your daughter's didn't go to Pipers I am not sure why you are so invested in this thread. And I don't think you know this school as well as you think you do as the year 10 or 11 girls are offered a chance to do Shakespeare as support for studying Shakespeare in the English's curriculum. What I do expect is for Pipers to take on more socially meaningful plays not regurgitate old hollywood fizz plays where the female roles are always and only portrayed around their sexuality.
Pipers teaches Brecht political plays in drama and in English (like most of the country) they study the political play The Inspector Calls...why not do a political play to reinforce teaching?
Look at the photo pipers has posted itself on the website as an example of the last play they did - great opportunity to showcase the girls but what they have chosen is a photo of the girls on their knees highlighting the main male character surrounded by four men. This main male character is a paid adult male actor - as is the three of the other adult male actors and the final man is the pipers drama teacher.
Facilities | Pipers Corner School
Drama, Music and Dance | Pipers Corner School
But to be fair I do think its an improvement on last year's photo where the pipers actor was in her Dolly Parton outfit.
And sure - do some hollywood fizz its light entertainment but they ONLY did hollywood fizz for the senior plays in the years my daughter went there.

@IamfeelingSad It used to have a reputation for nice but dims! It’s now selective. Maybe girls get choices in drama? Sounds like fun to me. Did you want Shakespeare?

We pulled our daughter out of Pipers - it used to have a reputation for being nurturing, and I think the junior school still is, but we would not describe it as a nurturing school in any sense now and I no longer recommend it to others. It was more a case of surviving at Pipers rather than thriving at Pipers.
I see above comments about the drama centre and it is great - but all the plays we have seen there over the years have no depth. I still remember the 9-5 play where the lead 6th former who played Dolly Parton's role was wiggling her cleavage on stage, crawling on the floor sticking her bum up at the boss...and I was wondering WTF? Because Pipers are trying to find plays with lots of roles for girls they tend to go for anything with a lot of dancing - I assumed they would put a modern twist on some of these plays but nope its usually about the girls playing traditional female characters in sexy outfits. All rather bizarre if they are teaching the girls to be independent forward thinking women! If your daughter is interested in drama ask them what senior school productions they have put on in recent years.
And also ask them why they ripped the main toilet doors off - the girls were told it was because the younger senior school girls felt nervous being in there with the older senior school girls.

“Fair in sports”? Since when is that praiseworthy?

The students need to say something

Latest installment, top socially adept bully in Year 10 receives end of year award for being fair in sports. What a horrible school.

More Pipers Corner GCSE age friend issues and bullying occurring, the local therapists are probably upsizing their houses. Great senior school but not a great senior school. the sooner the head is changed the better

Sorry to Jane for getting her spelling wrong

Very succinctly put, Pipers Corner School suffers from (nod to Jane Austin), Pride and Prejudice. Hoping to never go to another assembly where the head refers constantly to "Pipers' Girls" like they are some seperate species from the girls in the High Wycombe catchment area that they generally pull their students from!