Pipers Corner

I believe you. It's just a bit sad that's all. One would hope we had all moved on a bit from Jane Austen times!

I’ve certainly seen a very different outlook elsewhere, admittedly by a minority. It’s not unusual for a few girls to not seek out stimulating careers I’m afraid! It’s nothing to do with WA. All their girls are top at academics.

@TizerorFizz I know which school Mrs N-G came from and admittedly WA is a different school. However, I was responding to your comment that I was not seeing the "old money" at boarding school when in fact my DD went to WA. We found the parents there to be very inclusive and overwhelmingly supportive of their DD's career aspirations.

@BewitchedorBewildered
It wasn’t WA.

However like most school, be certain DD is the right fit for the school. There are hugely variations.

I honestly never came across that mentality at WA @TizerorFizz. Sounds very old fashioned. Anyway back to Pipers.OP I think schools can be quite marmite and your own instinct about the school and its fit for your DC is by far the most important consideration. I know a number of go-getting girls who have loved their time at Pipers. One of my best friends had a DD there right through to 6th form and the DD says she couldn't have enjoyed school more and felt a real sense of loss when she left. The setting is quite lovely too. I would also look at Berko and RMS if they make sense logistically. They are both very solid options. Good luck.

@BewitchedorBewildered
But you are then not seeing “old money” at boarding school! Pipers isn’t like that. Or no one admits to it! Very narrow objectives in some instances I found . “People like us” etc…..

I know quite a lot who went to Pipers who didn’t get the 11 plus. The vast majority. The “go to” school if you can scrape the fees together and don’t like the secondary modern offering. Particularly in families where other siblings have gone to grammars.

RGS has JH nearby. Two boys schools. WHS is the single girls’ school. So is more diverse. CGS serves a diverse town. DCG doesn’t. BH isn’t that diverse. Depends where schools are, what the alternatives are, and areas the schools serve. RLS isn’t very diverse at Buckingham. Population and preferences of parents tend to steer who is in which school. Ditto with Pipers.

Diversity depends on the grammar @TizerorFizz . Some of the Wycombe and Aylesbury ones are fairly diverse but RGS is generally more affluent. DCGS and DCHS are not very diverse at all when you look at the intakes from the local preps (Beacon etc.) and the proportion of DC who live in GX in both schools. There are definitely some very wealthy DC in both schools (Aston Martins, tennis courts, swimming pools, skiing chalets...) but I don't know of any parents who just want their DCs to marry well! Also in Pipers there are a number of local girls from more modest backgrounds who missed the 11+ and parents panicked about the alternative schools and mustered the resources to send them there. It's never black and white.

@BeeStrudel
I sent my DDs to a girls’ school and they boarded. They met boys through brothers of school friends and our own friends’ sons. This school is well respected in the Good Schools Guide for drama and never invited boys in. The girls improvise! It’s actually where Ms N-G was before Pipers. Plus Mr G.

I do think parents have cliques and pupils have cliques. I cannot understand why a school didn’t investigate bullying. They undoubtedly have a policy with clear info on bullying and their responses to it.

Unhappily we also found DDs would make up stories about other girls to get them into trouble. This was another huge culture change. The cliques made things up about other girls. Not Pipers, as I said, but I was amazed how unsupportive towards each the pupils had become. Some seemed very happy to trample on others to be heard. It’s very important schools foster friendly relationships between pupils and respond with urgency when this is not happening.

I know 2 siblings who went on to do medicine from Pipers. DF a professor/doctor. However the grammars have plenty who do and that’s where the majority go. Or WA. Oxbridge would be a stretch too. I think that’s understandable. The grammars are diverse but Pipers has never been. I think at times the rich aren’t bothered if DDs work or not. More interested in a good marriage!

Yes, the theatre is lovely - woefully underused though... and the hiring in of young men from local drama groups to play male parts in school plays has left a bitter taste in many mouths.. apparently local boys schools aren't keen... makes you wonder why...

Fantastic swimming pool... which again isn't used to its full capacity..

Great radio station block - but never really taken off...

The cliquey-ness is vile and toxic. I know this can happen in girls schools, but this simply wasn't addressed, and all we were told is 'we'll keep an eye on her'.... but the tears on the field and hiding in the loos at breaktime were just ignored...

I agree, the facilities are excellent, the pool and drama (and drama teachers and productions) are first rate. The location is lovely. The school management culture seems like it's from the 80's (but are bringing in good new people) and some of the governors are old fashioned. On balance, if I'd known how the school managed student conflict and how it fails to really prepare girls for the outside world, (where multiculturalism is normal, boys live, and women work and don't just look nice), then I'd have sent my daughters elsewhere.

There has been a rebranding focus in recent years to raise the academic bar along with becoming a bit more selective. I'm not convinced. They have been turning away less academic girls but they still can't compete with the local grammars academically. Their leavers' destinations lists are broad and respectable enough but Oxbridge, medicine etc. are very rare. Still has the feel of a sleepy country school despite a few slebs' daughters there. However, it always has been good for art and drama and their theatre is very impressive. I know some mid-range ability girls who have really thrived there but I know other girls who have hated it and left. Definitely a nasty cliquey element in some year groups.

I know this sounds a bit odd, but my DDs went to another girls’ school - not in Bucks. We noticed a huge change in the behaviour of parents between DD1 and DD2. Eg pushing in at parents evenings. Expectations that dd is always recognised for achievement however run of the mill. Girls being given the benefit of the doubt because parents donated lots of money. Unfairness about recognition then not dealing with the fallout which is inevitable. It builds up frustrations and a pecking order that’s based on money. Dc know this. It leads to a heirarchy not based on ethos. It takes strong leadership to be fair snd stem bullying.

@BeeStrudel I think the culture has changed. As it’s become less arty and more academic so it’s not what it was. It has far more well off parents than it used to. Yes. It needs to be changed as girls were hugely supportive of each other.

ABSOLUTELY. I totally agree with you@BeeStrudel . Sounds like your DD and my DD have gone through the same experience. Hope yours is happier and ok now x

But no school is perfect for all kids! Need the right school for the right kids, Pipers Corner just needs to sort out it's pastoral care (and maybe get a new head - Mrs Ness Gifford has been there a long time and has improved the facilities and academics - now time to improve the culture)

Thanks @TizerorFizz , I agree that most private schools have a mass exodus to grammar etc in Bucks, many also go to better quality boarding schools/public schools for A levels instead of staying at Pipers - that way they get better grades and have a school with a 'name'. My experience is different, my DD found that on the outside it looked perfect, but on the inside heading into GSCEs it was very cliquey with large groups of kids who were very nasty to other girls, and lots of girls who couldn't fit in (cool kids and nerds), she also noticed that lots of the girls that didn't fit in were the less beautiful/well-off. We know and know of other gentle and gifted girls who've been bullied and have left...

@BeeStrudel
I think you find a bit of an exodus at many smaller girls’ schools when it comes to 6th form. It’s by no means unusual and many will seek a broader life!

I know this school reasonably well and I also know girls who haven’t got a place there. It is selective! It used to be the haven for less robust girls who wanted smaller classes or those who didn’t get into the grammars. They took more or less anyone. Not now. It used to be a very arty school but has tried hard to become more academic, therefore it selects. Everyone we know has liked it but with grammars nearby, alternative 6th form choices are readily available for quite a few.

The girls who stay for 6th form are lovely, but look like girly clones... the girls who are broader thinking tend to leave for college or grammar leaving a very small number. The head has made comments about the girls leaving to be wit boys... might be true!

Pipers has a good financial mix of parents (normal home-owners to very rich), but the number of ostentatious cars is increasing year upon year, saw a McLaren there recently (and if you've seen the terrible tight lane that you get stuck in for 20+ minutes every day to drive to and from school, with coaches squeezing by, and the shocking surface of Boss Lane you'd want a narrow car with indestructible paint and tyres.

@Woofsaidtheladybird mirrors my thoughts.

Interesting reading this...

I moved my daughter OUT of Pipers at Christmas - she is in year 9, and started there in year 6. Pastoral care was NOT high on their agenda, and they seemed to have more focus on their image as a lovely girls school, rather than caring for the girls. We moved our daughter due to bullying, and a lack of care regarding specific issues and safeguarding, and she is much happier now at the local mixed state school. I'm happy to be DM'd, but don't be fooled by the beautiful grounds and facilities.

6th form is a LOT smaller, and a lot of girls leave after GCSEs. All of my daughter's previous friends (no-one has kept in touch, and I have been ghosted by many Mums, as we are not in the 'nice' neighbourhoods close by) are all wanting to leave after year 11. Girls also start their GCSE curriculum in year 9, rather than the usual year 10, so it is not surprising that their GCSE grades aren't bad, seeing as they've been given an extra year of tuition.

Good luck...

Hi, @ConfusedInBucks feel free to DM me on this. I have direct experience of the school and know several ex-students through my daughter and the local community as well - not sure that I want to post anything publicly that could be misconstrued as negative.

Thanks ittakes2

My daughter attends Pipers -we moved her from the grammar school to Pipers. I am not sure about the comment about a new head as the current head has been there for 16 years.
I have mixed feelings if I am honest. I think like any school a child's happiness is dependent on many things. I think my most significant advice is if your daughter goes ideally send her in year 6 as they take a huge amount of girls then and she will find it easier to make friends. Year 7 is not so bad but I would not send in a later year like year 8 onwards etc.
I would also say don't think for a second there is not academic pressure on the girls - if the schools grades are good than how do you think they got these? You can't have it all ways - a lovely nurturing unpressured environment but good grades?
One thing we did not consider when we joined is we assumed our daughter would stay for 6th form - I think Pipers 6th form programme has a lot to offer on many levels but that bubble someone mentioned earlier gets even smaller in 6th form as many girls look for co-ed 6th forms. The only thing is your child is then competing against other kids for these other 6th form places.

Hi all, thought I’d post here to see if I could get a sense (from someone with a daughter at the school) of the likelihood of my daughter getting a place at Pipers (Y7, 2024). We put her name down at Easter Y4 (I’m aware some of their selection comes down to order of registration). I think she will
do okay in the assessments - not top, not bottom. I just have no sense if it’s over-subscribed and if so, by how much. Does anyone know please? Thanks!