Tiffin Girls vs indies

Not universally true. One of mine went to grammar and the teaching was excellent in some areas and unbelievably bad in others. I have friends using private and they have had similar experiences - only difference being they can complain about bad teaching and hope for improvement. In state that’s difficult, so you work around it by tutoring.

The main difference is that in private teacher- student ratio is better so you can expect ‘better’ attention, support, homework feedback and targeted help with tests etc. Plus the peer group competitiveness can help.

The regular state we use now is very academically focussed - I’m seeing no difference as compared to grammar. If anything I’m finding it better as tgewell focus on stretching the high ability kids. They have provided laptops to all the kids and everything from class work to homework and deadlines is beautifully streamlined on Teams. No phones during school and no smartphones at all. The peer group is wide ranging in ability so as long as you have few like minded ambitious peers it’s not dissimilar to grammar / private.

In these kind of discussions I find that the specific schools being compared makes a big difference. Generalising is confusing as not all schools of one ‘type’ are the same.

OP - I’m sure most of TGS teaching will be of a very high standard. However there are other academic benefits to private that you may want to weigh up. Anyway no harm in trying for a place and see where you are at year9 before you decide.

So far my daughter has enjoyed the teaching at TGS. She used to be at a very nurturing prep school which she had firmly outgrown by the time she was done with primary. She enjoys being taken more seriously and meeting high expectations... she was done with the "softly softly" approach of some of her primary teachers.

The school uses Chromebook but are very proactive and mindful about use of tech. Y7 kids have no use of devices in class at all. They have policies around use of AI from Y8, they have apps to monitor activities on devices (monitoring by teachers and parents possible), no phones switched on when on campus at all etc. I was impressed at how thoughtful they seem re: tech.

I haven't been able to tote this up yet, will do over time... the girls never seem to discuss which primaries they went to. I literally just started a new job the week my daughter started at TGS so haven't been able to interact w parents much except for one parents quiz night and an evening of music for Y7 girls.

Yes I have noticed even during school visits at top private schools there were kids who would have joined in Y9, it is a natural transition point for many kids.

The point you made re: utilisation of seemingly vast resources/options is a very valid one. That was one of the factors that guided our decision making too wrt school choices. My daughter is super academic and would not only avoid teamsports to the extent possible, she would resent compulsory fixtures eating up half her weekends. Her interests outside of studies mostly lie in music and exploring geeky topics (latest interests debating, economics, investing). TGS excels in fostering a culture where such interests are naturally catered for. Also there are only so many hours in the day on top of schoolwork and daily commute.

Surely the teaching is better in private schools, isn't it?

@meuntilmarch2025 @SaltNVinegarRyvita

@meuntilmarch2025what you say is quite true. Being at a private school and not taking advantage of its offerings can be a waste of money to an extent. For this reason we moved from a very good independent to state(non-grammar). My DD was increasingly focussed on academics but interested only in few other things and not in competitive sport. Didn’t feel worth paying fees AND making her feel like she wasn’t fitting in / winning.

Not a big surprise to me though. As I checked earlier on WhatDoTheyKnow, in 2025 there were 27 Year 7 girls from 18 private primary schools, up from 16 girls from 10 private schools in 2024. Source: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/request_for_statistics_for_tiffi#incoming-3216022

Can you add up the numbers to estimate what the total is for 2026 intake?

Out of curiosity, what makes you think about thinking of a move to grammar at this stage? If you don't mind sharing - thank you!

Also a big surprise has been the number of girls coming from prep background (5 from LEH Junior, 6 from Holy Cross, a few from PHS, WHS, Bute House, The Roche etc) and other girls who turned down SPGS/PHS/GHS/WHS/LEH etc - these are kids from families who were able and willing to go private...I didn't think there would be quite so many.

Hello, we are only a half term into our time at TGS so please take these as initial impressions rather than a final verdict, we have been watching and evaluating with curiosity as well. Initial impressions - very bright and hard-working bunch of girls, obviously. Very eager to please and shine but no sharp elbows obvious so far. My daughter is a bit on the quieter side, a bit of an oddball socially, and I initially worried that she needed the scaffolding of 'extra pastoral care' that indies seem to project but she is thoroughly happy and thriving so far. The transition to secondary has been marked by things we might have faced in any case whether grammar or indie - much larger intake, navigating the much wider variety of teachers and facilities, new rules/norms to get used to etc - one thing which might be tougher to get used vs indies is that rules/policies are quite strict (e.g. behaviour points for being late to school, parents cannot write in with excuses) - may not suit everyone but it suits my daughter who does not like exceptions being made to the rules. It seems a good fit for my daughter but I can see the point that it is not for all kids...hope that helps!

I really appreciate your candid response, and it's great to hear your DD is settling in well. The senior school transition is always a hurdle, and I guess you're bound to feel like a small fish in a big pond whether you choose Tiffin or a top indie. We are in a similar position, and grammar schools aren't even on the radar for most parents at my DD's lovely prep school, but I guess a lot of them are affluent enough not to care about the worth of the value added.

@meuntilmarch2025
As a parent who chose an indie over Tiffin, how have you found it so far? How do you feel about your decision now?

@ssj123
As a parent who chose Tiffin over indies, how have you found it so far? How do you feel about your decision now?

Love to hear from other parents who've been in the same boat.

Very helpful thread. My daughter has the following offers and we need to have a firm view by end of week of what we would do if a TGS offer comes through

SPGS
WHS
GHS (10% scholarship)
LEH (10% scholarship)
PHS (20% scholarship)
SHS (20% scholarship)

Based on what I read from current parents on this thread, it feels like a number of them would recommend TGS over the above choices? Of course there is the £££ factor involved as a clear trade-off

@SometimesYouWinSometimesYouLearn I wouldn't worry about that post from @HelpfulPoster. It was clearly AI-generated.

Come on, in every schools are instances of bullying. You are very naive thinking that at TSG it is not happening. 🤨🫢

I quite understand that you may have already dispatched your DD to another institution; nevertheless, I venture to believe that my observations may yet prove of service to prospective parents who find themselves in a similar position.

My DD, together with her DF, is presently enrolled at TGS, and I must confess that I take offence at the description of that venerable establishment as “run down” and “cramped.” On the contrary, I hold it to be a most admirable school, one that has bestowed upon my DD and DF both happiness and a most excellent education.

In response to the other remarks made, I must aver that the quality of instruction at TGS is of a very high standard, and the teachers are attentive and supportive, particularly towards pupils who demonstrate the initiative to seek assistance when it is required. Neither my DD nor I have had occasion to experience private or non-state education, yet DD has never perceived any deficiency in the quality of her instruction.

Moreover, I must commend the pastoral care extended to every pupil, which I have found to be exemplary. There exists within TGS a fine and genuine sense of community; my DD has never encountered, nor indeed witnessed, any instance of bullying.

In all, I should consider TGS a most worthy and honourable institution, deserving of far greater esteem than your earlier remarks might suggest.

This is where girls come from, according to locrating

Tiffin will give an excellent academic education. A good number come from private preps and many from a big range of state schools too. The girls are driven and focused and often have quite a lot of pressure from home ….but of course most are kind and strong friendships made.

The school is a bit shabby and resources are stretched. There’s no doubt about that. You won’t get the shiny facilities but you’ll get lots of extra curricular with many fine to a high standard. There is sport but if you want top level you’d be doing that out of school already. Music etc is strong and valued.

In the end you have to consider if the benefits of private over Tiffin are worth £25k and increasing, for 5 or 7 years. I’d say the private experience is more customer (parent) focused and the facilities shinier. But is that worth well over £100k - depends on how well off you are. You’d also be hard pressed to find such an able cohort than Tiffin. Most independent schools will have much more of a ‘tail’ in ability than Tiffin. Yes, some have students who passed Tiffin or could have, but lots of their students haven’t or wouldn’t have if they tried.

Personally, if I had a really top private offer for a nearby top school and money was no object with zero sacrifice involved, I’d go for the private option….but only if top 20 ranking and nearby. Otherwise I’d choose Tiffin. But people make different choices and everyone’s situation is different including exactly which private offers they hold and location. Location is important. Long commutes are horrible for adults and even worse for kids and best avoided if possible.

Congratulations! I can't give you the information that you seek but I will offer a few opinions:

Is the teaching actually good, or is it just the girls pushing themselves forward?

The cohorts of girls at TGS or at the privates you mentioned in your OP all push themselves forward. Groups that have already demonstrated they can achieve so highly can make even average teachers look good.

Are the girls gentle and kind, or rather on the competitive side?

I doubt that there is a structural difference between the girls at TGS or at the privates you mentioned. I'd guess the year to year variation within each school is as large or larger than the variation between schools.

Are they many girls coming from prep schools, or mostly state?

Here I can offer something a little more solid. In the most recent data available, compare-school-performance shows that, out of 180 girls, TGS had 151 KS2 high achievers, 1 KS2 middle achiever, and 0 KS2 low achievers. From this, I'd guess that 152 out of those 180 girls came from state schools.

Sorry I can't be of more help but I wanted an excuse to wish you good luck over the next 18 hours.

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