Is it really true? - private schools in Surrey are the best in the country?

[arizonagirl]

Hi,

We currently have our children in a private prep school in Surrey. (Don't want to get into a private/state debate - due to husband's work, this is the right choice for us).

But Surrey is so expensive. However, everyone keeps telling us that the private schools in Surrey are the best in the country with the best selection.

I want to hear whether everyone agrees with this or not? And if not, where are the big clusters of excellent private prep schools in the south (1.5 hours commute to London). Did look at Winchester way but it is just as expensive and didn't really like the look of the prep selection; really want to keep them in co-ed.

Even my husband now is brainwashed into believing we would be mad to leave.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Ely is north of Cambridge and much cheaper too. I believe the trains are about 15 mins so kids, when older, could commute to Cambs and OH to London. There is also King's Ely which is co-ed and goes to 18 but you could send them there to the prep and change at 11/13 or keep them there.

Oundle is that good! My son is going to Eton but we thought long and hard about whether to send him there instead and discounted Winchester and Westminster and it's No.1 choice for a girl for us and No.2 for a boy.

Get the good schools guide, find all the co-ed preps, limit them to those commutable to London, then exclude Kent (a couple of very good ones near Cranbrook) and London and you are probably left with a handful. Exclude those that are in expensive housing areas e.g.Cambridge, Oxford then you would probably be left with none or one. Why don't you give them a ring they do a great consultancy service which a few of my friends have used to great results, mainly as their children had specific needs/interests.

Think you are going to have to compromise though. Have you tried Longacre co-ed in Surrey?

Yes Oundle really is that good! As is Kimbolton, Northampton, Oakham & Stamford. How about Bedford? I understand that half the Oxford & Cambridge Uni rowing teams started out at one of the many good Bedford schools - good if you want choice!

yes bedford schools good and housing very reasonable, wrong direction for us but have friends there and would be there like a shot if we could. All the good schools are single sex for prep i think.

Move to South Oxfordshire, send the kids to St.Hugh's, Carswell (co-ed to 13), marvellous school.Then onto one of the single sex day schools in Abingdon (Abingdon school, St Helen's or Our Lady's), or Magdalen College School (day, Boys) or Headington (girls) or St Edward's (co-ed, mostly boarding),in Oxford.
Commute from Didcot to Paddington (50mins).There are lovely villages within 20 mins drive of Didcot, still pretty expensive but I'm sure you'd get more for your money than in Surrey.

Fiddledee-

No longer! Many of the preps have started taking both sexes in the last couple of years.

I went to Oundle, as a day pupil, and would highly recommend it. I loved every minute and achieved far better results than I expected! We live too far away now, but I wouldn't hesitate to send my children there if it was a viable option. If you are local enough to send your children as day pupils, Laxton Junior School is also lovely - I used to help there as my "community service" in sixth form.

Bedford ?? not sure about that

A lot of the hugely 'rated' schools on here do notfeature particularly highly in the school league tables

That's because most people are intelligent enough to realise the league tables are bollocks and there is more to schools than exam results!

Sorry but some of the schools listed here dont even rate on a regional level let alone a national one.

What league tables are you looking at? Most of the gov tables give many inde's a fail in exams because they do the IGCSE. That aside, eventhough I personally don't rate some of the schools mentioned such as Kimbolton you have to look at the university entrances not some fiddled league table. Oundle is considered one of the most academic co-ed schools in the country. If you have a bright child they will do far more for your child than any state school could. I am yet to find a state school that lets some pupils sit 7 A'levels and another pupil scrapes 2 C's. The most selective inde's do not always have the best teaching as the cohort presents no challenges.

I suggest you look at the Tatler and Good School Guides and not some silly league table!

Better still - how about visiting them? For example 'YetAnotherIssue' have you ever visited Kimbolton before judging it as poor? It is not selective true, but surely that means it should rate better because of the results it achieves?

Amazed that people believe in league tables. I know how the top schools get there often (i went to one and saw it) - chuck out those that can't take the pace, is that what you want for your child?

Kimbolton does indeed get decent results with its intake but there is a lot more to a school than that,its fixture list on most sports is poor and to be blunt its achieved very little in 400 years,its list of distinguished old boys is pretty thin gruel,dont know why anyone in the area would consider it first choice.

Kimbolton doesn't even make it into the third tier of schools, more like 5th. There are less selective schools than Kimbolton which achieve far more. It tends to be a school for kids wo can't get in anywhere else or pupils who have been expelled! I'm surprised it's still surviving and yes I went to see it years ago and it seems to have got worse!

I was trying to be polite

fiddlededee a LOT of schools filter at AS level like that

yes i believe league tables - why not? in my experience they are a really good indicator

What does a league table show you? That if a school takes the top 5% such as Westminster that they get the top results. Well that doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out. What about some of the least selective schools that achieve amazing results against the odds. They will never come in the top 50 schools - well a few actually do - but that does not mean they are fabulous schools.

well not necessarily
I have used them to help choose primary and secondary schools
like them or not they have their place - they do indicate results

quite a few good schools on the Sussex/Surrey border.
Copthorne Prep school is good. Age from 2 1/2 in nursery department through to 13 then the majority feed to schools such as Ardingly, Worth and Hurstpierpoint and several others.

Other prep schools in area Fonthill Lodge which is apparently quite good and Redehall in Smallfield which is up to age 11 (much cheaper than most but doesn't have as many facilities)

Posy, the league tables may be good for state schools as they are skewed towards false results so a GNVQ in Hairdressing is equivalent to 5 A*-C GCSE's and yet you get a fail in the league tables if you do IGCSE Maths!

I suppose if I was looking at a state school I'd look at league tables but to judge an inde on their league table result would show a lack of common sense or understanding of the independent school system. The schools that apparently low down on the league table miraculously still send more to Oxbridge than state schools higher up!

Exactly,well said Yetanotherissue.
One of my nephews has just done IGCSEs and will be doing Pre U,not exactly what league tables want but lets just say his parents are hopefull hell get into a decent uni...

Not Winchester by any chance? Very few schools have opted for the Pre-U?

I think there are a couple of others(slough comp?) but youve got it right.

Well if he is a Wykemist he has a bright future! Is Slough Comp a colloquialism for Eton?