Stowe School Buckinghamshire

[Flowertop]

Wondering about this school for my DS year 9. If anyone knows of the school or has attended would appreciate feedback.
thanks

drinkmilk, my godson is at Stowe. He loved the first 3 years but at sixteen finds it really claustrophobic "being stuck in the middle of nowhere and seeing only people connected with the school from Monday to Friday". And the towns he can reasonably access at week-ends are hardly exciting for teenagers. Just a thought.

My DD (6th form)turned it down on the grounds that it is too remote . I think there is a saying that he Lord makes work for idle hands and this is a bit true here as they cannot escape and grow up anywhere. It is better than 10 years ago and not everyone is dim. We also looked at Bradfield for DD 6th form. The admissions office were impossible to deal with. Senior staff say one thing and admissions do something completely different. Boarding facilities quite good but we know several girls who hated it. Too far from anything! Again! Radley?

I think there is a saying that he Lord makes work for idle hands

Actually its 'The devil makes work for idle hands.

But I completely agree with you its in the middle of absolutely nowhere, couldn't imagine living there for 5 yrs.

"I thought that the grounds only were maintained by the National Trust and the house was completely different?"
I also think the house is owned or at the very least maintained by the school. We went to an open day many many moons ago nd thought on closer inspection the house looked very scruffy.
At the open day a teacher gave a pretend lesson to the parents demonstrating their "wonderful IT". It just happened to be my my degree subject and I didn't understand a word of it. A friends DS went there a he complained about the poor quality of the teaching.

Restoration

In the meantime, the landscape gardens were becoming unmanageable. 750 acres of landscaped ground with 40 listed temples and monuments were proving too much for the School, despite inspired enthusiasm from both pupils and masters. In 1989, the world-renowned gardens were handed over to the National Trust with a large endowment and their long term restoration programme began. The vistas were opened up, paths and temples restored, trees planted and maintained and, most important of all, the estate was made accessible to the 100,000 visitors they now receive every year.

Incorporating the wider landscape and deer park, archaeological and architectural discoveries show how the grounds have evolved over the years. As the gardens emerged from their slumber, it was clear that the house now needed much attention. Unable to find an endowment for the National Trust to take it on, the Stowe House Preservation Trust was created in 1997 to raise funds for an ambitious six phase restoration plan. The house and associated auxiliary buildings were handed over to the Trust and are now leased back to Stowe School.

Beginning the restoration in 2000, the Trust has so far completed the first two phases, with phase three currently in progress.

Today, it is the mission of Stowe House Preservation Trust to restore and present Stowe House to the public. We open the state rooms for over 230 days a year to the public, in term time and during holidays. When closed the house is kept busy with school life, weddings, filming and commercial events.

My DS started last week and seems happy. Still early days but children are being kept is very busy and he has little time to speak to us. Would say that the profile of children is becoming more academic. Not extremely so and more in line with other public schools.

No denying that grounds are breath taking for a school. It is set in large grounds but the benefit to this is that the activities on offer are often matched only by the likes of Eton. Now beagling is something I know nothing about and not what I would like to do, but appreciate that it might be fun. As for the remoteness, the children do have school 6 days per week so have little time to venture out. There is a twice weekly bus into Buckingham. I believe that the older children do have access to Milton Keynes and Oxford. If you have any specific questions please post.

My DS started at Stowe in Sep 13. He got 75% at CE & has been placed in the B & C sets. Academic standards have risen hugely at Stowe. The grounds are Narnia like. There is absolutely nothing quite like it anywhere in the UK. The National Trust has spent £22m doing them up, meanwhile big name families have funded an equestrian centre, theatre & music school. Parent money gets spent on teachers, food & school operations. It is the very best solution. Parents seem to be entrepreneurs, business families, old money estates, media, bankers etc. My son gets 2.5 hours sport a day, fantastic teaching and gets to live in the most idyllic place I know of. I wish I was there instead of him.

I heard that the actual boarding houses and most of the teaching blocks where lessons are were unattractive and modern.

The bedrooms they share are small, and they don't actually do much in those grounds you see (apart from on the playing fields). For example at breaktime they go into their boarding houses, and are not hanging about on the fields as in (some) normal, even state, schools.

What the parents see might be different from the pupils' experience.

There are two new girls boarding houses which actually won an architecture award and are modern and exactly what is required. An older girls boarding house, unattractive from the outside but lovely and light and friendly inside and a newish boys boarding house. The rest are in the old Mansion building. If new buildings are required they are obviously new. The developments have all been done to take nothing away from the beautiful mansion house from whichever side you look at it. This is a school that has changed beyond recognition in the last ten years under its excellent and inspirational Headmaster. It is certainly not for "thickies" just because it takes its pupils from a broader range of abilities, which is actually hugely in its favour as these children bring all sorts of other talents to the school. It is probably one of the few schools that really does deal with pupils as individuals. All schools say they do but the majority are all about exam results. It is interesting that all the posts from parents of children at the school are positive and all the negative posts are from people who dont really know anything about it but "have heard from someone". Go and see for yourselves.

It's so beautiful there, we are some of the aforementioned National Trust people that your son would be forced to share with :-)

I know a Stowe alumnus - one of my children's friend's father. My husband and I independently arrived at the conclusion that he is probably the nicest, most charming person we have ever met. After meeting him, I am favorably disposed towards Stowe.

My son is at Stowe and I can tell you the Head is amazing. My two elder sons went to Bradfield and we prefer Stowe. There is lots going on at Stowe for the children. There is a very full programme on offer for parents to get involved, from lectures, tours, concerts and plays. They have just built a new music and has ordered 24 Steinway pianos to compliment it. Any child who goes to tho school will come out a very nice well educated person.

I should add that whilst there are some children from modest backgrounds, many are from backgrounds of extreme wealth. The contrast with Bradfield is amazing, Bradfield represents a more "normal" public school intake.

My DD left last summer, she and her friends are really good company, charming and confident and happy. They can get on with anyone and are well mannered and not arrogant but maybe she has just chosen her friends well. She will say there were one or two very wealthy girls who she had no time for because they considered themselves rather better than everyone else but they were hugely in the minority. A goodly number of them are rather bright but there are also top sportsmen/women, actors, musicians and artists among them. The issue of being in the country was not a problem and my DD was never bored, but then my DD is a country girl and the setting attracted her in the first place when she had to choose between Stowe and a 'townie' school. They certainly do use the grounds in their free time, and in her leavers book among the top memories for many of them were lazy summer days at the waterfalls, BBQ's or swimming in the lakes. Or 'lying in the rotunda gazing at the stars' - sounds blissful to me but then I am also a country girl.

My son joins stowe this September and after a lot of speculation and mixed opinions I'm now convinced that we have made the right choice for him in terms of education ,sports and an overall pastoral care.

Shaleen What's their pastoral care like?

My landlord went to Stowe and he's an absolutely charming person, we live in one of his estate cottages so see him around quite a lot, and he's unfailingly friendly and chatty. I did raise a slight eyebrow when I told him my DS1 was having a few problems at school and he wondered if I'd thought about Stowe

I'm sorry I know this is a cold thread, but my Daughter has been accepted at Stowe for 6th form in September, and having read so many negative comments on here is has me a little worried, I wonder if you could update your experience and perception of Stowe?

Thank You

DD decided not to go there. Wanted to be nearer to London and have outstanding teaching in her subjects.

Stowe felt like a boys school with girls added on (for better exam results). The girls ' boarding houses are great though. Two years in the 6th form would be fine and less claustrophobic than younger years. Lots of pupils are from a London and have a London life away from Stowe. The ones I know are mega rich. Others will have opinions on the teaching but I would check the results in her subjects to make sure the pupils do well. It is not a high flying 6th form but has quite a broad intake. I wouldn't put you off if the subject results are good and she makes friends easily.

DS was there for 3 years. Sadly I would highly recommend you look elsewhere particularly if your child is a boy.

Stowe do a major cull in GCSE year and subsequently almost half of the house have been either expelled or encouraged to leave.
Teaching standards are patchy with some teachers boardering on very below even acceptable. I won’t go into detail here but some of the goings on were frankly appalling. Terrible GCSE results. You’re better off at a local state school in terms of academics. And shockingly bad pastoral care.

RLS was always better than Stowe! Also I know NT staff find condoms in the grounds!

I am coming late to the board here but would thoroughly recommend Stowe. I currently have two children there and am impressed by the overall quality of teaching, pastoral care and opportunities available to the children. They are quick to deal with unacceptable behaviour and make that very clear and equally clear that there is no automatic progression to the sixth form. There is a broad range of pupils and yes, some are exceedingly wealthy, but both my children have a wide circle of lovely friends from all walks of life. The majority of criticisms that I have heard about Stowe relate to the perceived wealth of those going there and the reputation it had many years ago. The headmaster is passionate about the school and the progress made there in the last 10 years is exceptional

I also think that Stowe must be better than its reputation. Albeit my FiL went there and he is not a great advertisement for the schools, the dc who moved there from my dd school recently were all top of the class, either musically or academically.