Thornton College or Akeley Wood Junior (near Buckingham)

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Hi, I tried posting on primary education but no responses so far, I was wondering if anyone have any experience of either Thornton College or Akeley Wood Junior (near Buckingham)?
Would appreciate any opinions/experience.
Thank you

She will be starting school sept 2013.

Aykeley has a poor reputation among some independent parents. I think this is probably largely underserved, it seems like a perfectly decent school to me. There is apparently some poor behaviour in the senior school but then they're teenagers aren't they! As independent schools go, it's cheap.

Thornton college is a very 'sweet little school', as I've heard it described. I know one teacher there and she enjoys it and says the girls are lovely. It's excellent for non academic, gentle girls who struggle in many school environments. Only goes to 16 if that's a problem.

Personally, if you have younger children, I would look at Swanbourne House, Winchester House and Milton Keynes Prep over Aykeley and Thornton.

HI,
Have you looked at Beachborough? I have moved mine from Akeley to 3 separate schools after bad experiences with each child. It's a case of looking for the best school for your child and what suits one won't necessarily suit another. Also seriously consider the long term goal of private education. I know this is late to your post but for sept 2013 you still have time!
Best of luck I know the pressure of getting it right for our little loves!

I would recommend MK Prep too.

I hear Akeley has brilliant support for dyslexic children. No experience with Thornton

Don't know much about Thornton but we considered Akeley for secondary and have been to the junior school for sports fixtures. It has a friendly atmosphere and I haven't heard any bad reports, we always seemed to lose the fixtures so I think they are quite sporty!
A long time away but most of the more academic types leave for the Royal Latin grammar school at secondary age. They seem quite a 'normal' set of families and kids, very welcoming for tours and open days which is a good sign, Winchester House is very much more upper crust. Again based on sports fixtures I always found Beachborough very friendly with nice well behaved kids if you're near there.
One thing that did worry me about Akeley is that they are owned by Cognita but whether that's an issue or gives them a better financial footing I don't know.
If you're close to MK there is the Prep and the Grove, also the Webber school (was Bury Lawn), it used to have a bad reputation a few years back but not sure about it now.

We had v poor experience of Akeley - one of our children was badly bullied and have heard of plenty more serious incidents. They do have dyslexia specialism but at the junior school the more experienced teachers seemed to be being replaced by newly qualified teachers so this specialism was in danger of being lost.
The difficulty with it being Cognita owned is that if you do have issues the school is not resolving and you have asked Cognita head office to help, there is nowhere else to turn, they are not part of any of the usual Independent Schools Associations like ISA or Headteachers Association, don't have Governors etc. Apart from 3 year Ofsted inspection, it means they are largely unregulated...

I am so sorry to read that Akeley Wood School has not met your expectations. We like it very much and can't think of a better place for our DD. She has been bullied at school since she was in year 2. In her time at Akeley Wood Senior School she has thrived and flourished. We have found the pastoral care and the education to be outstanding.

DD has mentioned that a couple of the boys in her year can be a little disruptive, but having also spent some time in a state high school, she says that this in no way compares with the disruptive behaviour she encountered there.

Everyone is looking for something different in their choice of school. Choice of school should reflect the needs and aspirations of your children and family. I couldn't recommend Akeley Wood School highly enough, but it may not be for everyone.

I would avoid Akeley Wood Junior School. We had to take our child out as the behaviour problems there are not managed at all. Despite numerous meetings the school failed to do anything about it, these include physical attacks on my 8 year old. There is a huge turnover of staff throughout the 3 sites and the replacement are often NQTs. My child's work fell behind because of this disruptive behaviour, thankfully now they are back to where they should be.

Have just stumbled across this conversation and thought that anyone else reading at a later date may be interested to know how great we have found Thornton College.
My DD passed her 11+ very well, but we decided against sending her to Grammar school as we had discovered Thornton College during our search for a 'back up plan' should she have failed. We have not been disappointed! The school caters superbly for girls of all abilities and we are thrilled with the way our DD has been stretched and challenged. She is now in Year 10 and we cannot fault the school. Do not go just by league tables. The school is non selective but the girls achieve outstandingly well against their potential. Our DD is doing just as well academically as she would have done at Grammar school. Thornton is a warm, caring environment and we have been so impressed by the way our DD has grown in confidence and independence and there are no flies on her! It is a convent, but this is not forced upon the children. The religious side encourages the loving ethos, but it is in no way imposed upon anyone. There is a real diversity of faith (or none) throughout the school. We have been so happy, that we have pulled our youngest out of her primary school and put her into Thornton now too.....and so the success story continues!

My son started at Akeley Wood Junior School a little while ago and within weeks we noticed a huge difference to his overall character, from the quiet little boy who started there we saw him develop into a confident and engaged child. He looks forward to school and has made lots of friends across the year groups easily and now is progressing very well academically. As a parent of the school I have only ever heard of the minor expect fall outs in the playground at this age, as opposed to 'bullying'. But everyone's interpretation is different. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Akeley Wood School and we are looking forward to our son staying there throughout his school education.

My children are currently at Akeley Wood Senior having had excellent experiences at both the two lower schools (Wicken & Tile House Mansion). The Senior School has been another matter though when it comes to exam support and results to the extent that we may not put them back in this autumn.

While they are trying to spin good A-Level results the table actually is showing at 19% decrease in A*-B pass rates since 2014.

AS results, especially in maths was absolutely atrocious with unbelievable levels of students receiving U or E grades (e.g. failures). Not surprisingly they didn't even mention results for these exams. Many students are looking at retakes and even leaving the school to repeat L6 elsewhere. With a son about to start GCSEs I'm eagerly awaiting how the school has performed at this level.

So if you are needing a school to take them beyond Yr 8 you may wish to reconsider.

We had a very poor experience at Akeley Junior and moved swiftly onto Thornton with our daughter. There are just too few girls at the school and girls seem to struggle to settle with such a limited set of potential friends. This is reflected in the high turnover of girls in the junior school. The school is set up around boys / the majority. The particular disappointment was the disorganised start they give kids. Poor/no buddying system, poor guidance to parents about the extra clubs that girls do. It just doesn't deliver on the promises of the open day. The buses to get to school lack proper supervision that can be intimidating for younger children as the bigger kids can be badly behaved. I would recommend Thornton College with an exciting new head teacher or Swanbourne House if you are looking for co-ed.

Akeley Wood has been I am sorry to say a complete and utter waste of time and money.
My son joined at junior school at wicken house and enjoyed it, moved to tile house and the children were like poor relations and then moved to senior school where he has just sat his GCSEs.
We have had numerous issues including pe kit and trainers stolen and upon having reported this nothing was done an we were constantly being moaned at to ensure we purchased replacement kit - which was brand new for the start of the academic year to begin with!
My son is a clever child that needs pushing and despite numerous meetings and discussions at parents evenings and promises to help him reach his full potential nothing - it is all lip service!!!
There is a constant change in teaching staff and I would say a lack of interest in those children that are not top sets as they are only interested in their results.
There is very poor organisational standards and everything is very last minute - they must think all mums stay at home and don't work.
We have had to pay for additional tuition to help through exams as the curriculum was not completed prior to exams and study leave basically men's you are on your own as the teachers have no plans for lessons and you can sit in a room by yourself if need be but you are still expected to pay for that pleasure!!!
I will not be sending my son back for sixth room as our is approx a year group of 77 only around 25 are staying - which tells you something

Hi ladies, do you mind me asking where you ended up sending your dcs after pulling them from Akeley? Have a child in year 7 currently and need advice?

Hi Arwen76 I have child in senior school at AW at moment and very concerned by what seems to be going on there at the moment.

Thankyou for replying, yes unfortunately it does seem there is a lot of unrest up there atm 😳

What’s your main concerns?

Out of interest (and as we are considering AW), can you say anything about the unrest?

oh where to start.

Georgina Masefield - gone in two terms
Temp from Cognita
New Head starts at half term
loads of teachers leaving
some overnight with no announcements
Lots of rumours

New head is great though, I am happy that he will hopefully turn things around at Akeley as has been rocky for last 2 terms. I have had 3 children through there and very happy with the ethos of the school. The head of Thornton has just 'left' too btw.

I have had to withdraw my daughter from Thornton due to bullying. Please be aware that a number of children have had similar issues. Lack of concern and care was evident. The bullying took place in the playground and after school clubs.

I find it odd that anyone would choose these schools over and above the very decent state primary schools that exist in this area and where many DC then go on to The Royal Latin School. If you cannot afford Winchester House at Brackley, go to a Bucks Primary. Most are excellent schools.