Being a mum that has had children at both schools I am more than happy to contribute to the thread. GHS junior school has changed dramatically over the last 4 or 5 years and has changed its admission policy to be mainly IQ based; this came directly from the previous head whom I got on very well with. We genuinely believed that GHS was the best of the best. Our intention was always GHS for the junior school and elsewhere for the senior; we made this known to the school in the early years.
If your daughter is top 1% and will be able to breeze through school academically and is extremely strong emotionally then GHS could be the school for your child. Every school is competitive however in the GHS environment this can be amplified due to the schools expectations. There were serious failings with a particular member of staff which wasn’t addressed quickly enough and this cemented our decision to move prior to the senior school.
Something else that I should mention, no matter what you hear, GHS is not a pass through school, and your daughter will not automatically be accepted into the senior school. This is a common misconception and the school really should publicly address it.
When we moved our eldest to St Catherine’s, there was an incredible change in both her and her results; I have to admit to feeling a huge amount of guilt, we genuinely didn’t know what was out there. As mentioned previously we believed GHS was a normal school environment, we were completely wrong and only when you step outside do you see the differences. I now have two girls at St Catherine’s one in the senior school and one in the prep, the atmosphere is completely different and we definitely made the right choice.
Some parents travel a great distance so their girls can go to St Cats and as the senior school has the option of boarding there is a real international family atmosphere. Although our eldest doesn’t board she is constantly asking if she can, this in itself says an incredible amount about the school.
A few other things that stand out for us:-. Bag drop the day before your daughter goes back after the holidays so no need to struggle with all of her kit on the day. The bag drop day is also a great way for your daughter entering PP1 to get familiar with her surroundings, find out where her peg is, and meet the teacher creating a very relaxed first day of school. How many school heads would go out and buy everyone in that year a copy of the paper when they are featured in it? Not having to queue for 15 minutes along London road trying to turn into GHS at pickup! There are 3 car parks surrounding St Cats and nothing around GHS, which is something I certainly do not miss. GHS’s bus shelter system made a dramatic improvement however fails completely when the girls are not outside on time.
For those worried about the school run between St Catherine’s and Lansborough for example, cutting across Chinthurst Lane then Warricks Bench means the journey is about 15 minutes, you miss the traffic on the 281 and Guildford town centre.
I think the problem we and a lot of parents had / have, especially if its your eldest, is seeing things for what they actually are. My personal opinion, if you are looking at a very similar education to GHS, with superior facilities and grounds with exceptional pastoral care then the obvious choice is St Cats.