Bousfield vs Redcliffe

[Sla81]

Hello Ladies! My daughter is 4 and she is going to start school in sept 2014. I need your advice!!!! we just moved to the UK two months ago! I know that it's very difficult to get a place in a good school so I have applied to six private along with local state schools. We got accepted to gems Hampshire and Redcliffe and today I received an email about a place in Bousfield!!! I was going to go private, and I have already decided to go to Redcliffe but now I have a place in Bousfield, which is 2 min away from my house and looks like a great school.
Pls, who has personal experience with any of those schools (Bousfield and Redcliffe) let me know what you think! I need to make my choice! Thank you!!!

hello! you are very lucky! i don't have direct personal experience but have several good friends with kids at Redcliffe. They are super happy there and by all accounts it's a fantastic school. Bousfield I hear is brilliant as well. I think it depends on your daughter. If she is shy and quiet maybe private could be easier for her as the classes are much smaller and state school could be a bit overwhelming. But if she is very outgoing and active then she will probably be really happy at Bousfield as well. If you can afford it, I like private schools because they teach public speaking and things like that really well which may not happen as much in a state school, but overall you can't go wrong with either choice. Not very helpful I know but since you didn't receive any replies yet I thought I share what I've heard.

I used to live in Barkston Gardens and my son didn't get into Bousfield nursery. Maybe Reception would have been different but I think at that point realised it was time to leave.....

Thank you for your comments!
I'm going to make a list of pros and cons of both school! I know I'm VERY lucky! I was so desperate when I have started to apply to everywhere and now I have two amazing schools!
Oh my!

Hello there
First - congratulations! Bousfield is one of those near impossible state schools to get into.

I wanted to add that a lot depends on where you are planning to live in the next several years and what path you'd like your DD to take.

If you are going to be relocating again in the next several years, than 11+ exams that private preps are working towards are not relevant for you and you don't need you DD to be going at a faster speed in the early years, which is what top preps would do.

If you think you are staying in the UK and 11+ is in your DD future, then your choice between Private/State might be different. Which, btw, still might not be in favor of Redcliffe.

As I understand, Bousfield has a good academic reputation among state schools in this area. Redcliff, on the other hand, is a small, and happy, but not a hugely academic school. They don't even publish leaver's destinations by year, so it's hard to compare them with other schools.

If your DD is focused and academically minded (as much as a 4 yo can be...:) ), then if I were you, i'd wait for an occasional place at the more academic schools in the area - Glendower, Falkner, Ken Prep (a bit further, though). Every year there are "no places left" at around this time for entry to Reception, and then people move around and places open up. And you can always move from State to Private.

I guess, my advice would be to take Bousfield now and figure out your priorities/goals for the future and adjust accordingly. It is surprising to me as I am a parent of a DD in a private school in the area...

Wow, you are so lucky to have got a Bousfield place! It's massively oversubscribed, so if you DO turn the place down then you'll be making another family very happy!

Bousfield is very academic and high achieving, but it is always full, so your DD will be in a class of 30. The music and dance is amazing - they have a specialist dance teacher right from reception and the whole school has a chance to learn recorder, ukelele, and cello or violin.

Redcliffe is definitely less academic, but does have those lovely small classes. It doesn't have a massive reputation for getting its children into selective schools at 11, though - if that's what you're looking for. Bousfield, on the other hand, regularly gets children into Latymer, St Paul's Girls', Putney High, CLSB (not to mention 2 recently to the Royal Ballet School) as well as lots to Holland Park and Chelsea Academy.

So it all depends (of course) on your DD and what you feel would suit her best now, and for any future plans or aspirations.

Definitely go for Bousfield it's a no brainer. I really think the class of 30 thing is a misdirect, there are plenty of teaching assistants etc in state primaries, so she'll be doing work in groups of about 5-10 most of the time. I also think bigger classes=more opportunities to find like-minded friends. It's a fantastic school, lucky you.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I have accepted place in Bousfield! I feel so HAPPY!

Hi Sla81 I know you posted a while ago, but I was interested to see how your little on got on at Bousfield. Did you ever regret your choice of state school vs prep school?