Brighton College or the Stephen Perse Foundation

[judsey]

My DD has been offered places for Year 4 at Brighton College and The Stephen Perse Foundation.
We cannot decide which school to choose. It will involve moving to Brighton or Cambridge.
DH likes that Stephen Perse Foundation Gets more Oxbridge offers. (He went to a Ivy League school in USA so he isn't familiar with the system here so he looks at end result).
i would welcome your opinions and experience of these schools and balancing that with raising a family in these towns.
Please help, we need to accept or decline the offers very soon.

I forgot to add that we chose these schools because they are coed or at least in the case of SPF, DD year group is the first to have an intake of boys.

Surely if you're all going to be living there it will be the place you as a family would most like to live?

No experience of either but have being in this situation myself. For me I chose the school with the best pastoral system because if they are surrounded by good support the results will follow. And if your moving think about the area which is most affordable? Which area do you prefer the best? Which area is best for bringing s family up?

I have no experience of living in Brighton, but I have lived in Cambridge and two family members currently work there. I do not think Cambridge is a particularly family friendy place, the university is the basis of the city and everything revolves around it and tourists! Housing in Cambridge itself is either converted for the students or extremely expensive compared to surrounding areas, so most workers live outside of Cambridge and commute in. Are you going to be working in Brighton/ Cambridge or are you looking at a London commute? If the later you need to be trying out the journey, and looking at how close to the stations you are likely to be able to live.
The other question I would have since you are wanting coed, is how many boys are SPF expecting in their first year, as it often takes several years to become truly co-ed. There are several other good established private schools in Cambridge that are popular with the boys, so I would be surprised if SPF gets large numbers initially.

Hi, my DD is at Brighton College Prep School and so I have some experience of both the school, and living in/near Brighton.
Living here is absolutely wonderful. The sea lifts your spirits every single day. Reasonable shops (missing a high end department store though) Beautiful houses can be found, a bit cheaper than London, but not cheap cheap.
The school itself has some fabulous results. 29 Oxbridge last year and usually in the top twenty lists. It has recently upped its CE requirements to 55% in English and Maths, and an average of 60% for the rest. They take CE in Y8 for entry into the senior school in Y9. It has a wonderful in-house dance school if your girl's a dancer, and their annual show at The Dome in Brighton is breathtakingly good.
I moved from London to start a family here and I have never looked back.
London is about an hour on the train, but I rarely go. My DD is extremely happy and thriving academically. Her work is well beyond me, and I can no longer help her with her maths homework (quadratic equations at eleven!) Anything in particular you need to ask?

Hi my son was at Brighton and it is not a hot house. Teaching is excellent and staff caring and supportive. My son never felt pressured. They get fantastic results because they know how to teach. Clinics available and teachers always there to help when needed. My son for example was very weak at maths and was in one of the lower sets. Without any tuition or fuss he managed A*. Cannot fault the school. Fantastic facilities and masses on offer. Music, dance, sport.... He was happy from the first day. Great atmosphere. He thoroughly enjoyed school. Got great grades and now at a very good uni of his choice - what more can you ask?

Sorry just to add I never heard of anyone leaving for academic reasons. Heard of one for financial reasons though... School also has a good dyslexic centre too.

Stephen Perse Foundation is the successor to Perse Girls. I think it still has a majority of girls in the school. The Perse was the boys' school and is now co-educational though the majority of students are boys.
I think Cambridge is a fabulous place to live especially if you are interested in music, science, literature, art, museums and the intellectual life.

wow, this post is just what I am looking for. So hi judsey, which school did you choose? how was that?

We went to Cambridge (one child at SPF and other at Perse) and paid to keep places open at Brighton. We decided to leave Cambridge for Brighton college.

It’s night and day.

Brighton is much better for children. The vibe at school and amongst school parents is more relaxed and the school does everything it can to bring your child up to speed. In Cambridge, the teachers deliver the curriculum and the child is on their own. (Schools here say it’s to teach the child to be independent).

Parents are tiger and you can feel the unnecessary competition/comparison. We moved from Singapore/Hong Kong.

@judsey really interested to read your comments as we are about to submit yr 3 entry applications (we’ve been to open days etc). Really surprised that you find Brighton more relaxed and that parents in Cambridge are tiger. How have you found living in Brighton vs Cambridge? We would also need to move to either. Thanks for your advice