Trinity School , Croydon

[Jean99]

Hi ! Can anyone tell me about this school? My DS has been offered a place there in year 7. My DS loves the school. We were eligible for a bursary assistance but sadly we didn't get it so we have to think very carefully about all the costs involved .

-Are there any other costs apart from the school fees?
-How much is the charges for school lunches ? As it's not included in the school fees.
-Any school trips cost
-Any costs for books
-music lesson fees

Thank you in advance!

Congratulations. My Ds is in Y8, having started in the Junior Form and loves it.

There are few compulsory extra costs.

School lunches are available on a cafeteria basis, with payment via a pre-paid card, so boys can buy what they want each day. Prices will therefore vary depending on what your DS wants to eat. I think you can get main meal deals for about £2.50, with sandwiches and other hot snacks for less. If you prefer, you can provide a packed lunch which many of the boys have.

So far, we have not been asked to pay for day trips, unless it is to pay for lunch or something, but again packed lunches are usually an option. There are loads of trips available every year ranging from theatre visits, to skiing trips etc. some of which cost a lot. So far, all have been optional, and my DS has not been on any apart from an annual trip he goes on with the Choristers. We have not yet got to the stage in his education when the 'academic trips' are residential, so don't know for example what happens for a geography field trip. Here is a link to the letter outlining all this years trips for information trinity.parentcast.co.uk/ParentCast/modules/common/php/load_file.php?id=327 As you can see there are often very limited places available, so it stands to reason that most boys will not go on any individual trip.

We have not been asked to pay for any books (text or exercise).

Music lessons: From Sept. 2014 the termly fee for 10 instrumental lessons will be £220 and the termly hire charge for school instruments will be £40.

You may want to factor in travel costs, depending on how your DS will get to school.

It might be worth going over to Mumsnet Local Croydon to see if any local bods can help.

By the way - there are massive Trinity/Whitgift threads each year supporting through the application process. Have you looked at any of those? Part 1 and part 2 of this years' thread here.

Hi Seeline!
Thank you very much for your comment. It is very helpful! I will have a look on the threads. I have tried to find the timetable for after school clubs /activities on the school website but I can't find one there.

My DS loves sports and would like to take part in clubs . Just wonder if they do during lunch time as well. As he needs to travel around an hour home.

How much homework do the boys have each week?

I'm going to go to uniform sale in June. Do you have any tips concerning uniform? It seems to be quite a lot of it.

Thank you :)

Hi ! Walkingtheplank

Thank you very much for your comment . It's really helpful! :)

If you look here then pages 19-22 of the term diary give details of the times of many of the co-curricular activities. This will change from term to term mainly for sports, but it will give a flavour.

there are hundreds of clubs. the school diary only gives a selection of them. the HM always says if the boys want a club and it doesn't exist, they'll do their best to provide it. that certainly happened 2 years ago with a landscape architecture (!) club.
Many activities do take place at lunchtime, but there isn't a huge amount of time, so most, especially sport, are usually after school.
there are loads of different sport activities. If your DS is any good, he will find that there are plenty of teams to join (the first year have D/E sides in rugby!) There are also lots of things he can do for fun - badminton, squash etc. An hours travel is not unusual.
Homework in Y1 is usually 3 -4 subjects each night, about 30 mins each. A lot is for the next day, but not all.
He will need all the uniform listed. However, only logoed stuff and swim trunks need to come from Hewitts. Shirts, trousers and jumpers can come from anywhere. the only item that some don't have is the tracksuit, but if your DS is sporty he will need that - they often travel to sports fixtures wearing them, although always come home in uniform. Second hand shop is great for 'spares' - ties, rugby socks etc often seem to disappear at critical moments

Hi Ladymuck
I found it . Thank you ! :)

Hi Seeline
Thank you for the tips!
My DS will love it as he plays a variety of sports .
Does it mean they usually spend an 1.30-2 hours to finish their homework each night?

:)

I suspect much of the homework could be done in less time in the first form. My DS is a bit of a pain and spends ages sorting pens, or deciding which font to use rather than getting on with it, so yes, usually about 1.5-2hrs. Not all subjects set homework every time it is timetabled though. And the fact that some subjects have longer completion times, means that there is scope for shuffling most evenings.