Coed Day school recommendations - anywhere in the UK

[choppings]

We're potentially moving to the UK and thus have the opportunity to move anywhere. I'm keen on an independent day school, (is it possible to be day and not day+boarding), with a good name / ethos / academic record etc

I'm doing my research but just wondered if anyone has any 'on the ground' recommendations?

Thank you for your help!

[duderanch]

I'd say Brighton college too - Brighton is a fantastic place to live, it's often called London by the sea. Brighton College is among the top co-ed schools, is day or boarding but is still easier to get into then the inner London co-eds (Latymer for example).

[DustingOffTheDynastySuit]

Sevenoaks sprang to mind as well.

St Edwards' Southampton.

Or somewhere where there are his'n'hers single sex, like Haberdashers Aske's or Monmouth, Cheltenham College/Ladies College.

[Hoppinggreen]

zero we have plenty of barn conversions up here too so they should be ok!!!!!

[AuntieStella]

'Scottish schools do highers'

Not necessarily, in the independent sector.

[ChalkyC]

What about Alleyns in Dulwich?

[happygardening]

If one of your DC's is 12 you have missed the registration/pre test/provisional offer of a place that takes place in yr 6 for many prestigious academic schools particularly the big name boys schools you mentioned.
I agree I'd look at the Oxford area quite a few different schools in Oxford itself and in the surrounding countryside.
Magdalen is single sex till yr 11 with a coed 6th form.

[choppings]

Ha! Internet - yes, zillionaire - no.

In an ideal wold the ratio of 50:50 day:boarding or full day schools seems optimal in our eyes. I boarded and loathed it (rightly or wrongly) and am seeking to keep our brood close and at home. We've lived abroad in places such as Finland and Luxembourg where family households are valued more than all the extra-curricular opportunities that are presented at boarding schools.

Equally, one of the reasons to move home to the UK is to have a bit more 'life' so proximity to a town would be preferable.

Thank you - I'll look at Sevenoaks and Brighton College now. Your considerations are all appreciated.

[YesILikeItToo]

I wouldn't move to Scotland just at the moment if I didn't live here. That said, In Edinburgh, there is a large choice of independent coed schools and a pair of twinned schools that a very closely twinned indeed. I think only one teaches A levels as a matter of course, but I could be wrong.

[Doublethecuddles]

St Leonards School in St Andrews

[Drinkstoomuchcoffee]

Eastbourne College - 50/50 day and boarding. Broadishb ability intake. Does well by all students.

[happygardening]

IMO the ratio of 50:50 boarding/day is the worst possible ratio as no one group are properly catered for (my DS full boards at Winchester). If you want a day school go for a day school, e.g. Magdalen/Alleyns if you want boarding without your children actually physically sleeping the night in the place but doing everything on offer and finishing school at 9pm go for a boarding school with a small number of day children e.g kings Canterbury.
If I was moving here from abroad I'd think as much about my location as the school, do you want global city/town/city/rural/back of the beyond? Are good transport links etc important to you? Do you or your family have hobbies and interests which you'd like to pursue: sailing, opera, theatre etc? Do you want multicultural and diverse, the rich living alongside the less wealthy or parochial and safe? There are good schools all round the country, ultimately you've got to be happy where you live as well as happy with the school, our children are only at school for a short period of our lives and day to day living is not all about schools.
I personally wouldn't live in a London for all the money in the world DS2 got a place at one of the most prestigious London boys schools but we turned it down because London life is not for me I would have been thoroughly miserable (I'm an ex Londoner). I personally don't like Brighton (it's not really London by the sea any more than Birmingham is London in the Midlands or Cardiff is London in Wales, London in completely unique it's a global city) but plenty love it, I know Sevenoaks very well and I wouldn't live there either. On the other hand plenty wouldn't be happy in my rural village. I think you need to look at the bigger picture.

[Reluctantlandlord]

choppings, my children have attended 2 fantastic 3-18 co-ed day schools. Neither with boarding. They started at George Watson in Edinburgh. Then we moved to Cheshire and they attended Cheadle Hulme School. We are now in Berkshire and they are at a prep which is ok but not a patch on either of their previous 2 schools which were both fantastic. Have a look at their inspections on the independent inspectorate website. Fabulous!
GW were mildly selective at 4yrs and I think they are again for secondary but we didn't get that far. I don't know if Chs select at 4 as mine entered later and were assessed but they are selective at 11. Only one of mine got that far. The prep they are currently at is good but just not the same feel as either GW or CHS. Both Edinburgh and Cheshire were great places to live ; close to the city, easy access to airport and motorways, great parks and Edinburgh had the coast.

Also, our prep fees here in Berkshire are almost double what we paid in Edinburgh or Cheshire for nothing like the same quality. I'd go back to either school but sadly both our jobs are here now.

[friendface]

There are loads of fab schools in and around York - Bootham and St Peter's (coed 4-18), Minster School (coed prep but feeds into Peter's and Bootham mostly), The Mount (4-18 girls) and Queen Margaret's (13-18 I think girls). All the schools are very different but all very popular.

[Aberchips]

If you can bear to base yourself oop North there are some lovely places to live & suspect that the school fees would as a previous poster has said, go much further!

Most of the major cities have great co-ed day schools - Leeds Grammar, Bradford Grammar, Queen Ethelburga's (although looks like a fantastic place - quite like a holiday camp compared to the boarding school I attended! have always got the impression that they weren't great academically) further out you've got Sedbergh (more outdoorsy I suspect), Giggleswick - both a bit more isolated but not too much of a problem if you want boarding. The Mount for girls & Bootham for boys in York both had good reputations when I was at school & York is a lovely place to live.

[ZeroFunDame]

How old are you OP? Even if you're in your thirties boarding school (in the UK at least) will have changed a lot since your day. It's not inimical to day to day family life or spending vast tracts of time with your offspring. I prefer full boarding but lots of people find weekly boarding really suits their life.

The biggest problem, as indicated above, is that you're out of sync with application timetables for the older two and running out of time for the ten year old (at the more selective places). Is your move imminent or will you wait til the youngest chid reaches a natural cut off point - 11 or 13? Or are you looking or an all-through (to 18) school with four spare places?

[Lilymaid]

Cambridge: Perse or Stephen Perse Foundation. Leys is mixed day/day boarding/boarding and not quite as academic as the two Perse schools.

[Pepperpot69]

AuntieStella actually even in the Independent sector the Scottish & English system differ. Some schools in Scotland (mostly boarding) follow the English system and the majority of the independent day schools follow the Scottish Highers system. Many people feel that Highers are more academically valued than the English system and the independent day schools in Scotland are all very popular with a good mix of single sex and co-ed across Glasgow & Edinburgh. Of course the cultural opportunities in Scotland just enhance the choices. IB is also popular. OP would do well to consider Scotland - great transport links, great mix of schools for all the ages of her children and great cultural and countryside experience.

[motherstongue]

If you do consider Scotland (and in particular Edinburgh) I would look at Cargilfield Prep School for the younger DC as it is a fantastic prep school and would give you the flexibility of your children being prepared for common entrance to any of the excellent or prestigious schools throughout the UK but if you wanted them to remain in Edinburgh for Secondary then there is still a reasonable choice. The predominantly day schools in Edinburgh all follow the Curriculum for Excellence followed by Scottish Highers (apart from St. George's Girls School which offers both A Levels and Scottish Highers) the predominantly boarding schools (Merchiston Castle (boys) and Fettes (co-ed) ) follow the GCSE curriculum and follow on with A Levels. The Edinburgh schools are good but I wouldn't put them in the same league though as Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, Wycombe Abbey or Oundle.

[Reluctantlandlord]

Motherstongue, Cargilfield is a prep that makes no bones about prepping for prestigious boarding schools across the country. In fact, iirc, children in y7&8 boarded, do they not? We discounted it without visiting for that very reason.
The op wants a day school. If you had said that the Edinburgh schools don't compete exam wise with schools like St Pauls, NLCS or Withington then fine (although I think she wants co- ed) but to say they don't compare to Eton, Rugby or Harrow is comparing apples with pears.

[ZeroFunDame]

We've lived abroad in places such as Finland and Luxembourg where family households are valued more than all the extra-curricular opportunities that are presented at boarding schools.

This keeps running around my mind. Perhaps because I heard Toni Morrison saying yesterday on the radio that she never heard adults telling children to "go outside and play" nowadays. We're all too afraid.

I was one of those children who could (60s/70s UK) go out and play. But it was never going to happen for this generation of my family - not without their own acres to play in. A family life that involves extra-curricular activities nowadays seems to take place mostly in the car.

If we lived in a country where children could grow up with a greater sense of space and freedom there's no doubt that I would choose that.

[cressetmama]

If you like the idea of Devon, then Exeter School is worth considering. Only day students, and co-ed from 3-18. Selective academically, and it has an excellent record at GCSE and A level. DS attended briefly and it was good, but too far to travel from out of county, especially in view of the after-school commitments for his chosen subjects, plus CCF.

[sugarfoot]

A vote for Highgate School. Day only, 3-18, large grounds, Hampstead Heath next door and no need to cart children around by car - they take themselves by public transport once they are 11 or so.

[grovel]

Kingswood School in Bath. Lovely city, with Bristol nearby. 715 kids in the senior school (of whom 175 are boarders).

[grovel]

But, if you go to the West Country, check broadband closely. Patchy.

[happygardening]

Talking of Bath Royal High School at Bath also seems a very happy place (admittedly girls only), a friends DD is there and not only done incredibly well academically she's very happy there as well.
If I was to suddenly have a massive personality change and decide I wanted to live in a city Bath would be my first choice I suspect, beautiful, great shops, good transport links; roads and public transport, surrounded by stunning countryside, some culture (obviously not London but with Bristol up the road for a little bit more), good restaurants, not a million miles from the sea, safe, almost perfect. Perhaps too many tourists and not for the trendy young thing who might view it as a bit middle class, middle of the road, parochial but perfect for families with children, life after your children have left home etc.