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Original poster

Alleyn Court or St Michael's Leigh-on-sea

45 replies

Sunnysideup79 · 28/02/2018 11:27

My brother and his wife are returning to the U.K. from the U.E.A.and they will be living in Leigh-on-sea.They have two children , the eldest will be three in the summer so due to start at nursery/ school. They are interested in these two schools, currently they think that Alleyn Court has the edge.

Their catchment state school is Westleigh which does seem to have a good reputation. Are either of these schools worth turning down a place at Westleigh for?

OP posts:

Howfaroutosea · 06/11/2019 14:46

@Frenchbulldog99 All parents can choose to sit the 11plus or not so don't listen to prep schools when they tell you that. Children who have been home schooled sit it every year. Again take the extended curriculum with a pinch of salt.

Most parents at St Michaels and all the other local prep schools tutor for the 11plus . I know from friends who send their children there . Many don't admit it though to the school though. Even then many don't pass even end up sitting it .

Howfarouttosea · 06/11/2019 14:55

Apologies ,many don't pass or end up sitting it.

indigoorchids · 06/11/2019 18:17

@Frenchbulldog99 you've been sold a line there. My friends home educated dc just started at one of the grammars so anyone can sit the 11+.

Frenchbulldog99 · 07/11/2019 10:10

@howfarouttosea I didn't hear it from st michaels it was from a parent that has their children attend said state school.
Its their decision to have added tutoring but I've done my research and i'm pretty confident that my dd will do well at st michaels. Some children struggle a lot more than others so I can understand that they worry and want the extra tutoring.
it does sound like you have it out for prep schools for some reason, unless i'm mistaken.
But the original thread is about two prep schools so not sure why state schools have come into it

Frenchbulldog99 · 07/11/2019 10:11

@indigoorchids it wasn't from st michaels as stated in my other message it was a parent and I was talking about a state school not home study

indigoorchids · 07/11/2019 10:16

Bearing in mind mine went to st Michael's I only posted to make you aware of how easy it is to be misled by schools showing their best feather prior to you starting, they are a business after all.
I am not trying to put you off just trying to help you stay neutral that every dc can enter 11+ and st Michael's dc definitely have tutors. Some right from the beginning of pre prep. That's not limited to st Michael's though.

Howfarouttosea · 07/11/2019 11:18

@Frenchbulldog99 Westleigh was mentioned near the beginning of the thread . My DC spend the very early years at St Michaels so I have heard all the , every child can sit the 11+ , extended curriculum....... We didn't have a very happy time there but the outcome was good in the end . My dc is now happy at grammar school.

We were lucky that we managed to get a place at Westleigh , the experience could not have been more different. The teaching was far superior, lovely welcoming parents. Each child is respected for who they are , I could go on and on...

I know that in our year group a significant number of children who started in nursery were not there in year 6.
It's such a personal decision and I didn't listen to parents who told me that no one in the catchment for Westleigh goes to St Michaels , but you live and learn.
,

Howfarouttosea · 07/11/2019 11:50

@Frenchbulldog99 I haven't heard a bad word about Alleyn Court and we were considering it if West Leigh place hadn't been offered.

The nursery experience there is far superior and I think that good start is so important for little ones wellbeing.

nuttymummyof3 · 07/11/2019 22:13

@indigoorchids hang on! My 3 children went to St Michael’s and none of them were tutored outside of school. They weren’t the only ones either. There are many parents who can’t see the point of outside tutoring for the 11+ as they don’t want their child to struggle once they’re there. So please don’t make sweeping statements like “ st Michael's dc definitely have tutors”. Some do just as a lot of parents from other schools have theirs tutored outside of school.

indigoorchids · 07/11/2019 22:15

It wasn't never meant to be a sweeping statement. I only referred to myself and others who openly admitted tutoring and also referred to the fact this is not limited to st Michael's.

Frenchbulldog99 · 08/11/2019 14:26

@indigoorchids yes it is a business, also a charity so it's not like they are solely money orientated as there is a limit to profit being made

i'm just going from what another parent was told and that was their child couldn't sit the 11+ based on them not being top of the class so basically unlikely to pass but this was at westleigh. So i'm sure that home schooled children can just enter themselves

Frenchbulldog99 · 08/11/2019 14:49

@Howfarouttosea
i don't think you can say you live and you learn as every childs experience is very different and I've heard some very positive experiences from st michaels so i hope people don't read your comments and think that because it didn't work out for your child it wouldn't work out for theirs. I wouldn't consider westleigh personally as i feel like my child would just be forgotten about in a sea of children as she is bright so wouldn't be pushed but that's just my opinion. I also know parents who live in Leigh that go to st michaels so that isn't true.

and with regards to alleyn court they wouldn't even be a passing thought, i actually live near to them but the staff are rude and the fees are considerably more which to me can't be justified as the only difference is a big playing field. Also they are next to thorpe hall, so if i was bothered about the travelling i'd be going there.

we have a lot of different opinions so might have to agree to disagree.

Howfarouttosea · 08/11/2019 17:05

@Frenchbulldog99 Don't dismiss Westleigh if your child is bright ,all children are bright I think and in the right environment all will thrive. My dc scored in excess of 360 in the 11plus ( the pass mark is 303) . Westleigh will push an academically able child, they enter the UK primary maths ( not afraid to compete nationally ). In fact they are the only local school that take part, it's usually the domain of London schools and preps sending dc's to elite Public schools .They have achieved gold and silver on numerous occasions. The getting lost thing in a sea of children is nonsense frankly , but it is used as a sales pitch.

My dc as one of 9 (that I know of) who started in nursery / reception and left before year six. There may have been a particularly high turnover that year, I can't compare other it to other years. Most went on to grammar school so don't think it was a case of not being bright. You will enter your dc into the 11+ , it's a parents decision. Perhaps the school adviced your friend not to sit as they didn't think they were anywhere near passing .,St Michaels will do the same. They will set children into 3 groups from year three onwards. I know of very few in the middle group in our year at that stage who passed the 11+ . Some who were set in the top group (at the time my dc left) didn't pass either. I have no idea if they all sat in the end but they were intending to. My dc and some of the others who left were due to or went into the top set so they all may have passed anyway, but I definitely think my dc was stretched further at Westleigh. It was everything else that the school offered that made the biggest difference , the atmosphere it lovely.

I didn't say that children from Leigh don't go to St Michaels just not children in the West Leigh catchment. Chalkwell or North St don't tend to either. The will always be exceptions . I found the staff at Alleyn Court very welcoming and have seen them at various events over years .Even though we chose Westleigh they always asked me how dc was getting on . I can't say how our experience would have been if we had chosen Alleyn Court.

You do live and learn and it's only when you have first hand experience you are in a position to comment .
Best of luck

Howfarouttosea · 08/11/2019 17:41

@Frenchbulldog99 If you live in the Bournes Green catchment , It's also a great school. Dc has lots of lovely friends at grammar school who went there.

Tp178 · 17/10/2024 03:17

A few years on, just wondering which school you chose, and what your experience has been?

We are trying to relocate to the area and deciding between the same schools.

Frenchbulldog99 · 18/10/2024 09:16

dd is very happy at St Michael's, she likes the facilities...for example the cookery and science rooms which i did not have when attending primary school. The PE department has improved massively since she started. She is very much into gymnastics which there are a lot of opportunities. It does depend on what you are looking for but it has been a good fit for my dd.

Abigailisjumping · 18/10/2024 10:28

Hi @Frenchbulldog99 we are also looking at St Michaels, I have just looked at their website and see that only 12 DC went to grammar school this year. The year group was only 30 , I believe they have capacity for 40. Do you know what the results were this week ( I believe the results came out on the 14th).

Frenchbulldog99 · 22/11/2024 08:40

Hi, @Abigailisjumping as someone else said I think there’s data protection and you need permission from parents to give out the information. So they wait until they go to the new schools but even then its hard to tell correct results as some children get scholarships to go to certain independent schools even if they passed the 11plus. Also you have the parents that aren’t interested in the 11plus.
In my personal opinion if you believe your child is capable they will definitely be able to push them to get the results you want

mumsworldd · 15/04/2025 14:05

Howfarouttosea · 07/11/2019 11:50

@Frenchbulldog99 I haven't heard a bad word about Alleyn Court and we were considering it if West Leigh place hadn't been offered.

The nursery experience there is far superior and I think that good start is so important for little ones wellbeing.

Hi, did you decide on Alleyn Court? What have you heard of the school… the websites are all glittering but I really need some candid advice/ experience!

Frenchbulldog99 · 16/04/2025 13:37

I believe the other poster said they went to Westleigh in the end….my dc is at st Michael’s

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