Brighton College PRE-PREP and PREP SCHOOL...IS IT WORTH IT?

[gnegne]

Hi everyone,

our daughter got accepted for Reception at Brighton College starting this September and I am obviously very thrilled and excited, however.....

I have read a lot of comments about kids not proceeding after the prep school into the senior school as they failed the CE test or they couldn't cope with the pressure.

I was just wondering how much of that is true and if it is so common for a child that starts at BC at such a young age to eventually end up having to leave to go to another school at 13+?

I'd love to hear from other parents who had either a positive or negative experience with this school as we are making such a big investment and I am getting a bit anxious about the future, I just want our child to grow up as a happy person in a good and caring school environment but I also wish she could have good academical achievements.

Thanks a lot!

There is no doubt that BC weed out those who won't make it throughout the prep school.

By the time it actually gets to CE, they will have already moved you on if DD isn't going to make it.

Having said that, if she suits the school and the school suits her, then she'll love it.

They certainly do weed out those who won't make it at 13+- I know this largely because I work at a nearby less academic Indy that has a little Influx from BC each year.
Having said that, the pre-prep and prep are amazing and even if she does end up moving she will have had an amazing start to her eduction.

Hi, I have a dd at the college who went through BC Pre-Prep and Prep. In one recent Y8 (last year of Prep), there were approx 65 children, about 8 of whom did not progress to BC. They went mainly to Bedes, Hurst or Lancing. The reasons varied. Some parents just didn't feel that the academic pressure at BC was what they wanted for their dc, some had been told that their dc probably wouldn't pass BC's entry requirements for common entrance, so they began looking for another school (usually Bedes which is a fantastic school btw) long before Y8.
The thing is, it's not for everyone, and not all kids are academically up there no matter what kind of schooling and parental support they get. If my dd was found to be struggling with the pace, there is no way I'd send her to BC as she'd grow feeling slightly inadequate academically. What my dd did get was a lovely childhood in a caring, nurturing school. The pastoral care is superb and the teachers are kind as well as being excellent. She had lots of fun at the Prep and Pre-Prep, lots of fun trips, great opportunities for music, dance and drama, and their sport is exceptional. If we had been told that she was probably not going to pass CE, we would have been sad because she'd miss her friends, but that she would be a lot happier at a less-selective school.
Yes there is pressure at Common Entrance to get into BC, but if your child has been there since reception, they're used to it and just get on with it. If they found it too stressful by Y8, then maybe BC isn't for them. There is even more pressure if your child is very bright because they will sit for an academic scholarship .... don't even go there, I think I went grey (she got one though!)
You don't have to be super-bright to get in to BC, so don't think for one minute that they're all very clever. Many of the Prep kids I know, who were in the bottom sets in the Prep, are now in the sixth form (whose entry requirements are high) so please don't worry about that.
Good luck.

You have to see it with these kinds of schools which are excellent and selective that if it is gently suggested the Senior dept isn't right for your DC, it is genuinely not the best place for them and the school don't feel they will thrive. It is rarely about results or the school micromanaging future league tables, simply the fact being far below the year group academically is not healthy for a child and a more mixed ability school is probably better. I would want to know if this was my child.