Charterhouse, Rugby, Oundle, King's Canterbury or Marlborough

[Beyondthesea123]

We are living abroad and our DS is currently applying to many senior schools. He just got an offer from Charterhouse. He is really into football and pretty good at it but he is quite and kind. We've heard that Charterhouse has a problem with bullying but not sure if those issues have have been solved yet.

We are also applying to Oundle, Rugby, Marlborough and King's Canterbury. We are just wonder if any of these schools are more suitable for quite and kind boy who is good at hockey and football but not so keen in rugby. Which school are the most friendly and forward thinking? We would love your view please.

Charterhouse has a bit of a weekend problem. Proximity to London means it is a first choice school for those who want weekly boarding and it tends to empty out at weekends. So not so good for overseas families. Good at football though.

The other schools have more of a full boarding culture at weekends. All offer football and hockey alongside rugby but your DS may have to play rugby in his first term. None has the macho rugby culture you find at some schools and all will suit a quiet, kind boy.

I would be wary of assuming that because he likes soccer now he will definitely stick to soccer as he grows up. Boys change. The best schools will offer an opportunity to try a range of sports.

I think all of these schools will be hot on weeding out bullying and I do not believe that any of them has an endemic bullying problem. There will be incidents from time to time - one boy‘s banter is another boy‘s bullying- but the schools make an enormous effort to stamp it out.

Having had overseas boarders at UK schools I would look as much at logistics as anything else. How does your DC get to and from the airport at end of terms? How many fixed exeats are there? where will your DS go for exeats etc? Because taxis to and from airports can add another £1000 a year to your school bill and regular trips by parents to UK for the exeat weekends can also be expensive.

Thank you so much for your kind opinion!

Mull makes some good points.
Other schools with football as a main sport, rather than rugby include Shrewsbury and Repton. They both also offer hockey and rugby plus numerous other sports for him to try out.
For logistics of airport runs, Shrewsbury offers direct coaches run by the school on exeats and term ends to London airports and many places around the country. Presumably other schools do the same, but worth an ask.

My son is at King's
Soccer and rugby are played for one term each and there are alternatives on offer for each (I think hockey can be chosen rather than rugby). For those who are enthusiastic, the facilities, training etc are v good; but it's not a particularly "sporty" school- musicians are held in at least as high esteem as the first XV. My son doesn't seem to have bothered with games kit at all this year

The ethos is inclusive and cheerful, with an emphasis on breadth and co and cross-curricular connections. Full boarding, with a good mix of British and international pupils, so there are always plenty of people around at weekends and lots happening. On the occasions when I have dropped in on an ordinary school day it seems like a really happy place. One or two low spots on the staff; but some real stars as well. Likeable HM with a clear vision for the school and who knows all the children and parents

Train into St Pancras is easy and under an hour so it doesn't take long for the international children to start finding their own way into London and to the airport by themselves.

I think that Charterhouse is in the early stages of integrating girls into the lower school, so may be rather distracted by that and the culture will take a while to settle down. King's co-educational culture is well-embedded and the boys and girls seem to have good, natural and respectful friendships with one another. Boys' boarding houses are, as everywhere, quite "lively" and I remember my son initially finding it quite daunting to be in a house with enormous 17 year-olds; but he soon began to enjoy having friendships across the year groups. There is banter and a hierarchy; but bullying is rare and is dealt with properly. The sixth form boys keep an eye on the Shells to make sure that those who are quiet or homesick do not suffer at the hands of those who are more confident.

The setting is breathtakingly beautiful.

Thank you Takeittotheboss, Mullofkintire and Arthelthryth, your information are very helpful.

I like King’s Canterbury a lot because I was so impressed with Biology teacher’s attitude ( we went to see science lab and had a long chat with her) as well as a warm atmosphere there. Our DS is not so musical but I believe it is good to have music in his heart and hope one day his saxophone skill will develop. I will take our DS to see the school. Last time we went to see Galpin and my dear wife thinks it is rather old and need a little update in term of facility, what are other boarding houses would you recommend our DS to have a look?

We will take our DS to have a visit at Rugby, Marlborough, Repton and Rugby ( he went to see Charterhouse and Oundle ) to see which school he would prefer base on atmosphere and people and then will take a football culture and full boarding as a adding point.

A vote for Oundle here, our boys are very happy and the pastoral care is fabulous, bullying would not be tolerated. Football & hockey both very strong with brand new sports centre being built. The small and traditional English market town is a lovely bonus for the international children, very safe and friendly. Fabulous school, highly recommend.

Thank you for your information LostSoul69. We like Oundle alot too. Our DS was so excited to see such an amazing DT and Science lab. We also like the housemaster that we registered our DS with.

Is football becoming a major sport at Oundle, is it as popular at hockey? If my son is not playing Rugby what is a good sport to play in Autumn?

Have a look at Grange: it's rather more modern than Galpin's. King's does not have the smartest boarding accommodation; but I think that mothers care more than the boys. All the schools which you are looking at are good, so it really is a question of personal preference.

Galpins will have a new housemaster next year

Thank you Aethelthryth. We will definitely go and have a look at Grange.

Agree with A that hotel style facilities are more important to parents than DC. My DN was in Meister Omer‘s at Kings and said that the best thing was the huge, ancient, dorm shared by all the Shells.
Terrible bathroom facilities are also good practice for life at our older universities!

I would definitely go for Kings Canterbury.
Sadly two of my friends children are very unhappy at Charterhouse at the moment. I have heard great things about Oundle, but I don't know anyone at Rugby at the mo.
IMO Marlborough is for the alpha males...

All the top traditional UK schools will have rugby as their ‘major’ sport in the Michaelmas term, the only exceptions I believe are Winchester & Charterhouse but after the first year boys at Oundle can choose football as their main sport. I think there are 8 football pitches at Oundle along with numerous all weather for hockey.
The incoming Director of Sport is coming from Charterhouse!!! So he will fully understand boys who want to play football & he is a hockey specialist!

Singing is my passion, Lost soul69 and Mull of Kintire Thank you for your kind information.

Singing is my passion, why are your friends children are unhappy at Charterhouse ?
I just realise from you that Marlborough is an alpha male school, is it the same as Wellington in term of alpha male level? Do you have to be very musical to fit in at King’s Canterbury ?

Lostsoul69, so there is still many opportunity for football at Oundle, thank you for an insight information!

Mullofkintire, yes you are absolutely right, children pays attention into other things rather than a hotel like facility.

Currently looking at many of the same schools on your list and have visited King’s and Rugby.

Would recommend a visit to Rugby - we were very impressed.

I come from a boarding background, DH does not, so was interesting to see the different things we picked up on.

King’s has fabulous buildings and we really wanted to love it, but they very much gave us the impression that they wanted DD to do things to tick their boxes, whereas Rugby were very helpful about how they would be able to accommodate her specific needs and ambitions - and seemed genuinely enthusiastic about doing so.

I was also left with questions around pastoral care at King’s, I know current parents there and talking to them has confirmed my worries and means we won’t be applying.

I was also left with questions around pastoral care at King’s, I know current parents there and talking to them has confirmed my worries and means we won’t be applying

It is difficult to know how to respond to comments like that. DSIS‘ experience of King‘s has been quite different - albeit with boys. Only positive things to say. And I recall a very detailed thread on here a couple of years ago by an Oundle parent who was unhappy with the school‘s refusal to allow their child to swap houses. It is very difficult to generalise from the particular.

I think different parents have different experiences because teens are all very different. I know families with DC at day schools who have been unable to cope with their own DC‘s challenges with eating disorders, stress, feeling excluded/bullied, drugs, alcohol, computer game addiction, sex, reluctance to revise etc. Boarding schools are no different. Like parents they will do their best, but that is no guarantee of success and any school that claims 100% success in dealing with these challenges is lying.

It is an issue that probably affects far more girls more than boys. There were things about the boarding that worried me, in particular how close an eye is kept on certain things. Rugby had a very firm grip on these, in part because of how their boarding houses are structured - King's did not seem to have the same insights.

I was interested that at Rugby we had meetings with the house mistress, the matron and a separate Q&A session purely on pastoral issues. They raised a number of possible fears that parents might have and what they have in place to identify and respond to any problems. At King's there was no opportunity to meet any staff on the boarding side - but the experience of a couple of current parents doesn't suggest that they have got a firm plan in place.

We will be looking at a number of other schools, so it will be interesting to see where these two lie on the spectrum of responses.

Thank you elfonshelf and Mullofkintire for a nice interesting perspective.

Pastoral care is so, so important in the teen years and great to hear Rugby seem to ha e a good grip on it. Likewise Oundle have been superb with our DSs, both have needed a lot of pastoral support due to grief and I could not praise the school staff more, from every level, for the care & understanding that has been put in place. They really thought of everything, most of it done very quietly without the boys even knowing. Exceptional!

« There were things about the boarding that worried me, in particular how close an eye is kept on certain things. Rugby had a very firm grip on these, in part because of how their boarding houses are structured - King's did not seem to have the same insights. »

@elfonshelf we’re considering the same schools, amongst others. Could you please explain what your concerns re King’s were exactly, and how the different structures helped resolve those? Many thanks !