Post-Colyton disappointment schools advice

[CaroH40]

Hello all!
We have received word that my dd was unsuccessful at gaining admission to Colyton for next year. We are still very keen to relocate to Devon and in some ways the ability to settle closer to Exeter makes more sense- so not all doom and gloom. She’s academic (top sets at her current prep in Somerset) and would negotiate CE at 11 or 13 without hitch. The GS route was an eleventh hour, shooting from the hip idea and we clearly didn’t prep her sufficiently (my sister is in Tunbridge Wells and had tutoring strategies in place for years beforehand, sad but true, and I certainly don’t condone or approve of that approach but she would would argue you don’t stand a chance without it- and Colyton is a harder ask.. The whole business and the ‘industry’ that has sprung up around it feels a long way from the 11+ as it was first intended but I say that as a thwarted attempt so realise it could read as sour grapes! So, with the chips where they lie what would people say about Exeter schools (Maynard, Cathedral and Exeter in a row)? Topsham/lympstone to live and in each day for middle dd? With a good local primary to start for dd 3. It really does feel like sticking a pin in a map as the closest we have come to living in Exeter was Tavistock some years ago! Any help or local info so gratefully received. Thanks in advance!

The 11 plus, as it was set up in the 1940s, was for widespread grammar schools and technical high schools. Not super selective Grammars here and there. However the tutoring for all remaining Grammars is insane!

I cannot really help regarding the quality of schools but do the good primary schools have places? What you like and what you can get might be two different things.

I’m sure others will have up to date advice on the independent schools. There are, of course, plenty more in Somerset and Wiltshire.

I think Colyton is a different kettle of fish from the Kent Grammars- much more selective.
A family member teaches at a large primary nearby and they rarely get anyone in there as children apply from miles away. Another family member went to Exeter school- loved it, but was over 20 years ago! I think all the private secondaries in Exeter are pretty good.

Where are you at the moment OP?
Cathedral is only up to 13... it has a nice nurturing family feel - I wouldn't have said its particularly academic.

Would have thought the Maynard would have been your obvious choice?

Thanks Clara- yes the Maynard does seem to tick boxes, just hesitating as have older daughter who didn’t benefit much at all from her all-girls immersion.. however, she wasn’t driven or work focused in the same way as her sister so there’s every chance a girls school would work out. What is the local perception of Maynard (and the girls)? Would you say it is seen as having a good pastoral record? Girls pleasant in town etc? School tours rarely cover these nuts and bolts! Blundells a possible alternative as I have heard the head is/was doing good things. Thanks for any further insights you could offer!

Thanks also winteragain. Kent is a funny beast. They have the full gamut, some grammars more straightforward entrance wise and of course having the sibling and catchment rules where Colyton does not. I’d say their super selectives nowadays are just that, Tonbridge girls grammar for instance... my sister was wittering something about aggregate scores being dizzingly high recently. I can’t give detail beyond that as I may have passed out

I don’t think that is true re Colyton. I know children def not tutored to the nth degree if at all who got in and state primaries which regularly send children there. Attending a private prep is surely more of an advantage than tutoring for those who choose to use it. There are several good state secondaries in the city, why not consider those?

My daughter doesn't attend the Maynard as we ended up living a bit too far away so my knowledge is limited. We toured it a couple of times though and I have friends whose girls attend. I would say compared to the other schools locally it has a more academic focus whilst still seeming nurturing pastorally. I really liked the head who seemed to have a good idea of the issues facing girls academically e.g.stem subjects as well as socially.

I wouldn't perceive blundells as academic- it's pretty heavy on the sport. That's not to say it might not be strong on that area but sometimes I think the types of parents and therefore children the school attracts influences heavily the type of school it then becomes.

Colyton is a super selective. There is no getting away from that. With so few Grammars available in Devon, it’s inevitable. Of course the super bright might not need coaching but I bet lots who are not the top cohort are coached. It’s rife everywhere where there is academic selection involved.

Exeter is very good all round. It was our choice for DS, but we lived so far away it became untenable. And while this was a few years ago, it's consistently been in the top 50 indies nationally ever since. The head has been in post a long time and must be nearing retirement though.

We are probably more in agreement than you think, plenty of state primaries will send children- of course they will. You can’t possibly know who has and has not tutored their children, many simply wouldn’t admit to it, it’s seen as another leg-up in the rigged game of education. On your point about a prep education being an advantage, I would say it bears little to no relevance. A rounded, broad-based, opportunity-rich provision of education (at our school at least), certainly. How to catapult into the selective grammar stratosphere- um no. It’s not in their vested interest to prepare year 6’s for 11+ quite apart from anything else. I’m tempted to say a target-driven and capable primary school teacher would be a better accomplice at prepping a bright child for Colyton, that and a decent run-in at navigating NVR questions with a tutor (IMHO).

That’s interesting Clara, thanks for your reply. Will look closely at Maynard and Exeter then. Blundells a bit out of preferred area and I do absolutely take your point about the parents shaping a school, it’s so true.

Parents always know who has a tutor! It’s nearly always common knowledge. The children talk. You don’t cover what you need in the primary curriculum so of course DC get tutored. The prep schools around me exist specifically to prep for the 11 plus! Of course it’s in their interests for DC to be successful! Destinations are viewed by prospective parents!

BubblesBuddy Do you know anything about your local preps?! They go through to year 8, prep for the 13+ Common Entrance and sometimes 11+ Common Entrance if parents are wanting to move DC somewhere at 11 (though numbers are far fewer). These are different educational systems and therefore have different testing parameters and tests in place. Most prep school parents (prospective or otherwise) are interested in most recent scholarship rates and destination schools at 13. No one gives a fig if a child leaves at 11 and swaps into the state system (end of year 6) because the main cohort are exiting at the year 8 point and largely to independent destinations.

I know everything about my local Oreos, thank you. I’m not in Devon though. Some say their usp is 11 plus and do not have a year 7 or 8. A few will cater for 13 CE. A few leave at 11 for girls day schools. I know exactly the model for each school. As we are a grammar county, we have a variety of preps. The minority prep for CE and transfer at 13. Mainly because these DC go to boarding schools which are not local schools. The majority of parents want the grammar schools or a handful of day schools at 11 which are girls schools.

Plymouth and Torbay in Devon both have grammar schools that are not super-selective. Exeter's junior department regularly lose students to the grammar schools at 11, but out-performs them (except Colyton) at A level regardless. The downside is that regular comprehensives in the unitary cities are de facto secondary moderns/not as good as the rural comprehensives, such as Ivybridge in the South Hams. Prep schools do tend to focus on CE but still lose a fair number to the grammar schools at 11+.

I would take issue with there being ‘several good state secondaries in the city’ as a year 6 parent navigating secondary admissions!

St Luke’s was recently rated inadequate
Leaves St Peter’s (CofE), ISCA oversubscribed so need to be in catchment, St James, Westexe.

Also we had an email from school recently saying there are 1200 year 6 pupils in Exeter and 1150 school places in year 7. So chances of getting the one you want out of catchment/religion are slim.

We looked at Maynard, I thought it seemed lovely, academic but with extra curricular. Didn’t look at Exeter school, I assumed it might be boy heavy given Maynard but no corresponding boys school, but I may be wrong here.