Wycombe Abbey 2020

[Wycombe2020]

Hello, my daughter has an offer from Wycombe Abbey to go into Year 7 this year. She was really looking forward to tasting the school out a bit more at a sleepover, however, due to coronavirus, it was cancelled.
Is there anyone out there with daughters currently at Wycombe Abbey.
1.What do they think of the new Head?

1. Do Year 7 girls go home most weekends?
2. They can go home from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening?
3. How religious is the school? During Chapel service do they pray to God, or talk about day-to-day issues?
4. How would you rate the teaching of foreign languages there? Currently my daughter’s French is almost non-existent, though her school taught it for some years.
5. How big is drama?l at this school? And how competitive is it to get main roles?
6. Is there a big number of Chinese pupils?
7. Do girls meet up in London or elsewhere during holidays?
8. How often are the girls permitted to use their mobile phones?

10. Do they have access to the internet through their mobiles?

Thank you,
Lily

@daughtertoWycombeabbey
As your DD has an offer from two of the most prestigious girls’ schools in the county, I would suggest your DD chooses. Does she want to board? What excited her about boarding? It’s not about you missing her, it’s about whether she wants to board and will make the most of it. St Paul’s will offer localish friends whereas WA girls are spread out a bit more. However you see your friends a lot at school.

Girls regularly went to WA from the girls’ prep my DD went to in HW. Not all were exceptional but a few were. Parents chose the prep for that specific destination. Many were successful!

@daughtertoWycombeabbey

@ Iconmum.**@Honestchat**. Thank you for the advice. My DD got the offer for 2021. Never leave me before. So worried about boarding. DD also got the offer from St Paul’s girls school. It’s so hard to make decision on both schools.

Hi, we thought that at Paul's girls outcome will be released on 19Feb?

@daughtertoWycombeabbey

@ Iconmum.**@Honestchat**. Thank you for the advice. My DD got the offer for 2021. Never leave me before. So worried about boarding. DD also got the offer from St Paul’s girls school. It’s so hard to make decision on both schools.

Congratulations to your girl !

I’m very unsure why you applied to a boarding school when you are worried about boarding. Why would you do that? Is your DD worried? I do think first time boarding families have to get their heads around it and come to terms with a different way of life. However school is for your DDs benefit, not yours. So what does she want?

I am following this thread as we are interested in WA since my daughter joined her prep school. She has 2 years to decide but still keen on this school. We live close and have only one child , so not too keen on boarding.
Very curious to hear any experience for day boarders. My worry is that the day boarders are fewer in number in any year group and may feel left out? My D is very academic and extremely able but equally sensitive and interested in art, music , drama, sports. But not too much sporty just enjoys all activities for fun.
I believe this school will be a very good fit for her academically but we want her to be happy and make good friends. I am now getting worried if being a day boarder and also sensitive by nature , will WA be a good fit for her? Please if anyone has any similar experience do share . Thanks

Lots of DDs friends from Godstowe went as day pupils. From what I understand, you get out what you put in. So doing lots of things is still possible as a day pupil. The girls definitely make friends with boarders, they just don’t sleep with them. It didn’t seem to worry any child I knew and definitely not the parents.

Like MitHolmes said, following this thread as DH and I are interested in WA. We live overseas but our daughter's in the equivalent of Year 10, anyone have any tips for the 16+ admissions process?

Hi Lily,

I know this is a very late reply, but I thought I would reply to this post anyways for anyone who would like to go to WA in the future.

Well done to ur DD for getting into WA, very challenging school to get into. My godsister’s DDs go there and I think I can answer some of your questions. Firstly, the new Head is powering through everything. She is definitely make drastic changes to the school community which influences the school in a good way.

In Chapel, they establish a deep and spiritual connection with God, whether you’re Christian or not. And may I just ask why the number of Chinese pupils is such a curiosity for you, as I think that the diversity in this school is amazing and my godsister’s DD definitely loves learning about the different cultures of girls.

Also, drama is not a particularly significant part of school life in WA, as the girls are mostly focused on their academics. However there are still drama opportunities if your DD is interested.

Hope this helps for anyone who reads it!

Lots of love, Nikki

Hi MitHolmes, you may have seen my reply to the original post on this thread, but my godsister’s DD goes to WA and is a day girl. I shared your comment with her and she was very happy to contribute her personal thoughts to this lovely discussion. She said, and I quote “being a day girl definitely is not scary and it does not push you out of friendship groups at all, as long as you make the same efforts as all the other girls.” My godsister also mentioned how her DD was very anxious about being day but she is in a very tight-knit and extensive friendship group with some extremely amiable and smart boarders. I assure you that if your DD is interested in making new friends then she will have no problem settling in. Please know, however that sometimes, this will mean that she has to go to school on weekends for matches and girls’ birthdays as well. And just as a little side-note, you mentioned that your DD is very academic, which I’m sure she is, bless her; but I think I just need to tell you that apart from my godsister’s DD, I also know many other mums of girls at WA. They have all said that they thought their girls were at the top of the country, as they were undoubtedly the top student in their prestigious prep schools, but once they entered an environment that is highly competitive and pressuring academically like WA, they were shocked at the high standards of the other girls and found that they were not particularly the ‘top’ of their year anymore. This of course is not a bad thing, as it simply just motivates the girls to work harder, but I just wanted to give you a little pre-warning. However, if your DD is absolutely amazing at her school subjects, then I am sure she will settle in fine.

Hope to see you at WA one day! Best wishes for you and your DD.

Wycombe abbey, Stowe or CLC.
I have decided to send my child to private school for sixth form and I was wondering if one of those schools were predominantly better for someone who is into sports and is also very academic and if there are things I need to be aware about (bullying etc)or, if there were any better schools I should look out for.

Thank you nikkiw0211, super helpful!

That’s rather unkind.

Was commenting on a much earlier post. What a lot of flexing going on here! Was at CLC in the 80’s, cousins at WA, Eton, lots of family to Oxbridge. None of us, or our parents, ever went on about how bright we were. We didn’t even think like that. What’s wrong with you all? 🤮🤣