Solihull School since merger

[EasttoWest]

Hello we are considering where to send our DD for her next school.

We may take her out earlier than secondary although she seems happy at her Primary I get the feeling the children are hothoused sadly for their Year 6 SATS so I would look to move her for Year 6 - this would be the last year of the new prep school at Solihull School.

How are people finding the new merger? I’m hoping it might balance up the number of boys and girls.

If we are going to pay would you send to King Edwards in Edgbaston instead? It’s supposed to be much better than Solihull School. I know we should go see them but can’t so it’s making the decision hard.

Anyone on here with experience

I think the integration of the two schools has gone well from what I hear. There was no need to even up numbers as Solihull was effectively a mixed school before the takeover. Whether King Edwards is better depends on what you want from a school. It is certainly more academic than Solihull but lots of children want to shine in a less academic school. Solihull is amazing for music and art for example.

If you want another comparator, look at Bromsgrove which Is academically about the same as Solihull or a bit better and probably has better pastoral care due to the house system. Bromsgrove also offered better online teaching during lockdown that Solihull.

King edwards school in edgbaston trounces solihull school. It's cheaper, produces better results and is more well know than solihull or bromsgrove however it's not just about having the money for it. You have to do tests, interviews and compete with a large amount of bright students. All in all it would be better to put KE first and then solihull second as a back up.

Depends on what you are after. Solihull is less academic (although still very good), but more well rounded. Not sure what your dd is like but in our view solihull was better for bright and good all rounders, as opposed to the seriously academic and more pressured environments of the King Edwards family of schools (speaking from experience of both schools although historic and obviously predating the merger). Also depends where you live, because long school commutes can be a nightmare on the train/bus.

Thanks for this we live in Solihull so it seems an easier option

The entry requirements for Solihull have dramatically increased over the last five years- we know several children that have gained entrance to KES/KEHS but failed to get offers from Solihull.
Solihull is co-ed for starters, so they're looking for slightly different things to KES/KEHS. They have outstanding music and departments, though KES do too, obviously.
We didn't go apply for Solihull in the end- on balance the travel would have been too much to manage on top of after-school clubs/practices etc.

If education is only measured in the number of 9s a child is awarded, then sure Solihull comes second. For my children, I'm looking for them to be educated, and I want more than a cookie-cutter exam factory.