Choosing schools in Bristol / Bath

[TessaA]

Hi, living in the Bahamas, have done so for 9 years and considering the move back to uk for schools In or around the Bristol / Bath area. Have two boys aged 10 and 11. One is very academic and the other very dyslexic. Both very sporty.., especially gymnastics and tennis. Doesn’t have to be those areas, but the schools I’ve been looking at are Clifton High School, Clifton College, Millfield and Monkton Combe. We can live anywhere but ideally not too far from the Cornish Coast for surfing. Have considered schools in Dorset too... just any suggestion would be so helpful! Thank you:)

Please - any suggestion for schools ... private or state... in Bristol / Somerset / Devon / Dorset area!

I have friends with DC at King Edwards in Bath and they are very happy with the school.

If you're asking about private schools then here are some in Bristol...

Secondary with Primary schools:
Bristol Cathedral School (has a primary school too)
Colston's School (has a primary school too)

Secondary only:
Bristol Grammar School (BGS)
Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (QEH)

Only to the best of my knowledge though, I'm a bit out of touch.

kingswood in bath - wide range of abilities, good results, supportive.

I would say Clifton High lovely for pastoral care, very supportive of additional needs, and academic children also supported. Can attend from 3-18. Quite small school, so although normal sports apply, I wouldn't say they excel in the area sports wise (although often individually children compete at high levels, just tends to be outside of school).

BGS very academic (age 4-18), larger, but children I know there seem very happy.

QEH boys only until 6th form when girls are also now admitted, have heard good things from parents, and they've achieved good results recently.

Clifton College, amazing grounds, boarding, sports facilities great, music facilities great, a 'public' school, so quite old fashioned, but I don't know any children there.

In Bath, I have friends who have children at KES (very academic, probably even more so than BGS), Kingswood and Prior Park. All very happy. Sporty children very well supported, especially for rugby!

Millfield - incredible for sports, I know of a GB level athlete who actually studied elsewhere but came to Millfield every morning and evening for training. Less academic (although am sure more academically able pupils would be well supported).

There are lots of choices, and rarely a bad choice, but the schools do have different feels, and I think if possible, visiting will help narrow things down.

There are also plenty of other possibilities throughout the Southwest, if you want to be near the Cornish coast, Bristol and Bath (and Dorset) are still quite a drive...

PS these are all independent schools, state schools would be a lengthy list for your area!

Thank you so much Emma for your really helpful response! I really need to get over to look! Lots of great options though :)

Thank you! I’ll have a look at Kingswood also:)

If Cornwall is important then Bristol / Bath are a long way away!

Have a look at Exeter School. Great academics but also has a dyslexia screening programme for all children entering the school and measures in place to support them. An hour and a half drive to Bristol and the same to Newquay in Cornwall.

It’s also an “all through” school so once your younger son is in, there’s no stress of the 11+.

*If you're asking about private schools then here are some in Bristol...

Secondary with Primary schools:
Bristol Cathedral School (has a primary school too)
Colston's School (has a primary school too)*

Bristol Cathedral Choir school is now a state school and has been for quite a long time.

Bristol grammar school is an independent co-ed school with excellent academic record. It does take infant/junior pupils too.
Clifton High and Clifton college offer quite good support for dyslexia.
Clifton college also has classes on Saturday morning so if you would prefer to have weekends free, it may not be the school for you.

Spoiler alert: I think I’m the current millfield flag waver on MN...

Rather oddly, millfield seems to have a a few families from the Bahamas, have met some over the years (Though might have been a fluke at the time). The head of admissions - James Postle - could conform and possibly put you in touch with one of the local families there who send their kids over - always good to chat to a current family about their experiences. My DC who attended was severely dyslexic and loved the place - sporting facilities are jaw-dropping, including a huge tennis centre for indoor tennis all year-round. When kids introduced themselves they inevitably said ‘I’m xxx, and my sport is zzz’. Gets quite funny though - my DC chose dance for a laugh as their third sport and the poor teacher lumped with my ‘brick-shit-house-sized’ child turned out to be some phenomenal international dance superstar. Christ knows what she thought of the situation! FWIW they take academics very seriously (they stopped some sports outsiders getting too demanding with my child for example because it was affecting their uni ambitions). Also note: at least 2 hours drive from decent Cornwall surf!

I grew up and lived between Bristol and Bath most of my life (and now live in Cornwall ).

As a state option, I'd thoroughly recommend Chew Valley School. From Chew Magna, you're around 20 mins from Bristol and 30 mins from Bath. A really lovely rural area with decent city links. Also 5 mins from Bristol Airport. You're about 2hr 45 from mid Cornwall with popular surf beaches like Gwithian, Godrevy.

Clifton College is a fantastic school, as is QEH? Not sure if you've considered that.

Pinkjellycat it's nice to hear nice comments about Chew Valley School on MN (it rarely gets mentioned!).
I live in Bristol, have children at CVS. I'm surprised more people don't consider it. The only problem is lack of public transport though. It's very rural and suffers from lack of infrastructure regarding transport.

Wells Cathedral is supposed to have quite a lot of international pupils - might make them feel more at home. It's a through school 3-18 and is not just music but also pretty sporty (less so than Millfield though)

Really appreciate all your comments... Loads to consider! I was even looking at West Buckland further down the coast in Devon but I was more worried about the lack in community feel and the options of a city near by... it looks a good school though ..

I go to west buckland often as a friend is a teacher there. Seems a nice and friendly school but it is soooooo remote. Truly the back of beyond. I am not sure it will have the sports facilities you hope for.

Thank you... that is very helpful feedback regards to West Buckland. I don’t know the area and was just considering the proximity to the coast but I don’t want to be that remote!! Thank you:)

Truro has excellent private schools if you'd consider moving to Cornwall. And it's a lovely small city with a great community, not far from Falmouth which is a university city with lovely independent shops, and close to good surf beaches on the north coast.