Notre Dame School, St Cath Twickenham, The Marist

[blissfulberryblush]

Hi All!! We are looking at properties & schools in the area around GU / Cobham and west of KT. DDs will be entering into year 7 and 4, both very sporty. Academic wise, neither of them are the top of the class, DD in Y6 is quieter, she is in the average ability group, or maybe just above on certain area in her year. We feel that she could defo achieve more with some little push/encouragement at school, plus some help at home.

I would really appreciate some insightful views on the schools that we have looked at so far. We are considering Notre Dame in Cobham; St Cat Twickenham and The Marist in Ascot, in particular the senior school, each has beautiful environments and amazing facilities, but I can’t really tell whether they are academically strong as some of the other indie schools in the surrounding area. Pastoral care seems very good. The threads on The Marist and ND seems really old, so we would love to hear your views or experience about the schools above? Are there any other schools out there we should be considering as well??

DH and I are not very familiar SL5 or 6 at all, what is it like living in Ascot / Bracknell / Maidenhead??

Thanks all!! 🥂🥂

We're in SL5 and although I have boys, lots of the sisters go to the Marist and a number of the mums I know are alumnae. Hear very good things indeed. SL5 is a great place to live - feels pretty rural with forest and countryside in most directions, but not at all cut off - and you're spoilt for choice for girls' schools around here. Some of the best in the country.

I can't comment on St Cats or the Marist, but if you are interested in Notre Dame Cobham it has a reputation locally of being a nurturing school with, as you say, lovely facilities and good pastoral care.

I too only have boys but have various friends with girls at local indies, and one thing I would say is that Notre Dame tends to be considered as less academic and very much the back-up option to the more academic independent girls' schools round here. Sir Williams Perkins School (SWPS), LEH, Guildford High, Tormead etc would all be considered academically far stronger than Notre Dame, as would St Georges for those who prefer co-ed.

That said, though, I have one friend who picked Notre Dame over both SWPS and St G's for a DD who was offered places at all three, simply because she felt the nurturing environment would suit the DD better, and another who moved her DD from SWPS to Notre Dame having found the pastoral care at SWPS sadly lacking. Academics are not the be all and end all at the end of the day and you have to go for a school you feel your DC will be happiest in.

When are you looking to move? I think you will find ND and St Cats are full for year 7 from Sept. ST Cats is quite local, it has dd from Barnes, Putney who come on the train to Strawberry Hill station but we live at the end of a TFL bus route in Surrey that passes Twickenham and we thought our dd would be too far from school friends so declined our place (amongst other reasons). There are a lot of options for dd in the sw London / Surrey area but you need to find the places and sit an exam etc, it's best to have lots of options in mind - if you are thinking 2022 entry perhaps consist mixed - Claremont Fan Court Sch too.

@Legoninjago1
Thanks for your reply!! What were the good things that you have heard about The Marist? I would love to hear more about it. Am also curious on the traffic (M3/M4) during peak hours, especially in the morning.

@FlyingPandas
Thanks, great to hear positive comments on ND!! Are u referring to St George's at Weybridge? LEH would be too far for us. Now... GHS vs Tormead, they are very close to each other, GHS is a much bigger school with larger number of students, from what I have read on other threads, both seem to be very popular and academic, and places are extremely competitive.

@Skatingpark97
Thanks too for your reply!! Yes, we are thinking of entering in Sept 2022. Beside distance, what were the other reasons to decline St Cats? Did you visit the school, and have you met the girls and staff??

Claremont Fans Court School is very impressive, Esher is a lovely area too. However the only thing that I would love to have a better understanding is their faith background, Is CFCS a non denominational school or is it a Christian Science (am not familiar with them at all), are they like any other denominations such as Church of England? Do u know if the school practice their faith in assembly or in the curriculum at all these days? Nothing against beliefs and religions, a clearer view is all I'm after.

OP, I live very near Claremont fan and know a large number of dc there. As far as I'm aware it's non religious, the Christian Science bit is from the past and they have no links. It's got a fantastic head, is on the up and more difficult to get into than in the past.

Re St Cats Twick, it's good school but there are more academic options that we chose. It really is local, I would live near Twickenham if you were considering it.

There is so much choice for dd of all abilities in the area, Surbiton High has a massive transport network and SWPS is good option too. If you go towards Guildford then consider Tormead - it ticks many of your boxes.

I very near and second the poster who mentioned Claremont Fan, it's become very popular.
As you are looking at girls Catholic schools, don't forget St Teresa's Effingham which is also very popular for good reason. Lots of girls live in Cobham and the school run is very easy. The new head is very exciting and popular.The Marist is too far away for many in Cobham when there are much closer choices, same for St Cats Twickenham.

Dd1 has just finished Year 8 at Notre Dame and Dd1 is joining Year 7 in September. We couldn't be happier with the school. Dd1 is very bright and is thriving, challenged and making really good progress. The pastoral care is second to none - based on my experience as a secondary school teacher for over 20 years we were blown away by their approach and the brilliant care. We chose it over SWPS for that reason.

Hi @Skatingpark97
I'm a parent at The Marist and couldn't rate it more highly. The girls are happy and confident and they provide so much in the way of support and extras. Sport is fantastic and for all levels, not just the elite. Results are really impressive and there is a lovely community feel, especially with both Prep and Senior on site. There's a real focus on wellbeing and a new co-curricular program offering so many different activities.
In terms of SL5, I agree with the comments above, it's a lovely, green space with so much to do for children. Very much commuter belt with many people (historially) going into London. Worth looking at the train lines as Ascot itself is a bit of a chugger, but there are stations nearby with fast routes.
Lots of the families live in Ascot/Windsor/Maindehead/Virginia Water/Egham areas so lots of places to look at. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions. Good luck with your search!

@Skatingpark97
I've just seen you've said your daughter's are very sporty - you should definitely go and take a look at The Marist as the sporting accolades are super!

I cannot recommend The Marist more highly
Both my daughters are extremely sporty & absolutely excel there
The facilities are great & the PE staff enthusiastic & passionate
They strike the right balance of sport & participation & encourage all girls to take part regardless of performance level
They equally have an enviable reputation locally, punching well above their weight and fielding lots of teams in lots of sports often succeeding at both district & county level

Academically I have been really impressed with how my girls have progressed & the school shows real value for added in terms of academic success, with students achieving beyond expectations at both Gcse & A level
As a parent of an A level student collecting her results today I cannot emphasise how supported she’s been throughout her time at The Marist

We live just outside Ascot but the journey to school is an easy one & both my daughters friendship groups spread across the area

They are all fantastic young women & I cannot recommend the school more highly to you

APB1965
Thank you for your reply!! Congratulations to you dd with her amazing A-level results!! 🥳
How long has the girls been at the Marist?

SeptOct

Girls love sports, in particular gymnastics. When I was browsing through the school website, it somehow took me to "Links Gymnastics",
Are classes taught in school or at a local sport club?

@All

I found all the comments extremely helpful!! Thank you all so very much!! Should get in touch & register with these schools pretty soon, and start to think about the their prep entrance exams, 11+ assessments & interviews, would love to hear the experience from parents who have gone through admission stages with the schools mentioned above.

@blissfulberryblush you’re so welcome!
Yes, links gymnastics is a club that is based at The Marist which a lot of the girls go to. The Prep PE teacher is a gymnastics specialist too so they do a lot of gym in Prep. Some senior girls do go to clubs and I know they have some high achievers but not too sure on details!
The co-curricular program has just been revamped and gymnastics is offered in the senior school too, I believe.
The main sports are netball, hockey, athletics and swimming for fixtures though.
Yes, admissions process was really straight forward for us and the registrar was really helpful. May be worth calling to see if they’re touring. Best of luck!