Eltham College - experience for girls?

[KSEmum]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience of Eltham
College and how the experience has been for girls in particular. My daughter has recently been offered a place at the junior school to start in year 3 in September. She is a very academic but quite shy little girl and is currently in a lovely girls school that has a very nurturing environment with great pastoral care.

I think my daughter will thrive in an academic environment but I am concerned as Eltham College has only recently turned coed and so don’t have much experience catering for the girls.

I would be very grateful if anyone with experience of the school has any feedback on how they have adapted for the girls. Do you find the school has adapted well and are able to provide the same opportunities to girls or is the culture very male dominant? Would a shy little girl who is academically capable have a chance to shine there or is it really more for very confident children?

I would also be interested for any one with experience further up the school as to whether the girls are encouraged as much in the STEM subjects and whether they have seen the school working to break down gender barriers for them?

The school DD is in at the moment really encourages girls to think outside of traditional gender roles and I am concerned that going to a previously boys school, the girls will be cast into taking certain subjects and not encouraged as much in subjects traditionally considered “for boys.”

I would be really grateful for any thoughts on the above or experiences as I’m finding the decision very hard!

Thanks in advance for your help!

I am sorry I don't personally have any experience of Eltham College and that my post is not in response to your question, however I am based in South London and am looking for a school for my DD, just like the one you describe your daughter is currently in. If you feel comfortable doing so, I would really appreciate it if you could share the name of the school. Please feel free to DM if you prefer. Many thanks.

If it is keeping you up at 4am(?) you have your answer. Don’t move a happy child. Pastoral care and confidence building is everything.
If your child is at Bromley High I personally would not choose Eltham unless you have eg 2 younger boys and it makes your life far easier logistically.

I know several girls who've moved from Blackheath High and Bromley High to Eltham (I tutored them for the 7+). I think the personality development at both girls' schools is fantastic - but the Blackheath High girls tend to be behind in maths compared to other local schools. I am generalising, and it's also a sign of a school that goes up to 18, but I do think academically they are less pushy than Eltham though the final results are similar. I am personally a huge advocate for girls' schools in order to build confidence - boys benefit from co-ed schools but girls benefit from single sex education imo. The whole gender-based sports segregation at co-ed schools really put me off.

I can’t believe people are tutoring for 7 plus to get into Eltham now.
My kids went from state primary with no preparation. They were always just avid readers.
We never found Eltham pushy at junior level, rather the opposite, not enough homework in Years 5 and 6 to prepare for secondary school, in my opinion. A happy and chaotic place where they get to have fun and be independent and have lots of different teachers and if lucky, are selected to do lots of fixtures. It is most definitely an “independent” ethos at junior level rather than the protective ethos of the typical GDST schools. Eltham Junior does a 2 day overnight residential in Year 3, most kids go. Ski trips in Year 5 and 6 (in non Covid times) etc. Lost property disappears into a black hole etc. It is just that kind of fun place. Teachers respond promptly to emails.

Out of interest OP, does the school your DD is at begin with S? If so, I am looking closely at it. What has put you off your current school or drawn you to Eltham?

ddsistersmum Does Eltham have a coach that stops near your home?

@ddsistersmum - I think 1 hour on the school bus twice a day(?) is very long for a 7 year old. At secondary school it is fine because they socialise and do homework etc. However, at primary school it could be very hard on the child unless they are very high energy, read on the bus etc, not car sick. All these factors are very important.
To be honest a bright child will make 11 plus to the good schools so why didn’t you just get her a tutor and lots of extra curricular clubs if she is happy? Eltham Junior is great but the main purpose is to avoid 11 at Senior School. Blackheath Junior is not that academic, probably more sports and pastoral than an excellent state primary but you will get more academics with a good tutor.

@ddsistersmum - I am not sure about taking Maths GCSE early but I know Maths is taught well at Newstead Wood and they have significant number of girls accepted on Maths degrees and so do St Olaves. Compare the university destinations and degrees at those two schools vs Blackheath High….

I have a son at EC senior school, so can’t talk from direct experience, but I think (from what I’ve heard and read) that the girls at EC are enormously successful and really nurtured to do well.

@ddsistersmum - no, I would not pay £2500, it is a lot of money and they will not give it back! Younger DD can always apply at 11 plus again when the longer journey is less of an issue. You can also try for grammar then at the same time. Blackheath High is a lovely, nurturing school and it sounds like you have already decided on that anyway.
However, I have to say… if I were a maths teacher rather than a lawyer, I would get a teaching job in a really good independent school and the 50 per cent plus discount for my children… some schools even offer 66 per cent plus off…

Eltham has been co-ed for quite a while now. Before that they admitted girls in the Vlth form.

I've know a couple of girls who went there and they thoroughly enjoyed it as well as gaining good results. However your daughter is in the junior school so you don't have to think about her moving up just yet and there are other schools. Colfe's is very good and Newstead Woods Grammar.

I was told by Eltham that it’s easier for girls than boys to get in as they are still trying to attract more girls. It’s a far more academic school than Colfe’s (mentioned above) so I would not consider them in the same league.

I can help with clubs at junior school level at Eltham - Mandarin, history, drama, Lamda, fencing, ping pong, chess, hockey, netball, swimming, ski racing, chess, craft club, really good art club after school in the gallery, really nice cooking club with the dinner lady, netball, hockey, lots of instruments on offer, singing, choir etc. There are likely to be more, so these are just what I remember.
The school does not yet offer dance, gymnastics or ballet at junior level so I think that is a mistake if you take little girls - so the current push is more into girls netball/girls hockey/football. If your girls prefer the former, then GDST would be better, typically.
The school does not play competitive football or tennis at senior school level for boys - it is mainly rugby and hockey and cricket. I am assuming it is netball/hockey mainly for girls, but not 100 per cent sure.
The homework load at junior school is currently very light.
At the moment it is easier for girls to get in at 11 plus because most of the boy places are filled by the junior school boys. Once the current Year 4 (first co-ed junior level) gets to Year 7, that will change. It will become more fair towards external boys then.
I think the feel of a school is very very important and so if you liked Blackheath High, go for it and enjoy it. I always found the GDST very warm, nurturing and loving towards little girls. Go with your gut instinct.
However, personally I do not find Eltham to be that pushy or academic. I do hear from friends though that homework at Senior school is a lot, but these could just be complaining teenage boys so difficult to tell. Most academic schools will aim for 1 hour homework every evening and with an independent school, if the child does most of its extracurricular at school itself, then it is perfectly manageable.

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your thoughts. This has been such a difficult decision (for all the reasons outlined above) but in the end we have decided to go for it! It’s been really hard as we have no problem with the very lovely GDST school (not beginning with S) that my daughter attends and it is definitely a very nurturing, kind environment but at the end of the day, my daughter is very academic and focused so we felt EC would suit her best in the long term and this way we won’t have to worry about moving her for 11+.

Both options have strong pros and some cons (I also found it surprising no ballet or gymnastics but I guess I will have to lobby for this!) but I am hoping we are doing the right thing! Good luck @ddsistersmum. You know what is best for your daughter and you as a family and I am sure you will do the right thing! Both options are really great options and it sounds like your daughter will do really well wherever she is!

I have a daughter in the senior school at EC. She couldn't be enjoying life more! I think their offering for girls has been exceptional and I don't find it overly academic/pushy in the younger years. I have an older son at the school so I am well aware that it gets tougher the further up the school you go though.

Oh the gym/ballet/dance thing - there are gymnastics and dance clubs in the senior school but they are very poorly attended. I guess that if you are serious about any of those you will probably be doing them outside of school by this age (as my daughter does).

There is a LOT of work around equality in the senior school and I think that the girls have a very good sense of who they are in the context of the school population. If anything, they may have a slightly over-inflated sense of their awesomeness but this is probably no bad thing as we all know what happens to confidence levels in teenage girls.

Honestly couldn't be happier with the school for my daughter.