St Rye Anthony/Dragon/Chandlings School in Oxford

[3431Jess]

Hello all,
We are moving to the north of Oxford area and thinking about future school for DS in Year 5. We (including DS) visited Rye St. Anthony/Chandlings/Dragon School and liked them all. Having said that, it is hard to judge a school by spending 1 day there. So, I would like to know if any of you have thoughts? DS is academic and musical, he likes sport although not entirely competitive (he is doing it for fun, refuse to do any sports clubs outside school). He has an older brother in MCS, but we think he isn't quite ready for MCS as it can be quite intense and demanding. His current school is quite laid back and he is easily on the top of the class without putting much effort (in other words... a bit lazy). We need a school that would aspire him to work hard without stressing him out because the plan is for him to join his brother at MCS at some point (likely to be 11+).

I got a feeling that Dragon is the least academic compared to RSA or Chandlings, but has offered more well-rounded opportunities in music, sports and drama. RSA is a very nice school but my concern is the size, there is only one class in his year, I just don't get my head around how they play rugby with very few boys? Chandlings seems to tick all the boxes, but I am worried about the A34 situation (we live in North of Oxford) as we can't rely on school buses (OSBP is running to both RSA and Dragon). Any thoughts would be welcomed, and thank you!

new college?
CCCC?

The Dragon as a large school has always catered for the full range of academic abilities but provides a fast paced stretching education for those it suits and certainly has many extremely bright DCs. Ask to look at their leavers’ destinations and scholarships over the last few years.

@houselikeashed

new college? CCCC?

I tried this a few months back, they said they have no space for sept 2022.

@sendsummer

The Dragon as a large school has always catered for the full range of academic abilities but provides a fast paced stretching education for those it suits and certainly has many extremely bright DCs. Ask to look at their leavers’ destinations and scholarships over the last few years.

My aim is to put DS in MCS with his brother eventually at 11+. What concerns me with Dragon is that not many of their leavers head to MCS, (perhaps not because they can't, but the students seem to be gearing more towards boarding schools like Eton, st Edwards or Stowe). I have no intention to board DS anywhere so I don't know whether Dragon could help DS to prepare for highly academic 11+ screening by MCS since it is a completely different type of school. But like you said, I love the school, there are such diverse things to do in term of clubs and support their offer. Dragon certainly offers far more options than the other two contenders. (We are surprised there is a stool-weaving club!) And do you think a kid from smaller countryside school would be overwhelmed with a sudden triple in number of friends? (his current school have 2 class in his year, Dragon has 6). DS was separated from his friends during his lunch on taster day in Dragon and was a bit upset about it. I don't know whether this is a cause of concern or assume that eventually he'll adapt.

IME the academic setting is very much fine tuned to ability and matching that to exit school requirements. The strength of the size of the school (plus of course high fees) is that they can do that The highest level boys in years 7/8 prepare for the Eton KS and Winchester Election both of which are much harder than MCS scholarship exams.

Some DCs including girls will leave at 11. I think you will find that your DS may want to stay until year 8 and move to MCS in year 9 but he will get the teaching he needs for year 6 tests as most senior schools will pre-test in year 6. I suggest you ask admissions for the schools’ senior school written guide which will give you a clearer idea of the structure.
With regards the size, pupils don’t seem fazed by it and they certainly don’t get bored. Generally the school allows pupils to develop into quite a free spirited independent bunch which was its original founding purpose.

Hi Sendsummer,

Thank you very much for your input :) We are certainly will try to find out about the pretest in year 6 as you said. Good thinking. We like Dragon very much, and one of the things is because we knew the head Mrs. Goldsmith - she was the previous head in DS school. She is excellent!

We want DS to join MCS in year 7, right at the beginning of MCS senior school. His brother is 15 right now and we want them to spend a few years together in MCS before he left for uni.

I'm interested if anyone else has any thoughts about RSA or Chandlings? DS just got offered a place in all three school... which made things a lot more complicated. He prefers RSA and Chandlings, while we thought Dragon probably will open up his horizon a little bit further.

Hi,
I am having the exact same dilemma! We have only a week left to decide. My Daughter is due to start year 3 and we are choosing between Dragon and Rye St Antony. She is not as academic as others and we are leaning towards Rye due to the outstanding Pastoral care it offers. I spoke to Dragon yesterday and they stated very few leave at 11 but they do support towards 11+ if that is the route you are choosing.

I would really love to know if anyone has feedback on Rye St Antony as I really did like it a lot ...

We ended up picking RSA for logistic reasons (and also because DS really liked it). My oldest DS had a few who were from RSA, and they had very positive feedback about their stay there. So I'm hoping I am making the right choice here. Good luck!

Amazing! See you there!