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Original poster

St Paul’s Junior or King’s College School? Which one shall I choose!

16 replies

morlaismum · 21/12/2022 05:52

Dear all,

We definitely need your advice here!

Our lucky boy has received the 7+ offers from both SPJ and KCS. We know they both are top ranked boy schools in the UK, and we want to make right (suitable) decision for our son. Let me outline some facts here:

From our experience, KCS focus more on English, Speaking and the boys’ potential (they have their own selection criteria), it is less academic than SPJ (I will explain why).
While SPJ seems have a higher standard in academic, as from our network, 4 boys got KCS offers, but however only 2 of them (one is my son) got SPJ offers. It seems SPJ select boys more based on their academic, and that seems higher than KCS.
SPJ has a new head teacher, and KCS head teacher is excellent too. We like both of them.
Now let me talk about the process. KCS has 3 round (1 exam, 2 interviews), it takes about 2 months. SPJ only has 2 round (1 exam, 1 interview), takes only 3 weeks. Interesting thing is, KCS issues offer few days before the SPJ exam, it may lead us to think they want to hunt the good candidates from SPJ.
Our home is near Epsom, there is school bus from KCS, but however the nearest school bus to SPJ is in Wimbledon.
My boy and I prefer SPJ, but my lovely husband thinks KCS is fine, we don’t need to travel that far.

Please can you vote SPJ or KCS and with reason why. Thanks a million!

Kindest regards
Morlaismum

OP posts:

11plusdoneanddusted · 21/12/2022 08:13

If you live in Epsom, 100% KCS.
There will be boys in St Pauls who live in North London- it will be a nightmare with parties, playdates etc, let alone getting there every morning.
Both great schools with not enough differences to make up for the differences in journey.

sailingsunshine · 21/12/2022 08:14

Of course go for KCS, how can you get from Epsom to Barnes via Wimbledon each day? Imagine if you got a new job in Barnes, could you commute for 11 years? There is nothing between these schools that justify that commute. Your ds will be happy and stretched at KCS and your family life will be more balanced.

11plusdoneanddusted · 21/12/2022 08:22

PS- don't get caught up in all the hype around admissions. The fact 4 boys got KCS and only 2 got St P doesn't really make St P more academic. The boys are 6, it's all a lottery to some extent and depends so much on age, confidence, tutoring etc. There will be plenty of boys who got a yes from St P and a No from KCS, especially at 11plus.

HoneyMobster · 21/12/2022 08:27

KCS every time if you live in Epsom. There is nothing to separate the two schools academically. We chose KCS because we live locally, if we'd lived closer to SPS we'd probably have chosen it.

We've had two boys go through from 7+ - one now at Oxford and another going to Princeton. I think KCS turned out to be academic enough...

11plusdoneanddusted · 21/12/2022 08:33

11plusdoneanddusted · 21/12/2022 08:22

Meant to say a No from St P and a yes from KCS at 11plus! Nothing between them academically and indeed small percentage points between both of them and a host of other schools.

Ericaequites · 21/12/2022 09:30

Both schools are excellent. Choose the easiest commute that your son can make on his own as soon as possible. Being dependent on parents to see school friends gets complicated quickly as children get older.

sailingsunshine · 21/12/2022 09:38

You might want to follow this thread in Secondary Education too as all the posters are advising the parent to not move house and stick with Habs.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4701275-habs-vs-westminster-vs-st-pauls-boys?page=2&reply=122436154

Lolakath19 · 21/12/2022 23:29

First well done to your son (and you ;)) he has done amazing!
our son started at spj this September after 7+ and we are very happy with our choice. Let me know if you have any question. At the end of the day I agree there is not much difference between those two schools and your DS is still very small so commute is important.

MGMidget · 21/12/2022 23:32

I was all for SPJ without a doubt until I read that you live in Epsom. I think that’s too far for SPJ, especially for the junior school, unless you would move house. There isnt much in it between them academically (SPJ slightly more academic and tougher to get in than KCS but not much.). KCS will still be full of very bright boys and top level teaching and outcomes and a horrendous commute to SPJ could lower his academic performance.

LondonGirl83 · 22/12/2022 16:21

Is there anything specific about St Paul’s that makes it stand out to you besides your view it’s harder to get into? If you pick St Paul’s, you’d need to move house.

2minutesplease · 22/12/2022 18:55

KCJS mum here. My son had offers for both schools and we chose Kings not only because it’s closer (and after a term I totally for the nearest school!!) but also we all loved the cosier, warmer feeling we had from the school and because we heard that SPJS is somewhat more pressuring environment which we wanted to avoid at least at this age.
Our son cannot be happier at Kings, surrounded by inspiring, clever boys and fun, stimulating education, myriads of opportunities (same as in St. Paul’s of course). After 7+ we wanted him to enjoy his time at Junior school and while there are plenty of competitive things they are doing at school he feels very comfortable and adores his school.

Sevenplus · 23/12/2022 19:26

What did you decide? We also have an offer from St Paul’s and trying to figure our options out. We don’t have kings but waiting to sit the second round at other schools.

Academi · 30/12/2022 22:11

St Paul’s mum here. Wondering what on earth are you on about OP?

St Paul’s GIRLS is no 1 in the tables, but KCS and St Paul’s are no 2 and no 3. They are the TOP BOYS’ SCHOOLS. For several years, KINGS has been higher up the tables (no 2), though St. Paul’s boys has just lapped kings this year.

So, no, St. Paul’s boys is in no way more academic than kings, and St. Paul’s is in no way harder to get into, and I have no idea where you are getting this from…

Either school will provide an extremely fast paced education for a very bright boy. I’d go with gut, ie which one you prefer, and in your case you seem biased towards St. Paul’s. That all said, I’d always prioritise journey (unless you plan to move!). Long commutes are a drag!

Letsdoit84 · 11/01/2023 13:49

I agree that travel distance is very important and makes no sense to travel through Wimbledon to Barnes. However I would agree that SPS is slightly more academic as the results we see each year are purely done by the boys. Kings results are mixed : boys AND INTAKE of extremely bright girls who come for 6th form.

Original poster

morlaismum · 11/01/2023 17:32

Dear all,

Happy new year. Thanks so much for all your feedbacks and comments. We have decided to go to SPJ, and we plan to move our house. Our reasons are:

We have a 9 yro daughter, there are more matching girl schools near SPJ, (i.e: SPG if we are lucky, or Latymer)
Our boy prefers SPJ somehow

Thanks again and all the best. xxx

Morlaismum

OP posts:

Doodleboodle · 17/01/2023 07:49

Letsdoit84 · 11/01/2023 13:49

Completely untrue, check out the boys only gcse results. The schools are identical, with KCS boys some years doing better than SPS, and sometimes SPS better than KCS. But we are talking a 0.x difference in their grades. These are the UK’s top two boys schools. In my view, SPS is more famous than KCS and that’s all. Of course, Eton is even more famous, and massively further down the list, to put this in perspective. Westminster likewise is further down list. But people have heard of Eton so many imagine it to be the best of the best.

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