Independent schools in Buckinghamshire/Hertfordshire with both primary and secondary education

[ART999]

Hello Mums,

I am looking for independent schools with both primary and secondary education for my little one who is in Year 1 now.

I have searched and read about the Inspection reports for some of the schools and most of the school's reviews are Excellent.

We are mostly focused on the kid having an overall experience of good education and extracurricular activities which gives her exposure to different kinds of things and not solely on education.

My question is what are the other things that I should consider and look into before choosing the school?

Please suggest if you had the experience of your kids in independent schools and which ones are recommended in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire areas.

Many Thanks

The one I know well is St Margaret’s in Bushey, which appears to tick your boxes. We are very happy with it. We found that visiting schools was very helpful in getting a feel of the place. Things that were important to us included: good teaching, strong pastoral care, a good record of recruiting and retaining excellent staff and treating them well including staying in the TPS, strong governance with a board of governors for educational/charitable purposes (we avoided schools owned by private equity and run with a view to yielding high returns for their owners).

But more than anything: leadership. Visit schools, meet and hear from their leaders, and you will get a sense of whether you are happy to entrust your child’s education to them.

Bishops stortford college?

@ART999
You have mentioned a huge area! Bucks has a few through independent schools but the one I know best is Pipers Corner. Is your DC a DD? Berkhamsted in Herts is co Ed.

Mostly, in Bucks, you choose by destination of DC at 11 or 13. Are you looking for a Bucks grammar? Many parents do, and schools cater for this. They can be a bit lacking in facilities and are grammar crammers. Somewhere like Godstowe offers more. If you want 13 plus boarding schools, you go to a prep catering for this. So Godstowe in High Wycombe for girls or Caldicott at Farnham Royal for boys. Or The Beacon at Amersham. Maltmans Green in GX is liked by girls transferring at 11. Others schools exist of course!

Some prep schools are a mixed bag so always check destinations, curriculum and facilities meet your expectations.

Bucks has few private schools for boys and girls at secondary. Stowe is one. Cannot think of a boys private school. Some go into Oxford. Some go to Berkhamsted. Others board at 13. Where do you see yours going? Then filter out where doesn’t send Dc to your chosen type of school.

Choose what senior school you like in Herts then work backwards! What prep sends Dc to that school?

I am familiar with Habs Girls which we think is wonderful. Excellent Pastoral Care, small classes, great teaching, lots of extra curricular activities. GD is thriving there. The girls no longer have to sit the 11+ but, as long as they are working to the expected level, they progress automatically. They are working towards more extra curricular activities with the adjacent boys school eg., debating teams and GD went to a football/ netball morning on Saturday where boys and girls played both sports.

Thornton College , Akeley Wood near Buckingham. MK prep.

If you like PPs suggestion of Stowe for secondary (Y9), it now has 2 prep schools attached to it. One is over into Northants or Oxfordshire but the other one, Swanbourne House, is in Bucks. So you can do 3 - 18 by going to Swanbourne then onto Stowe. Progression is automatic assuming you meet the academic standard for Stowe (Swanbourne is not selective, Stowe is very, very mildly so).

Girl’s school Bucks / Herts that goes all the way through to senior + good extra curricular = RMS

@miniaturepixieonacid
Ob yes. I forgot they had done that. Quite a few go to Stowe from Winchester House at Brackley too.

Akeley and Thornton are very different to the selective independents in Herts. Bucks is a grammar county and quite a few private secondaries don’t have huge numbers of bright Dc.

Thanks, everyone for your replies- that gave me the idea that there are a lot of options.
Thanks a lot for your inputs @Mari I will also look at St Margaret’s in Bushey and RMS @Vermin

Hi, @TizerorFizz I have a DD, I am not looking for a Bucks grammar. I just want her to settle down in a nice school and hopefully continue her secondary education too and don't mind if it's a Co-ed or Girls only school.

When I inquired about this with my friends the 2 schools that came up were: Berkhampstead school and St Marys school in Gerrard's cross.

If you have heard about them any reviews of these schools, please?

Thank You.

@ART999
St Mary’s is a school people choose when their girls don’t get the 11 plus. It’s results are strictly at the level of a secondary modern. Not very impressive as they have 1 child with a EHCP. With just over 400 ages from 4-18, it’s too small, in my view.

Berkhamsted is different. Much bigger. 400 plus just in 6th form. You are not guaranteed a place in the senior school when in prep. It separates boys and girls until 6th form.

Bucks pupils I know who have gone have not passed for the grammars either. However it’s results are far better than St Mary’s. They are chalk and cheese really. Berko is selective.

You might prefer Pipers Corner. It’s a through school for girls and better then St Mary’s (in my view). Not the same as Berkhamsted at all. Berkhamsted is an old established school. I would prefer Swanbourne and Stowe over St Mary’s by a long way. These senior schools just have more to offer.

There’s lots of all through schools in the area.

Berkhamsted
Pipers Corner
Royal Masonic
Abbots Hill
Aldenham
St Margaret’s (Bushey)
St Columba’s College
St Helen’s
Northwood College
Habs Girls
St Albans High School
St Mary’s

They are all different in their own way. Surely location is very important too?

I would agree with much of @TizerorFizz's information and advice. Just to clarify with regard to Berkhamsted, they are mixed up to 11 and in the Sixth Form but girls and boys are educated separately from 11-16. If you prefer all-girls you could look at Heatherton House in Chesham Bois for primary, which is linked to (maybe owned by?) Berkhamsted.

I have close friends with DCs currently at Berkhamsted, RMS and Pipers, all of them are broadly happy with all 3 schools. They are definitely considered more academic than St Mary’s – although bear in mind that many of the really bright girls in south Bucks go to the grammar schools (the exception being Wycombe Abbey, which is extremely academic).

From what you have indicated so far, and in terms of the balance you are seeking, I would probably recommend looking at RMS and Pipers, with Berkhamsted giving you a slightly different perspective.

My daughter went to St Albans High for Girls, starting in Reception and ending in Upper Sixth.
My son is at St Columba's College having started in Year 7.
They are very different school though.
Stahs is an academic school and although my daughter didn't feel pressurised, you are surrounded by bright girls so it can be a bit intimidating and even though clever she was about average in her year.
SCC is definitely more nurturing but you're relying on the students to be more motivated. My son has done extremely well at the school , both in terms of GCSEs (he's in sixth form) and more importantly in confidence. It's definitely the right school for him even though he could easily go to a more academic school.

Why is a school not impressive due to a child having an EHCP?

St Francis College

@User2346
Schools tend to have more than one child with an EHCP. The equivalent state school certainly would. So are they screened out? Told their needs cannot be accommodated? I don’t know, but it’s a very low figure.

We moved our daughter out of pipers - used to be nurturing but we did not find it to be.

I would recommend checking out shiplake in henley in Buckinghamshire. They consider extra curricular so important it’s built into the school day and have late buses for after school clubs.

Henley on Thames is in Oxfordshire.