When to make the move back to the UK (girls schools guildford area)

[ArabianGulf2Surrey]

We currently live abroad, both DDs attending a selective British prep school that has been rated outstanding. My little one is currently at nursery and the older one in year 2.

From what we can tell at this age, they are both quite academic, with a big interest in music, sports and arts.

We have the opportunity move back to the UK in the next few years, DH would be working in Central London and we plan to buy a house in Surrey in the countryside close to Guildford/ Woking.

My worry is getting the girls into a good school. Ideally we'd move back in about 4 years, so my older one could join at the 11+ entry (so far we like St cats in bramley). However my little one would be entering year 4 - not sure about our chances to get a spot at this entry point?

What would you advise? We are in the lucky position to decide when to make the move.

I don't think the St cats Bramley prep school is particularly oversubscribed so you wouldn't have a problem plus there are lots of other coed preps in the area. The main challenge would be GHS prep which has very few spaces past Reception and for year 4 you would be dependent on someone leaving etc and passing the exam. There are many private school options around Guildford, less towards Woking. Plus don't forget the birth rate is falling.

From what I've heard, getting a place at St Cats prep shouldn't be too difficult - as @redrobin75 said the birth rate is falling, and I've seen from another thread that the class sizes are fairly small in the prep at the moment.

In terms of school decisions it's worth considering what school would be the right environment for your DDs. St Cats does have good facilities for sports, music & arts (with most of a focus on sports) but I think the ethos there suits some girls more than others.
It's an academic school - as you mentioned - but there is comparison between the girls (girls are graded comparative to their peers so even if a girl achieves what would be an outstanding grade they could still be the 'worst' in their year group), which can be very difficult for those who are perfectionist, or who place their self-worth in their achievements. It can absolutely be a brilliant school for some girls, but I think really discouraging and detrimental for others. There are also criticisms on this forum regarding pastoral care and the 'no blame' bullying policy.

From personal experience at the school, I enjoyed the facilities and opportunities, but did not find it to be a supportive environment and the pastoral care was shocking. I would not consider sending my DD there (at very least until current senior school headmistress is gone and ethos updates itself!!).

I'm considering sending my daughter there but didn't realise about the comparative scoring. I hate that! We used to do this at my company at work and got rid of it a few years ago as it was unfair.

What are tormead and GHS like? I heard GHS is very hard to get into. My daughter has a standard score of 125 which equates to very high and anything above 130 is outstanding ... I still don't think this will be Anoush for ghs. She is currently year 2.

**Enough not Anoush