Colfes or Dulwich College, Eltham College

[blackheathmumoftwo]

Hello,

Actually we gave our decision but I wanted to know what would you do☺️
We live in Blackheath. And my son had an offer from Dulwich College, Colfes and Eltham College. (Year 3)

School 1: Colfes:
2022/2023 fees: £5,272
1.4 miles away
No travel cost, he will travel by car than he travel by bus when he gets older.

2022 GCSE results:
37.5% of GCSE grades were graded 9, with 84% attaining 9/8/7.. with 63% of pupils securing the top 9-8 grades. Despite reports of a national drop in grades 7 and above nationally, over 80% of grades achieved by Colfe’s pupils were 7/8/9

School 2: Eltham College:
2022 GCSE results:
37% of GCSE grades were 9s (the highest grade) and nearly two-thirds of results were 9/8 grades and 85% of all grades were 9/8/7

2022/2023 fees: £6,092
3.5 miles away.
Needs to use school bus until year 11 - no transport link from our place.
School bus fee: £10.68 daily (return)

School 3 - Dulwich College:
2022 GCSE results:
52% of the grades achieved are at the highest level (Grade 9) and 93% of grades are Grade 7 and above (A and A* grades in the old currency).

. School fees 2022/2023: 7,657

Need to use school bus until year 11School bus fee: 11.8 daily (return)

6.2 miles away

By the way we have a daughter in Blackheath High which she will stay there untill year 11 (we prefer girls only school for her and she is so happy in her school) so we dont want to move to other area.

Well DC is obviously a much 'better' school if you're looking academics. But if your kid is Y3, worrying about GCSE results is bonkers. So much could happen in the next 8 years. And like any school, has a very definite vibe which suits some kids and not others. And the difference in fees may be relevant to your family finances or it may not. And...and...and

@BeBraveLittlePenguin 👍🏻

where is he at the moment? presumably you are choosing a school which will enable you to avoid the 11+?

personally wouldn't put an 8 year old on a bus to DC although it is the school we chose for DS aged 11. it's just too long a day IMO.

don't underestimate the power of being able to walk to school - I'd go Colfes. Eltham is trying to become the most sought after school locally but the GCSE grades aren't all that impressive?

@TJsAunt he is in prep school at the moment. I want to avoid 11+ like you said also my son is not so happy where he is so I wanted to move him earlier.

fair enough. another consideration would be that the Colfes kids would have been together since Nursery I guess so he would be one of a small no of newbies whereas ELtham starts at Y3 so they'd all be new.....

Dulwich, by a mile.

Unless the extra cost is a factor, in which case go for Colfe's, which sounds easier on the logistics too

@AnotherNewt yes but Dulwich too far he has to take the school bus before 7:30 am - we will need to pay for school bus fee for 10 years and he will have no local friends. We can afford Dulwich school fees and its academically the best but I dont know if its worth to go when we consider all these factors

@blackheathmumoftwo what was your decision then?

The Eltham College bus comes to Blackheath around 15 minutes after the Dulwich bus. It isn't a huge difference imo. The bus fees are going up A LOT though, so do keep an eye on it. Once DS is in Y7, you can also look at sending him on a regular bus (P4?) that stops just outside Dulwich College and a lot of DC boys take that. And it's free till 16!

The two challenges will be taking him for sports matches (most Saturdays) and forming friends near by. The good news is that they will make friends on the bus easily - they all seem to have regular playdates. We also go to Dulwich on weekends for birthday parties, which can be a bit of a hassle.

I wouldn't base my decision on bus versus non-bus. It hasn't really impacted or disrupted our life majorly (we also chose a Dulwich school over Eltham at 7+). Pick the school you like more.

1. Dulwich College
2. Colfe’s
3. Eltham College