Breaside Prep vs Bickley Park (Bromley area)

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Hi everyone,

I saw a lot of comments about Breaside with high academic focus, while Bickley Park is less into academic but very good with arts, sports, etc.
However, when I compared the 2 schools’ leaver destinations, Bickley Park appears to have much better results with about 50% of children go to the very top schools (Tonbridge, Seven Oak, Dulwich, Eltham, Trinity, etc), while Breaside only have about 30% going to this level of schools. Although there are many gramma schools in Breaside’s leavers list, many of those gramma schools are actually not good at all, they just have Good Ofsted rating with low A level results ranking.

So, shouldn’t it be Bickley Park which has more academic focus than Breaside?

My DD has just received the offer from Breaside. We didn’t register for Bickey Park because we thought Breaside is better in academic. However, after I compared the leaver destinations of both school just now, I wonder if I made the wrong decision.

I’d like to focus on academic, so the downside of Breaside small facility is not an issue to me.

Many thanks

Breaside's parents have traditionally targeted the grammar schools. And the school has a good success rate at the Bexley and Kent 11+ exams.

That doesn't mean it's less academic than Bickley?

Bickley's parents have always targeted Tonbridge/Sevenoaks/Eltham - it's just a different focus.

Bickley has always been all boys. It's only just going coed so your dd would be a little girl in an all boys school if she went there - if there's even any spaces left - is that what you want?

Hi @Charlotte120221 ,

Many thanks for very helpful advice.

I am not really worry about the fact that my little girl will be lonely among the boys, as long as there are some girls in the class. My best friends in schools were more boys than girls :)

I am more into the academic side of the schools. As you mentioned about the leavers' targets, I guess Breaside is more suitable for my situation. I hope we can stay on the private path and send DD to Eltham later, but also want to be precautious with unforeseen financial issues. If for any reason, we cannot stay with the private path, at least, Breaside will support the way to gramma schools.

Just some info on the side in case you are interested, I thought these schools are always over-subscribed with long waiting list, but I'm surprised both Bickley Park and Breaside still have available spaces for different age groups from nursery onwards for this September, confirmed on phone and also advertised on their websites.

there's a reason that bickley and eltham have gone co-ed. Borth rates are dropping so independent schools can increasingly not afford to be single sex. Am not at all surprised they have spaces. And that will only worsen as the VAT issue comes into play.

My point about Bickley was that only the Nursery/reception classes will be coed - and probably then not fully.

From Y1 - Y8 will be only boys.

That IMO is a strange setting to be putting a 4 year old girl into?

I think the reason Bickley only takes girls from very early age is that they cannot break the single gender promise to parents who have already sent their boys there. So the co-ed only can start being built from now on with the nursery group.
When these nursery classes grow up, they will keep receiving both genders in, which means the school will only be fully coed after 10 years.
In a school activity, the girls may feel lonely, but I think they should feel balanced inside their own small class.

Anyway, your very good point about the leavers’s target of Breaside already directed me to Breaside, with options for both private and gramma later on, so we have the way out in case that VAT rule really applies.

In state schools, at least, year 12 is a new formal point of entry and in many areas, there is quite a bit of movement in and out at that point. So the cohort sitting A levels at a school is likely to not be the exact same cohort that entered the school 7 years earlier. A level results are not necessarily a good comparator. Or at least, if you must compare them, at the same time look at each school's sixth form entrance requirements. (Even one of the most sought after boys ' grammar schools in the western hemisphere, which doesn't allow external candidates into its sixth form, doesn't allow all pupils to progress from year 11 to year 12, if its own particular academic çriteria are not met). There tends to be little 'turbulence' in state grammar schools in years 7-11, so perhaps in the first instance, GCSE results is the place to look to compare schools.

I wish parents would investigate certain claims made by schools thoroughly. Breaside does not prepare children for 11 plus, the pushy/ambitious parents and their excellent tutors do. Please ask any current or past year 6 parent and they will outline what is 'provided' by the school to prep for these exams? Nothing. Also ask the head how they prep for 11 plus...what days do they go through exam papers, what do they actually do for each student to get them ready during school hours. You will see her lips begin to shake. So many lies told. Parents should really investigate what they are being sold and talk to other parents before wasting their money on what is really a state school with high fees! The site is small, lack of solid extra curricular activities and sporting activities. What are you really paying for! Even the holiday clubs run there is so boring. Children aged 6 and above cant and dont attend.