St Edmunds Ware

[Gettheplane]

We have 4 children and are moving over from America. We were thinking about St Edmunds Ware but friends have heard numbers are low and behaviour is poor. Is it likely to close? Our children are v bright will the atmosphere encourage study?

I know 1 family at the school and they haven't mentioned poor behaviour.

Have you visited? That's the only way to see if the culture is a good fit for you. Haileybury is nearby, could you visit there as well so you can compare and contrast?

Re finances. I suspect lots of private schools are in dire straits on this. I am not sure how people are meant to know this other than asking the school who probably want to keep it private to not put off parents sending their DC there.

When private schools have closed, it seems to come out of the blue for parents which is a shame.

Not sure how academic St Edmunds is.

Why has St Edmund's made your shortlist?
Location?
Religion?
Co-ed?
Boarding?

If being academically rigorous is your main priority you could just look at the league tables.

Very strong Catholic ethos. Not sure it is in the strongest position in a climate where many private schools are struggling. It’s only a second hand impression, but I think it pulls in a lot of students whose parents want this over state schools on that side of London and can just about afford it - which is potentially precarious. Teachers I have encountered don’t seem particularly content. Well worth having a good look at published results in comparison with other schools, as academic is a priority for you. And breadth of curriculum to ensure any non-core subjects of interest are included.
Have you looked at Bishop’s Stortford College, as that’s not far away?

We are looking for a co ed catholic school . Hertfordshire would work well from the point of view of our work. Would like weekly rather than full boarding but would consider full boarding.

Most boarding schools offer flexi / weekly/full time boarding nowadays

The other Catholic co-ed boarding school I know are up north.

If girls, there's st Mary's in Ascot which is meant to be very good

Its not a massively academic school so no hot housing but results are improving a lot and teaching is good.

You don’t have to be super clever to get in so there’s a great mix of ability. Clever kids will do very well. Grounds are beautiful and pastoral care is good.
good luck!