Anyone have a child at Trent College?

[angelstar]

We are looking at sending our dd there as a day pupil. It seems a very good school.
Thanks

Alot of children from ds's old prep went there, it's a very good school, very sporty though.

There's a MNer in the know so keep bumping. Are you interested in senior school or The Elms?

a lot of people transferred their children out and went to DAGFA instead... I would investigate a lot further

Its the senior school we are looking at. Dd is not sporty at all so maybe its not the best choice for her.

My daughter is at Trent. She has an academic scholarship and plays the violin (doing G5), has G4 sax (got in Y7) and G3 piano (done at junior school). I tell you this to illustrate that she is not really sporty either but she enjoys the opportunities to play sport at school.

marriedtoagoodun I hadn't heard that. Are you referring to a particular year group?

yep - mainly reception and mainly because of the closure of Attenborough Prep school. I think people got worried and looked around at the options and DAGFA managed to win a lot of people over who had considerd Trent or Attenborough. Biased but it is a very good school - a lot smaller than Trent and more 'villagy' (I can spell like that because I did not go to private school ).

Interesting - but Elms Reception and Trent's Y7 are worlds apart!

I looked at pretty much all the independent schools round here, several times (I think we started open days when DD was in Y4) and we decided Trent was the best fit for her.

I think we're very lucky in Nottingham - there is, and I think always has been, a place for pretty much every child whose parents would like to choose private education and there is a range of schools from highly academic to non-selective, large to small, single sex or co-ed.

There is also some movement between schools, when parents/children find that their original choice wasn't necessarily the right one. And often that can be achieved without too long a wait.

Yep I know what you mean, we were surprised by how many schools there were to choose from. My DH is military and we knew E would only need the Infant school hence DAGFA. I think if we had needed senior we would have been a bit concerned that DAGFA stop educating at 16. I did not read the bit about her needing a Yr 7 place - oops.

Angelstar do you have a DD or DS? I ask because the other local private schools (Nottingham) are fabulous for certain types of child - chose one over Trent due to it feeling like a better "fit" for his personality - I think he'd have struggled to keep up socially at Trent but absolutely loves the school he chose. I think a lot of it depends on what their interests are, how easily they make friends etc. trent seems very hot on discipline in Y7 according to friends with children there - so I guess it depends whether your DC need that or wouldn't be put off by it?

I have a dd. She is the very quiet, she likes school work but isn't too keen on school in general. The teachers say it takes her a long time to open up and she sometimes likes to be alone. She is bright but doesn't think she is, she is very caring and is a peer mentor at her current school. There are alot of schools to choose from around here. She does have a friend at Ockbrook so we will look there too.

Hi Angel - this is my old school and I do keep in touch with what's going on.

It's an okay school. Not great and has a (deserved) reputation for being not particularly academic and majoring on sports. So if you have ambitions to send your DD to Oxbridge, you might think twice. But if your DD is very sporty or musical, then Trent will be fine.

I spent time both boarding and as a daygirl. The only thing about being a daygirl is that you do miss out a bit. The boarders bond more, simply because they are there 24/7. It's totally natural but it does mean that daygirls can feel a bit like outsiders. I much preferred boarding for that reason.

On the other hand, I absolutely loved it and still have friends from that time in my life. And the friends I made there are still some of my closest friends.

HTH

DD used to go to the primary section of Ockbrook,it is definitely very good at nurturing the girls and has a very gentle atmosphere. It doesn't have the "wow" factor over facilities/sports pitches that Trent has but has everything that's needed IYSWIM. Unfortunately DD's year group (in primary section) got too small for DD and we've moved her to Loughborough, but our discomfort was related to her year group rather than anything wrong with the school itself.

Maybe Trent is not such a good fit then as dd hates sports

I think it's a hard school to find your niche in if you're not sporty or arty or musical....whereabouts are you angel? Nearer Derby end or Nottingham? Is DD primary age or secondary?

I've looked at the junior section of Nottingham High School for girls which just seemed fabulous-lots of opportunities for drama/music/art/cooking etc with less emphasis on sports than at mixed schools.

I think Sue's advice to look at all the possibilities is spot-on. We've done the rounds of the Nottingham/Derby independents and ended up in L'boro but it's very much a personal preference/gut feeling, mixed in with how much you're willing for your child to travel.

Marialiusa makes a good point about travel. It was a significant factor in our choice.

I went to NGHS seniors and I loved it. When we moved back to Nottingham, I thought I'd def send DD there - and in fact she did get a place. To send her to Trent almost felt like a betrayal.

But Trent is on our doorstep, and anyone who knows the area and the traffic round here knows that travel to Nottingham is hideous. Also she has the option to stay at school and do her prep until 5 or 5.30pm, creating a definite separation between home and work, and there are never any arguments about homework, or it being left until the last minute.

If she'd gone to NGHS, she'd spend at least two hours a day on a bus, and then when she got home at 5pm-ish would have to start on homework, having left the house at 7.30am.

Once you are in the system you get to hear all sorts of things about the various schools - that Trent is madly sporty (it is very sporty, but there are lots of opps for music, drama, and art is very strong IMO). That NGHS doesn't really support pupils other talents and is an academic hothouse, etc. TBH I don't see many parents now because I don't do the school run any longer, so I don't hear things as much.

But I think you can only make a decision by going to see the school and watching how your child reacts to everything about it, and how she relates to the pupils. And how you feel you can relate to the teachers, etc

Angelstar ~This thread may be a bit old. But my DD went to Hollygirt and has had a very happy time there. Her confidence has really grown loads and results came out much better than we imagined. Worth a look I'd say...

My 3 year old daughter has been at Ockbrook since she was 2. She loves it and we love it. The change in her has been amazing. of course there is no way of knowing whether this would have happened anyway without the School. The teachers are superb, the grounds are beautiful and the overall inclusion of the parents is good too. We live opposite Trent and the Elms. I often think should we have gone for the Elms instead as it would be nice to walk there. Although both schools are comparable we intend to move closer to Ockbrook in the future so it seemed to make more sense. Of course if we had the money we may well have gone for the Repton School despite the distance. Good luck.

My experience with Trent College was awful. The admission team contradiction of information lack of communication, my daughter told me everyone from age of 12 vape in the toilet or already had sex and they speak openly about that.
I definitely not recommend this school it does not worth the money.