Peter Symonds

[squirrelspatchcock]

Looking for thoughts on Peter Symonds in Winchester.

My daughter's in a quandary about whether to take up her place at Peter Symonds (to do STEM A' level subjects) or stay at her school 6th Form.

Peter Symonds is the 'exciting adventure', school 6th Form is the safe option.

My concerns about PS:
We live outside the area so logistically will be quite a pain, especially if there are problems on the train. Her priority is getting good grades, and I'm concerned that she will spend a while settling in (she doesn't know anyone else going whatsoever). I've heard that due to it's size, the communal areas are often very busy, e.g. canteen, library etc. Also that pastoral care isn't the best if you are struggling.

However, obviously it has a great reputation for getting kids into good Universities, and therefore can't work out if it is silly not to take the opportunity, or whether it has gained mythical status in my head!

Situation is not helped by only being able to attend an on-line open evening and not being able to visit.

Any opinions very welcome.

I have looked round PS at least twice. I have friends whose DC have been there in recent years. (My DD2 has just done y11 but is not going to do A levels so headed elsewhere.) So this is hearsay and impression only.

It is massive ~2000 in both year groups. It also has a very wide catchment area. A lot of pupils won't have anyone they are already friends with in their A level classes.
The size does mean that you seem to be able to do whatever combination of A levels you want as there aren't the timetable restrictions that smaller schools have.
Workspace can be limited in free periods.
I don't know about pastoral care, though DD1 did find a massive drop off between her good school and the college she went to, so I wouldn't be surprised.
They tend to only see you at parents evening if they want to see you. If your child is doing fine they won't call you in.
It requires pupils to be self motivated. they aren't going to spend time chasing you if you can't be bothered yourself.

It seems to me to be a great half way house to university for those who are ready for it, but could be a step too far for the less mature.

Of course it can get kids into good universities. When you have 2000 in the year and a catchment including Winchester, Romsey & Chandlers Ford before you even look further away there are going to be a lot of able children there.

(If you don't get many responses here, try posting on Secondary as well as there are quite a few Hants parents on there.)

DS is at PS, year one. He's struggling currently but his teachers have been great.

We live outsider of the area and in a year he's had one issue with the trains - nothing major. Downside is he has lots of friends living a fair distance away (some over 50 miles)

I would definitely recommend it

My DC left Symonds last year and has just completed their first year at Oxbridge. We live in Hants, but there are closer colleges than Symonds. It was definitely worth the trek. The trains were only an issue during SW Train strikes.

Symonds is perfect preparation for the next step to uni because of its size. I think there were around 30 maths classes in my DC's year group, with many of them taking FM as well. My only note of caution there would be that there is an assumption that many students taking maths will also be taking FM or physics and have some assumed knowledge.

My DC had a regular seat in the library. They always did a full day with an 8.30 start for logistical reasons. There is nobody there to chase you up and they have 5 hours per subject of actual lessons.

My DC became friends with others who didn't have large friendship groups from their old schools.

Symonds was a bit crap in the 2020 A level fiasco. They appear to have tried to play the system to their detriment, so they seem very reluctant to publish their 2020 A level results. I know of a lot of students who missed their first choice uni or were left in limbo. The support wasn't great at that point, but the entire state system was in the same boat.

I'm very pleased my DC went there. They were encouraged to try things and stretch themself. He has friends who went to the alternatives, equally bright students, who have settled for good local universities, but could probably have aimed higher with a bit more oomph around them.

Hi, thanks so much for taking time to respond. It is great to get some different perspectives, and generally speaking it all seems positive!

I know this thread is a month old, but here's my tuppence worth:

PS is great for self-motivated, high achieving RG heading DC.

If this is your DC, I'd absolutely choose it. Despite last year, they do have good form for getting DC into the more prestigious universities.

If this might not be your DC, they might find themselves better off in a less competitive environment, as, if they're clever, they'll get a lot of individual attention from teachers eager to boost that sixth form college's academic reputation!

As an aside I know a couple of private school DC who struggled with the transition from handholding in Y11 to 'get on with it' at Y12 at PS. I don't know the stats of private v state at PS but the area is full of very high achieving large state comps from whence much of PS's intake comes (as there are very few state school sixth forms locally).