Colston Girls School

[HooNose]

I feel a little afraid asking this after the Redland Green thread, but I would be grateful if Bristolians could give me the run down on Colston Girls School.

I have moreorless decided against it but they have an open evening next week so it is now or never and I just want to be sure.

They have what they call an "assessment" day in November. I am guessing that is an exam but would love to hear from anyone who knows first hand.

Oops sorry, Riven, that sounded rude. I didn't mean that. I am grateful for your reply and simply was answering your question about the exam with my own limited knowledge and wondering if anyone could set me right. I didn't mean your reply was no good because you don't have first hand knowledge

Thanks Riven.

TBH, I don't want dd to go there (too far to travel, girls only, probably out of our league, etc etc) but dd is quite interested and I feel I should at least try to gather some opinions about the place. I have already been through the website and spoken to a friend who has a dd there, but obviously those sources are biased.

Entrance is same procedure as Cathedral - children take a test (think it is basic maths and verbal or non-verbal reasoning) to put them in an ability band, then a certain number are selected at random from each ability band to ensure a 'comprehensive' intake, ie it doesn't matter how well you do on the test, as they are not allowed just to take the brightest ones. The only exception is that they can admit a certain number (10 per cent?) on linguistic aptitude, as they are a specialist languages academy - I think there is a separate test for that.

So basically like the Cathedral it is very oversubscribed and entry is effectively a lottery. If you look round and like it, there is no harm in putting it down as your top preference, but only one in six or one in ten get a place. The people I know with daughters there seem happy with it (more so, for example, than friends with kids at Cotham). HTH.

Riven, I think it was going downhill and had various issues before it became an academy (otherwise it would have stayed private) but from what I've heard, the new structure and all the people desperate to get in has bucked things up a bit. Of course people are only desperate to get in because they assume that any ex-private school is going to be better than most of the state secondaries in Bristol, which may or may not be true.

Your sons are at one, Riven! Independently run but non-fee charging schools. They are government-funded (sometimes with extra help from companies or other organisations) but manage their own finances (ie don't have budgets imposed by the local council) and have more freedom on curriculum and academic matters too.

LOL Riven!

Thanks for all that. When I was thinking of Colston, I assumed that because it was independent of local authority, you applied for it separately.

I have since found out that you have to put them on your local authority application form just like any state school and that is what is putting me off. Because our second choice would be our local comp which is popular and I would be scared that putting it second would mean we did not get a look in. For me, it is Colston or local comp or nowhere and I am just too scared to risk getting neither and being at the mercy of the local authority.

Still, I thought Colston might be an opportunity for dd... It is so hard to make these decisions!

I was at Brimsham Green once Riven. (Ds had a music exam there). I have to say I was very impressed with the atmosphere in the school and the behaviour of the pupils and staff.

Colstons has a good reputation, v good for music, and the people I know there are v happy. They have a specialism for languages, so will select 10% on language affinity. Otherwise it's the 'banded' lottery.

Would there be school transport you could use?

TBH, the languages bit of Colston put dd off. She is probably as capable as the next child, but her talent is in art.

HooNose - I'm not sure if it would affect your chances with the local school if you put Colston's first and didn't get in - I think (but am not 100% sure) that if you don't get one of the lottery-based academies, it then works as if your next preference was actually your first preference, IYSWIM. I know plenty of people who put Cathedral first and Cotham second (also oversubscribed) and ended up with Cotham. Might be worth calling the admissions office at the council to check?

Oh, and the languages specialism doesn't mean they don't do plenty of other things - I think it just means that those who are keen get a wider choice of languages and can fit more in as options at GCSE than at some other schools.

Ah interesting exexpat. I could give the admissions office a call. I am not in Bristol so it would be my local authority but I guess they still know?

I think the Year 7s study 2 languages from the start - that was what put dd off, although, as I say, she is probably as capable as anyone else to deal with that.

So it doesn't still have a private school clientele? I don't think we would be that comfortable mixing with people who take 5 foreign holidays a year. We might burst with jealousy! Seriously, I couldn't help but notice they are doing a school trip to Italy next year which my ds is doing from his school. Same location, same week, same activities, yet Colston is asking for nearly £100 more than ds's school. Would that be to do with lack of authority funding?

Bristol operates an "Equal Preference" system, where each of your preferred schools is considered equally regardless of whether you put it first second or third.

So not getting into Colstons would not put you last for your local school.

Yes, but how how 'equal preference' work in light of selection from former private schools? (Colston's Girls, Bristol Cathedral, St Ursula's?)

I am not in Bristol though. Do you know if South Glos has the same policy?

yes South Glos has the same system.

Don't think it matters that it was ex private, if it isn't now.

Look at the secondary admissions booklet on the LEA website.