Chandlings and The Manor

[Mitchell1]

Hello!

I have a DD8, DS5 and DD2 and we are relocating to Oxford for September 2014. We went to visit Chandlings and The Manor which are both in Abingdon.

We really loved both schools which has left us even more confused. I have concerns about The Manor as my son would only be there for a year before having to move again (not sure how quickly he will adjust to the move and if he will cope with being moved again the following year).

Chandlings seemed a bit 'boy heavy' which was a slight concern for my daughter who is very 'girly'. I also have concerns over the ISI report 2009 which highlighted a need to stretch the more capable children (although I have been assured that this has now been addressed and the report was 4 years old).

Chandlings is also 'Junior' school as opposed to a 'prep' school. Does this make a difference for the children?

Does anyone have experience of either schools? I am interested in both Academic and Sports but also how the children come out the other end! Are they polite, well rounded children who are ready to take the next step in Education etc etc...

Thanks is advance for any help you can give!

Hi there. I have two grown up girls now but they both went to Chandlings when the school was in its infancy. I realise much has changed since then but we have known parents with children at both schools ever since, all of whom seem happy.
We wanted our girls to grow up with boys around them (as there were none at home) and Chandlings offered this throughout their primary years. Our eldest was in a class of only 3 girls with the rest boys and on the whole it worked well - the worst bit was the odd number of girls proved a challenge at times with friendships etc as you might imagine....she really missed having the boys around when she moved on to senior school because, at the time, there wasn't a good co-ed senior school.
I believe both schools have good reports academically; I personally would find the hassle of having to move a son to a different school and therefore two different school runs/activities too much.....depending on where you live in the Oxford area, I would also suggest you take a look at St Hughes at Carswell and Cokethorpe (on the A415 between Abingdon and Witney) too.
Both daughters got offered places at St Helens & St Katharine in Abingdon and Headington Senior School. Neither of mine were particularly sporty at that stage but they flourished in entirely different ways and are now studying; one on a post graduate Speech & Language Therapy two year diploma course and the other in her final year at Durham University.
I remember it being such a tough decision; go with your gut instinct. Good luck :)