Moving to Guildford - nursery/4+ exam...

[JoMcT]

Hello

I've seen recommendations for nurseries in older posts but I know things change quickly so would love some up to date advice... We're moving to Guildford (Burpham area) early September at the same time I go back to work. So at pretty short notice, we need to find a nursery for a 1 and 3 year old. I would be grateful for any recommendations...

Also, we were originally going to send our 3 year old DD to a local private school so I was looking at schools in Guildford and was fairly shocked to see that the local schools have a 4+ exam (ie GHS and Tormead) which my DD would need to take this November. (I realise I was probably a bit naïve on this because where we currently live in an area where they are grateful for anyone who is prepared to pay the fees!). I can't say we've tried to coach our DD and I'm worried that the standard may already be too high. Could anyone let me know how high the standard actually is? Also, her birthday is May and I can't imagine that she could match girls born earlier in the year.

Thank you for any help!

Jo

You can also reach Ryde's Hill, Ripley Court and St Theresas from there.

No coaching required for Tormead or GHS. They assess potential. There are more threads in Education which will help.

If you are concerned about the entrance exams have you thought about sending her to a state school for those important early years before going private? There are some great small infant schools locally that offer as good an education as private school, if not better as you don't have to pay for 3 years! Clandon CE Infants is one that springs to mind as they have small classes (due to physical space), swimming pool on site, excellent teaching and a real 'private school' feel. Might be another option for you.