Which is better - Bolingbroke or Chestnut Grove?

[Bustarhymes]

Hi there

I've heard good things about Bolingbroke, and anything ranging from local sin bin to on-the-up about Chestnut Grove. Have any MNetters sent their kids there?

Hi my son is in year 9 at Bolingbroke being part of the first cohort to join the school two years ago. I am more than confident that he is receiving an excellent education, though the discipline is very tough which my DS struggles with sometimes. I certainly think it is a better school than chestnut grove, though to be fair I haven't visited there since I was looking into schools for my older child who is now in year 11. But I got the impression that discipline was lax, a lot of the children don't have English as their first language and the physical surroundings are quite shabby and depressing.
That's not to say that Bolingbroke is some middle class haven because it has quite a high proportion of kids receiving free school meals, but one if the teachers told me
Privately that she has taught at several inner London comprehensives and because the discipline at the Bol is so tough the teachers are able to concentrate on teaching and that they are teaching at a level that in her previous schools they weren't covering until year 10 or 11. I also like the fact that the extra curricular activities are compulsory, which means that my DS has taken part in activities including rowing, debating and creative writing as well as guitar which he would never have otherwise got involved in.

That is really good to hear, thanks. I have heard that Chestnut Grove was a sin bin, but hasn't it improved recently?

How tough is tough discipline? are we talking detentions and lines? and focus on teeny uniform issues?

My son seems to get endless detentions for what I consider relatively minor misdemeanours - talking in the corridors is completely banned for instance. And he got a detention for forgetting his water bottle which personally, I think is ridiculous. I brought it up with his 'civitas tutor' (form teacher) and said surely the ultimate punishment for forgetting your water bottle is that the child goes thirsty, but she was unrepentant. So yes, the strict rules niggle me sometimes, and I know my son thinks a lot of the rules and regulations are petty, but then if it means the teachers are able to focus on what they are meant to be doing - ie teaching - and not wasting their lessons trying to control unruly kids, then I suppose it's worth it.
But overall I would recommend the school. The building is really nice too, which helps as I think that if the surroundings are pleasant then the children are more likely to take pride in their environment and look after it. Lovely open outlook over the common.
And they do this thing called family dining where the children don't have a choice as to who they sit next to at lunch. So one child goes and collects the food, another serves up, and another clears away etc, which is a great way of the kids getting to know children they might otherwise never interact with. It also teaches those who have never sat down for a meal about table manners.