Parents (ex or present) with girls at The Study - opinions?

[Everhart]

Just looking for opinions of parents with girls there as we're thinking of it for DD. (We don't have a place yet and I'm aware that it's done by ballot so might all be a moot point if we don't get a place! But trying to juggle some other related decisions and getting our ducks in a row...)

DD seems (as much as you can tell at 3!) very bright, very verbal indeed, outgoing as long as she's made to feel comfortable, a bit of a show-off at times, also quite sensitive and clingy. Into her music and her 'acting' (!)

We are pretty ordinary parents with an ordinary house in ordinary Wimbledon - the town not the village) and drive a slightly old car. We can manage the fees for our only DD but we are certainly not loaded. No second home etc, and we both work (though I am only p/t)

Would The Study be a good fit for DD and for us as a family, were she to get a place?

I have heard mixed reports 'on the street' as it were, and only have about 2 or 3 sources. I have heard that it is the most lovely school (and I have to say I liked the feel of it on Open Day, plus the setting is idyllic) and that the girls thrive and are happy, and do really well academically especially given that it is non-selective. BUT I have also heard that it has a very 'village' intake (nothing at all against the village!!) by which it is obviously meant some very wealthy people indeed. Disparity in wealth wouldn't bother me or DH as we get along with everyone and regularly come into contact, both social and through work, with some super-wealthy people, who are - for good or bad - just people!

But if the vast majority of the girls are from very very well-off backgrounds, huge houses, expensive cars etc... basically I wouldn't want DD to feel, negatively, that she was the poorest child in the class etc).

Is this a feature of the school that filters through to the girls? Or are the majority of the parents 'just' ordinary and there for the fabulous opportunities?

Also, is pastoral care good? I have heard just one second-hand report about bullying which I guess happens everywhere and may not even have been accurate.

Finally, I was given the impression by an ex-parent (who had not particularly liked the school) that it's a wonderful school IF you are very confident, into drama, very out-going and sociable... but if not, it's quite a different story.

I guess what I'm really asking is: is it a happy school, and are ALL the girls the daughters of the super-rich?!

Sorry, this post has become epic...

I love this school, DD has been there since reception and is now in year 2. Not everyone is mega rich, I live in Colliers Wood and am very normal, as are about 60 % of her classmates. Yes there are a few very wealthy families, but the girls all get along beautifully. I have never heard of there being any bullying,but I am sure there must be up to a point. My DD is the youngest in her class, and not overly confident, but she is very happy and the staff are very nurturing. She has come on in leaps and bounds.
As I have said in previous threads regarding The Study, it is a school I would have loved to have gone to myself

Thank you so much, Lupita. That is very reassuring to hear about the 'normal' aspect of the school! I think I have (mistakenly) been fed the impression it is a school for oligarch's daughters only (!) and that it is hard to fit in if you drive a normal car (or, in our case, pretty old car) and don't have a huge house in the village for playdates...

I would never be bothered by disparity in wealth at all, but what I mainly want to be sure about is that the majority at The Study feel the same way (whether super-rich or not) so that the girls themselves all just learn to get along on the basis of their personalities. It sounds as if this is the case, which is hugely reassuring!

Leavers' destinations look impressive, too, which obviously does matter, though it is hard to think about that too seriously at the age of 4!

It seems as if it is a school where the pupils reach their full potential in a relaxed and happy way - would you agree with that?

Thank you so much, Lupita, glad your DD is so happy there!