Colet Court school -- any experiences?

[posadas]

I posted this message a few weeks ago but didn't receive any responses. Posting again in hopes someone might be able to offer some insights into Colet Court. Are your sons happy there? Or are the sons of peoople you know happy there? Is the standard of teaching high? ( I know it's an "academically selective" school, but that doesn't necessarily mean the quality of teaching is good). I'd be grateful for any comments. Thanks!
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We are starting to think about next schools for our son. We like Colet Court (lots of outdoor space, great art and sports facilities, etc). The school says it expects "St Paul's to be the first choice for secondary school". We haven't even begun to think about secondary schools and have no idea what will be the right choice for our son 7 years from now. St Paul's seems like a great secondary school so I'm sure it will be among our choices but, depending on how our son develops, we might want to consider other possibilities. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has either direct experience or knows of other people's experience at Colet Court -- particularly with regard to exit to schools other than St Paul's (ie do any boys in fact leave to go to boarding schools at 13? if so, do they have to do extra work to prepare for Common Entrance? Are they ostracised at Colet Court if it becomes known they are considering a different secondary school?). I'd also be interested in any general comments about the school. I know it's very competitive but wonder whether boys, in general, are happy there and whether the standard of teaching is as inspirational as it seems to be judging from the prospectus and a school tour. Would be very grateful for any comments! Thanks!

The vast vast majority do go to Pauls and my understanding is that it is expected (although of course they don't guarantee you a place!). It is a very big environment, so I think best suited to a pretty robust lad - pastoral care is traditionally reported to be less intense than at some other schools. Some struggle socially, but perhaps that is true every where.
The facilities are fantastic (though not scenic) although have a look into the new building programme that is underway, or about to be - I think there is going to be a lot of construction there for for the next few years (but this is hearsay - haven't checked myself).

Thanks for your reply. I think you're right about the construction. will have to explore how they plan to continue with classes and other activities during a major renovation!

Definitely discouraged from sending your son elsewhere - lots of other prep schools prep for Eton, Winchester etc and CC clearly say that they don't. Having said that, some boys do leave every year to go elsewhere - but it's a handful.

All the boys I know seem happy there and the ones we know well are a nice bunch of down-to-earth kids. It is very academically fast-paced. Facilities great, particularly green space next to the river; fantastic music, art, drama, sport.

Again, what we've seen of the pastoral care has been very good.

I heard that they no longer do Common Entrance which would be a serious problem if you want to go for different secondary school than St Paul's. They were losing too many boys to schools including Westminster. So you really are committing to St Paul's which is excellent but may not be the best match for your son.
If you want to keep your options open Westminster under school has a large proportion that go to Eton, Winchester and others too. Alternatively traditional 13+ preps Kings House etc continue to do CE.

Thanks very much for your replies.
It's too soon for us to know which secondary school would be right for our son. CC seems like a good "fit" as a prep school, though I'm a bit concerned by comments I've read (ie constant ranking of boys in all subjects; very "pushy" parents; etc) all of which I read with a small grain of salt as it's hard to know whether one person's impressions are relevant or not for your own child. If anyone has a son at CC, I'd be interested to hear how satisfied you are Singersgirl -- do you have a son at CC?
Thanks, again!