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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Best Private schools in Bristol

35 replies

Melody12 · 27/04/2015 15:05

Hello we will be moving to Bristol in October from Australia, I have a four year old daughter and a two year old son. I was wondering if you could tell me what are the best private schools in Bristol. Ideally they would be coed schools, so I will only need to do one drop off/pick up and preferably catholic. If you have also an idea on cost that would be good.
Thankd

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sparklytree · 27/04/2015 20:27

The Downs School and Bristol Grammer School both have good reputations and are coed. The Downs school has a nursery on site so you could drop both kids off at once. I don't think there are any private catholic schools in Bristol though.

jo164 · 27/04/2015 20:48

There is also, Clifton College which takes from 3 in their prep school. This is a traditional boarding and day school and consequently the most expensive in Bristol. Redland High School I believe has a coed prep prep department now, and links to QEH for the boys to progress on to. There are also several private junior schools, of which 2 I know have nurseries attached. These are Torwood House ( central Bristol) and Silverhill which is north of the city in Winterbourne - no good if you want to be based in the city. The costs of.all these vary quite greatly so I'd look them up and decide on location and budget. Colstons School and Clifton High are the remaining coed schools. Bristol Grammar is the academically highest achieving.

jo164 · 27/04/2015 20:48

Sorry typo 'pre prep'

Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 02:12

Hi girls thank you for your answers. We still don't know what area we will be leaving in (if you have any tips they would be welcome) my hubby will be working around aztech west so I suppose somewhere north of be river.
So do you know of there are long waiting lists for these schools? And if so would it be hard for my kids to start around jannuary?

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Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 02:34

Ahah sorry for the typos I have just got a new phone and the intutive method is driving me mad...I hope you understand.. it was 'living' and the ofs were ifs

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CharlesRyder · 28/04/2015 07:03

If the Catholic aspect is important to you could consider living out towards Bath and using Prior Park.

Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 07:43

Thanks CharlesRyder, yes the catholic aspect is quite important for us. Although how long would it take me to drive from areas such as Syneyd Park or Westbury on Trym to thia school every morning? Or if we decide to live near this school how long would it take to my hubby to commute to aztech west? Thank you for your help

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CharlesRyder · 28/04/2015 07:53

I think, if it was me, I'd be tempted to live further out, probably in a village north of Bath and let DH commute in for work.

I don't like living in town though, so you may well not feel the same. I'm not sure those northern area of Bristol are that great but somebody who knows Bristol better should be able to comment on that.

Swimmingwithsharks · 28/04/2015 07:55

Is there any reason you want your children to start school in January? Especially your daughter, as the academic year in the UK starts in September. Some prepreps have entry requirements, for others the only requirement is that you accept a place if it is available and you pay your first term. ( I have a feeling that at least a down payment is due at about this time to coincide with state school entry offers).
All admissions and fees information will be clearly shown on the schools websites.

Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 09:30

Hi swimming I said Jan because at this point seems like we will relocate in Jan Feb...but will they even accept an application from me even if I sill.dont have a uk address? Thanks

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Eastpoint · 28/04/2015 09:34

Private schools won't mind at all, they'll take your application form and £50-£100 cheque with it very happily. We weren't sure when we'd be back and paid for our oldest child so she could just start as soon as we moved in.

Heels99 · 28/04/2015 09:40

Don't think you will have any problems getting places for the age your children are.

catslife · 28/04/2015 09:54

Is this the age your children are now OP or the age they will be in January?
Please bear in mind when contacting schools that the age ranges for school years in the UK where the school year starts in September are different to those in Australia where the school year starts in January.
Many of these schools will be used to children moving from overseas and be able to cope with a January start.
Clifton High school has an attached nursery (am not sure if it's part of the school but there is one very close by) so may be a good option.
I am not sure that Bristol grammar takes 3 year olds.
No Catholic option for private schools in Bristol any more. (There used to be one, but it closed down and the site is now a primary school). if you are staying in Bristol on a long term basis the state Catholic secondary school in North Bristol, St Bedes has a very good reputation.

GooseyLoosey · 28/04/2015 09:57

If you lived on the Bath side of Bristol, I reckon you could get to Prior Park quite easily. Must say though that although it is catholic, in recent years it has downplayed this aspect a bit to ensure that numbers are kept up.

There are catholic state schools in Bath too (St Gregorys).

Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 10:06

My kids are 2011 and 2013 will be turing 5 and 3 in March. I didn't know you could have pubblic catholic schools!! How would you rank st Bedes compared to bristol grammar? Would that be easy to get to from suburbs such as westbury on trym?

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Heels99 · 28/04/2015 10:14

St bedes is a secondary school so for age 11 upwards.

GooseyLoosey · 28/04/2015 10:21

You can indeed. There are catholic state primary schools in Bristol (if you google, you will find them).

In terms of secondary schools, a bit further south in Trowbridge is the highly rated St Augustines (in the top 100 non-selective schools in the country). Not so handy for Aztec West, but actually it is just off the motorway so you could be there in about 40 mins from say Bath if you weren't going at really busy times.

Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 10:28

We will only stay 4 years in the uk so I don't think we will need a secondary school. Do you know a school called our lady of the rosary?

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catslife · 28/04/2015 11:10

Yes there are Catholic state primary schools ( am not sure about nurseries though).
For state education, you cannot apply until you have a Bristol address. However they may be oversubscribed as they may feed into the secondary school.
For state primary schools you apply through the Local Education authority which will probably be Bristol (some areas in the Northern suburbs are South Gloucestershire). For nursery/pre-school, you apply directly to the nursery, but you would need a Bristol address.
Your daughter would be in Reception when you move and state nursery or pre-school places are available from aged 3 onwards.

catslife · 28/04/2015 14:54

The Catholic school in North Bristol with the "best" catchment area and likely to be known to people on MN is St Bonaventures. Our Lady of the Rosary is in Lawrence Weston which is a fairly deprived area so not really comparable to private schools. You may want to start a separate thread for Catholic state schools though.

Tutt · 28/04/2015 15:18

Second St. Bon's a good state primary and not far from W-O-T or Syned Park.
As for good private in the Aztec area mine went to Silverhill and I was very pleased with it.
If you want easy commute have you thought about Lower Almondsbury, Easter Compton and the other small villages... I live this way and easy commute to Aztec (10 minutes) and within a very short radious of great amenities.

Heels99 · 28/04/2015 15:22

There is also tockington manor near Aztec west.

Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 16:18

Thanks for your input tutt and heels. I will definitly be checking those areas I don't know where we are going to live I mentioned those areas as they seem to be rated quite well and they don't seem to far from aztech west but please correct me if I'm wrong. We would like a nice and safe place to live with nice houses ideally a back yard but where I can walk to go places.

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Original poster

Melody12 · 28/04/2015 16:18

Do you think that private schools are better than state schools? If so why?

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PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 28/04/2015 16:47

Have I got it right that your eldest was born March 2011, so is currently 4? Your biggest issue with state education is that you have missed the main application process for her age group.

In this country, there is one application process, and applications for your daughter closed in January 2015. Schools have a set number for their intake (normally 30 or 60, but 45 and 90 are also reasonably common) and will have allocated those places now. The best schools are likely to be oversubscribed and with a waiting list. So you may have a very limited choice of state schools.

Private schools are more likely to have a place to offer outside the normal admissions round.

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