advise on schools outside of London - Brambletye , millfield for 5 year old

[PO25]

Hi everyone,

We are looking to move out of London because of my husband's work and are currently researching schools, and hoping to get some help.

We have never lived outside of London so would like to get some advice on schools with good sporting achievements.

Some friends have suggested both schools above....

Brambletye - is in East Grindstead
Millfield -

Does anyone have any feedback or experience with either schools?

Also what is it like to live around East Grinstead - is it a friendly neighbourhood? What are the streets/areas to look for houses?

Likewise if its Millfield, what are the surrounding areas like? Are they strong academically and in sports?

We will be checking out both schools and more within the vicinity, any suggestions are most appreciated.

If you are looking at brambletye have you looked at Ardingly ( goes to 18 ) and Cumnor house in Danehill ( prep ). There are some lovely areas to live around East Grinstead, I don't know the town it's self very well. Also have you looked at Kent - Sevenoaks for example.

Millfield is some way outside London . It is a very Marmite school. Personally I would avoid. Any decent prep will be sporty. Lambrook at Ascot springs to mind but I would avoid preps attached to senior schools. Look for excellent sports facilities, excellent sports coaching and lots of teams. Get a copy of the Good Schools Guide for a steer and Country Life does an excellent schools guide too. (Even Tatler). They would give you a start.

Millfield is in the middle of Somerset. If you end up in the area it is indeed very sporty, fantastic facilities, but with a child that young (day pupil) I wouldn't choose this unless you were living locally, which may not be likely unless your DH is doing something agricultural. It is also very large - more than 2000 pupils - which put me off.
I didn't visit Brambletye, but I know East Grinstead a little because my DS went to Ashdown House, which is in the same area. Ashdown is great. They have very large playing fields too, and an indoor hall/barn and indoor pool. My son did riding, cricket, football, rugby, swimming.

thank you for the messages. I will take onboard your suggestions.

What type of school are you looking for?

If you are looking in the area that Millfield is in, I can thoroughly recommend Sherborne Prep if you are looking for a school that lets children be children and helps them achieve their best without ridiculous pressure. Sherborne is also a deliciously lovely place to live.

However, if you are after an academic hothouse neither the Prep nor any of the Seniors in the area would suit. The answer to your question is totally dependent on what you want for your DS.

Are you sure your DS is going to be sporty- enough to choose a school based on that premise? Personally, I would look for the right ethos for what you know of his personality.

We are looking for a school with the right ethos....we have now narrowed down to schools around East Grinstead area....cottesmore, brambletye, ashdown, windlesham? ..... these are the ones we are looking at ....

any thoughts/feedback.

Cottesmore is an amazing school. It's small and incredibly friendly. Both my children are completely different in terms of academics, sports, and personality, and both are celebrated and thriving there. It is not a hot-house but because it is small it can cope well with children of all academic persuasions. Very bright children are given extra stimulation and taught in an enhanced way. They focus on getting children into the top schools in the country but there is no feeling of intense pressure on the children; it's inspiration-heavy. SEN children get solid support. They run a tight ship and there is no feeling that anyone is falling through the cracks. My children love all their lessons and say they're never bored which was certainly not the case in their past school. A key things to consider when choosing the school: Saturday school.

Traditional preps are a full service environment. The positive, which is a REAL positive, is that you don't get mountains of homework or huge kit bags to wash; it's all dealt with in the school.

The negative is that if you are intending to do a lot of outside school sporting activities you will find those with Saturday school to be frustrating as a number of outside clubs will have fixtures or meetings at the weekends which your children can't always attend. That said, my girls play netball outside school on alternate Saturdays and hockey every Sunday in addition to the daily sports at school. Cottesmore makes the children do some form of sport every single day. The result is that my girls have become much fitter and very enthusiastic about improving their sporting abilities. There are a number of County level athletes at the school but the school focuses on excellent sportsmanship rather than smashing the life out of the other teams to produce tables with which they can lure parents. I've turned up to matches to watch my child and found my DD playing for the opposition team because they were down a player and it meant that the match could go ahead. That's what I call the right ethos but that's not necessarily what everyone is looking for.

We live in East Grinstead and it is a lovely place to bring up a family. Our own children went to state schools but we childmind a 9 year old who goes to Brambletye. It has got a very good reputation. We also mind a 6 yr old who goes to Ashdown House and I know she is getting on very well there.
Our godson went to Ardingly from aged 3 to 6 and then Copthorne Prep for a while before getting a scholarship for Kings in Cambridge. Regarding where to live it depends if you want old or new, EG is packed full with both!

Hi at loopygoose06 - thank you. I visited Cottesmore and met with the deputy head ( as I understood the head was not feeling well). He was a super lovely and nice person, though I just didnt get the same vibe and perhaps my judgement was slightly biased since the headmaster did not inform us he would not be meeting us. We turned up and I felt they were making excuses why he was not availble.

From what you are saying, sounds like a really supportive school. I chose Brambletye in the end, as they also have the nursery which helps me since i have a 2.5 year old as well. It sorts out my morning school drop off in one place.

Do you live locally? I would love to meet people locally....and hope we can catch up offline.

@fudgesmummy, well done to your godson! I am sure he loved his time at Cambridge. I definitely enjoyed my postgraduate year there. It is a nice little bubble....

He is now in his second year at Eton! We are beyond proud of him! He lived part time with us while his mum worked abroad from when he was 12 months until he was 8.
Are you on Facebook? East Grinstead has a great mums group where new comers to the area are welcomed and encouraged to meet up for coffee and play dates etc. I'm always up for meeting new people lol! My own dc are 27 and 30 but I have lived here for nearly 51 years and been childminding in the same house for 23 years so know everyone!

Just realised I spoke to you on the local group pages, Glad your taking the plunge to move to EG!

@PO25 @fudgesmummy hi ladies

Our son is also in Brambletye and we've now moved to EG. Dormans park.

Would love to catch up offline as I am new to the area from London and don't know anyone here!