Godstowe query

[Godstowe]

Our daughter is in year 6 and in the process of taking independent senior school exams for entry next year. Very able, but really lacks confidence and is very reserved. Certainly not one to make herself stand out in a crowd. A combination of health issues and a terrible year 5 with serious bullying problems, has made her emotionally fragile, to the point we are rethinking our school choices for next year. Godstowe has been recommended for year 7/8, in order to extend the smaller primary school feel. The school is undoubtedly lovely and has a great industrious vibe, but I have a couple of queries which I hope someone can help with. Given the impressive results they have, does the school have a large number of Uber confident, high achieving strong characters? And if so, might a small, less pressured co-Ed option be a better alternative? Has anyone had a child that joined the school in year 7, and how easy was it to settle in?
Also, unless you are intending to board at at 13, would you be very much the minority?
Would appreciate any info or experience. Thank you

I have several friends with children there and they’re a mix of personalities, definitely not all uber-confident.

Have you thought about Pipers? Lovely small school with good pastoral care.

Thank you, that's good to know. We did look at Pipers also, but had to discount for various reasons. Lovely school though, just not for us.

The great majority of girls who stay for years 7 and 8 will head to boarding schools when they leave and you would be in a minority if you then moved to a day school at 13.

It is a fabulous school and could fill a gap but do think about how she would fit into already firmly established friendship groups (however kind and welcoming the girls this will be noticeable).

I guess it would be helpful to understand where you envisage her going at 13 to be able to provide more help. I was also going to suggest Pipers Corner if you are that way.

She may well be better off starting somewhere at 11 with a larger intake of girls where everybody is new. Everybody is in the same boat and with more girls there she is more likely to find her tribe?

Thank you Zodlebud, until very recently, we were looking at schools that had day/boarders, and where distance was an issue, had hoped to take advantage of flexi-boarding. However, we have had to take a step back from this, and proximity and length of day have been moved to the top of our priority list. This of course leaves us with far less choice, and even a lot of the day schools, would be a bit of a trek.
WA would be fairly close, but we had originally excluded WA on the basis of boarding being preferred / pushed, but it would seem now that day boarders are becoming more accepted. However, WA would undoubtedly be quite pressured, and we are keen for her to be in a relaxed environment, but one that can challenge and stretch without pressure. A tall order perhaps! I agree that it would be difficult joining where friendship groups are already established, and would probably be even more alienating, if she was to be the only girl not heading off to the likes of WA, CLC or QA. They do list some day schools in their destination schools list, but I presume they were for exit at 11.
Thanks for your replies.

I was a Godstowe parent for DD2. I would suggest WA wouldn’t be suitable given what you say so I would look at other girls’ schools and decide if entry at 13 as a day pupil is a good idea or not.

Godstowe does have DDs who join at 11. It’s not unusual snd they replace the Bucks 11 plus cohort snd those who go to senior boarding at 11. I don’t think it presents any great problems for the DDs concerned to join at 11. There is so much on offer there, she would have every chance to gain in confidence. You could find that your ideas change regarding day/boarding in 2 years time.

Most DDs do leave at 13 for boarding schools but not all. The destination schools have widened since our day! However you will probably then need to consider coed unless you have lots of day girls schools nearby and they invariably start at 11. So by joining them at 13, you are once again going into established friendships.

What other options do you have?

Thank you, yes we were told 11+ entry was becoming more popular, so it was not so much a concern about joining and settling into year 7, but more the trajectory towards year 9. Apart from the option of grammar, and a QA offer for year 7 entry, which I know we could defer as an option too..the only other options would be Bucks girl’s day schools, for which I presume common entrance would not be necessary. I agree things could well change in 2 years, and it gives us more time to consider, but also worry that studying CE for 2 years would be a wasted option if we don’t move on to a school of that ilk! Thanks again

Yes. That’s why my DD left at 11 for a girls boarding school. She made her senior friends there. Godstowe girls go all over to the top schools. You do need a strategy and there are not so many local options at 11 for girls.

People say good things about Leighton Park. Would that work?

Sir William Perkins also sounds like it would be up her street.

Obviously it all depends where you actually live.