GHS Juniors- where do girls live?

[skipping23]

Just that really. We have registered DD1 for 4+ next year. We may or may not get an offer but we currently live in Esher- do you think this is too far a commute for prep? I will be driving for drop offs and pick ups. Where do other girls in the prep tend to live?
We know the preps in Esher but thinking an all-through school would save us some much hassle at 11. We also could move if it doesnt work

Don’t know specifics for GHS prep, but Esher is perfectly reasonable. Have you looked at the website for school bus routes?

@CraftyGin thank you. I know lots of girls go from Esher in seniors on the train but dont know about for the Prep. I am happy to drive the distance ( about 30 mins with some light traffic) but I dont know where other girls live in the Prep as I'm thinking about playdates and if 4yo are ok with the travelling?

@skipping23 , I live in Esher and am very familiar with the prep system. Are you sure that you don't want to chose a local pre-prep and then move your dd at age 7 to G High or LEH? There are so many options around Esher for every type of dd at any age. If your dd is going to thrive and enjoy G High then she will be of the ability to get into LEH at age 7, they have @ 48 places.

GHS has a huge catchment because of the nature of the school. Getting them in at junior age helps with guarantees. This means that there will be plenty of far flung girls in the junior age bracket.

You need to think what you will do as your DD gets older. You might expect to drive her now, but not when she is in, say, Y9.

You can always ask the school registrar for info about number of families in your area.

You can’t engineer or guarantee anything about play dates. If your DD’s new BFF comes from Goldalming or Hindhead, so be it.

It might even be beneficial to separate DD’s home friends from her school friends.

This is really helpful info! @Skatingpark97 do you know how competitive LEH is at 7? And which pre-preps are good feeders?
I would love to be able to walk to school for pre-prep or a few minutes in the car but I also want to be realistic about competition for places. If the competition for LEH is fierce at 7+, I may regret not trying for GHS at 4+ if that makes sense (obviously providing DD is academically able).

These super selectives don’t have feeders as such. They will take their girls from local primaries and pre-preps. There won’t be any bias towards particular schools.

LEH has a massive population density on their doorstep - Richmond, Kingston, NW Surrey.

I’m not certain, but they may have a lot of students who are there for prep and then move onto Tiffin.

@skipping23 , it depends where you are in Esher but you can try Shrewsbury House Pre-prep and Milbourne Lodge in Claygate or any of the others preps with Pre-prep depts - Rowan is a great prep school. I would also speak to the GHS registrar and ask how many Reception pupils live in Esher. There are a lot of options in the area and it can seem overwhelming but it means you can find a school to suit your dc.

@CraftyGin , some of the year 6 LEH dd sit Tiffin but not many go especially due to the LEH seniors scholarship programme. (Ie if they are gifted they will be offered a scholarship by LEH seniors).

Thanks that a great idea and I will ask the GHS registrar. May also be worth asking the Esher pre-preps how many girls leave at 7 for LEH, offers and acceptances.

Do you know how competitive LEH is at 7?

Both GHS and LEH are competitive, they are top schools in the uk and they achieve the GCSE/A level results by selecting dd that will thrive and grow at their schools, they offer to dd that are right for the school so if at age 4 your dd doesn't get selected then there are so many options in the area where she will get a brilliant education etc.
It would be worth speaking to Shrewsbury House pre-prep as the dd have to leave at age 7 so they have lots of experience etc.

I think you have to play the long game with these school decisions. What you decide at age 4, you really need to project to senior school.

If your DD is 9/A* potential, she will get that anywhere. GHS will not make her achieve beyond her potential. Other independent schools and good state schools will enable her to achieve her potential.

It is funny but DD3 and I were in Guildford last week and we drove past GHS. DD made disparaging comments about GHS students (eg anorexia). She was very happy that we chose a more grounded girls' independent school for her and her sisters.

Esher will be further away (in that direction) than most of the junior schools will live though it's different at senior school. It's completely up to you of course but that's the straight answer to your question! Senior schools in Esther are very likely to get the train but they can't do that for the JS unless you do the return trip.

GHS is competitive at 11+ but probably not as bad for its league table position than some of the London schools just because of the numbers.

As a reception teacher, an hour plus of car travel each day is enormous for a 4yo. Send her to a local pre prep and then look for 7+. Or, you may love your local choice and keep her until 11+. Look at Shrewsbury, Claremont, Rowan for Esher pre-preps.

30+ min car trip to/from school at that age is very long. And it would certainly affect her friends/playdates situation. Not to mention general tiredness that it’d add.

I am not sure that it is worth to put your young child through years of commuting for hours just to ‘save’ them from 11+ exam.

You don’t even know if GHS is the best fit for your Dd at secondary. It is impossible to tell at such young age.
And the thing is - if your kid is smart and GHS (or LEH) is the right school for her - and she is in a good local prep - she’ll get there anyway. And it won’t be as stressful as you might be imagining now.

30 minutes commute is doable for a 4 year old. I used to live in NW London and hardly any reception-aged child at schools like NLCS or Habs lived close to the school. Most parents were driving more than 30 minutes. So don’t let that put you off.
Local preps mean local friends which is always better for play date a and will give you time in yo

My daughter is going to take the year 1 assessment at Guildford High School in January. Any tips on how to prepare her so that it goes well? Thanks in advance

My daughter got through :) For anyone who needs this in the future. Here's what the assessment looked like:

Kids were asked how to make 10 (7 and 3, 6 and 4 etc)

They were told to read out words - simple phonics and alien words

They were made to write sentences

Drawing and colouring