WUS 7+ offer advice

[bluebellnoodle]

Hi,

My DS received an offer from WUS for 7+ entry today.

I was please hoping for some advice from parents whose children already attend this school and who have needed to make sacrifices in terms of time and money to accept the place. Also sacrificing time with their other child(ren). Do you think it has been worth it? Are you impressed with the teaching and facilities? Do your kids come home loving school?

My DS is many years ahead of his peers - in maths especially, and a very quick and natural learner. So he is a fish out of water at his current school. He is given some extension work there and isn't unhappy (yet) but does say he is generally bored.

I'm trying to work out whether to spend our money on plenty of extra curricular family experiences and save to send at 11+ or to send now.

I guess I worry that leaving him in an under-stimulating environment for too long will have a long term negative effect. That said, he loves to learn in his own way (he has a lot of time and freedom to do his own thing, his current school is 5 mins walk away and WUS is 1 hour door to door) and I wonder if he will resent lots of "formal" work and homework. He gets very little homework right now.

Thank you in advance for your time :)

I don’t have experience with WUS but an hour door to door for a 7 year old is really a lot. And if he’s used to doing his own thing, it may be a shock as he’ll have a whole lot less free time with the commute and homework. Do you have secondary schools near you that you think would challenge him later on? Also, if you have other children, making financial (and other) sacrifices for his education might breed resentment.

I’d be inclined to say wait for secondary when he’d be travelling to school on his own and see if he qualifies for bursaries or scholarships that might help financially. But I know it’s hard to turn down a school like WUS, and it sounds like academically he’d probably do well there. Also there's no guarantee he'd get a place at WUS at 11+ (particularly if he's already been offered a place and it was turned down)

Everyone will have a differing opinion, so here are my points for what its worth (I do not have a child at WUS but wish I did, having seen many children of friends go there):

1. WUS is amongst the top 3 schools in the whole country, if not the world.
2. It is our responsibility to provide our children with an environment where they would thrive - both for the extra bright and not so bright.
3. 1 hour door to door for attending the best school in the country - I would do it in a heartbeat. Children grow up really fast and before you know it, he will be traveling on his own
4. No guarantee of admission in 11+. Seize the moment now.
5. If you can afford it even by cutting a few corners, do it
6. One bright child in the right environment can uplift an entire family
7. Most good schools give formal/daily/often homework from Year 3/4 onwards.
8. Your child sounds really bright and will probably succeed anywhere. However schools like WUS provide a great platform to allow them to hone their talent further
9. In summary: go for it

We are at WUS and highly recommend it.

Normally I would say commute above all but that's only with comparable schools.

In most years a good chunk of the year travel an hour (which surprised us tbh but is completely normal and these families seem fine).

Homework isn't too "formal" or long form until Y5 (mainly English and History) and there's still plenty of time with that and an hour commute if you don't over commit on extra curriculars. Y3-Y4 homework could be easily done on school bus, social private bus, train, car share etc.

If you can afford it, go for it (my kids will be state educated). But my brother was at WUS from 11+ and it's a fab school. I went to the senior school. You've put him through the test now so you may as well real the benefits!

You’ve probably already thought about this and/or discussed with the school and other WUS families, but the dynamics of the school will change starting in September 2025 when they plan to start admitting girls. Not that it won’t still be a fabulous school, but it will be different

As a WUS parent, I would agree with all the posters above, pros and cons. An hour commute is a long one for a 7 year-old but, for a hardy boy, it's doable as I've seen many boys do it. From year 5 onwards, the long commute is not as big a deal. A bigger issue might be socialisation (parties and playdates) and afterschool clubs and events (for boys and parents), if you live too far.

I'm sure you have weighed all these concerns prior to registering for the exam and decided it was still worth sitting the exam. Having girls at the school will change the dynamics somewhat but since you are a new family to the school and have no basis of comparison, it shouldn't be a huge deal unless you personally prefer an all-boys school (which we did for our boys).

I would suggest accepting and see how it goes for a term commuting-wise and fit. One boy in my son's year 3 dropped out after one term b/c the commute was too far for them (Islington), or that was their excuse.

Our son goes to WUS, joined at 8+. We commute from Islington, about 35mins to school then 50mins coming home (traffic).

In his first term he couldn't wait to go to school every day. Super excited and even wanted the half terms and holidays to finish quicker.

I read a quote somewhere that WUS is a teachers heaven, well I think that applies to the boys too, it's student heaven.

Thank you so much for all the helpful replies!

We really like the school for DS. We think he would love it there and that co-ed will make it even better. We never really expected to be in this position. DS's school changing their educational policy for him after the summer holidays was the catalyst to look elsewhere. Since discovering yesterday that they've now changed it again (so it better meets his academic needs), this makes it even harder to decide whether or not to accept WUS now.

The issues to us are cost, which leads to a change of household dynamic. Right now we have a pretty harmonious set up, where we aren't too stressed about the cost of living and aren't massively rushing around. Our DD is particularly sensitive (as am I) so having this stability has helped to ground us as a family.

One of our friends said "just move to Victoria" - LOL! Selling the house would not go down well with either kid or husband!

Anyway, I'm rabbiting on. We'll make the decision - sooner rather than later I hope 😂

@bluebellnoodle from your last post I would really consider keeping him where he is. The cost and travel time is the reason. If he was secondary, the hour travel time would be okay, but at the young age, far better he has more time to play in the park, do sport, have play dates etc. If it was just the travel time and money was no issue, then it would be a harder decision. But the fact you are concerned about the money, I would wait until secondary and re consider. School fees will go up yearly. My dd just joined private secondary and we got a letter saying after the first term feels will go up (so yearly increase is about 3k!). If it impacts others in the family I would really reconsider...esp if you would struggle to send other dc to private as well. It could build resentment within the family. Also, now an adult will need to travel there and back one hour, which means a two hours trip there and back (unless the adult works nearby). That is a lot of time and that time is also taken away from other dc. Once in secondary they can travel alone. I only say this as my dd started secondary and with traffic that is about 40 mins travel time. If dd could not travel on her own, it would be a huge struggle.

@bluebellnoodle its really an awful thing to do to a child. U knew the family dynamics, ur living costs limitations, urs and daughters sensitivities, yet you had the boy sit an exam, pass, hear the news, and now contemplating rejecting the offer! Where is his happiness or resentment managed in all this? I state this knowing I’m bordering into unhelpful and negative, but he might hold a grudge later on and better u hear this from me than ur own child! If ur confident he doesn’t care, then it’s a non issue

@SamPoodle123 - this is sound advice, thank you.

@Razzmata - the reality is different thankfully. We are completely focused on DS' happiness and wellbeing. This is why we are exploring which school might be the best fit for him for now or at some point in the future. This is also why we sent him for the WUS exam untutored, emphasising the fun aspect of it, and reminding him throughout that we're fine with the result either way - which is true.

I told him he got a place and he barely looked up from reading his Beano annual. The offer is obviously something that he can choose to be proud of, having faced interview nerves to achieve it, but it's not something that he links to his worth.

@bluebellnoodle that sounds very fascinating and mature 👌really proud of u and ur DS!