King's College Junior School (KCJS) - present experiences?

[YesNoMaybeDefinitely]

Hi, just wondering if there are any parents with children presently or recently at KCJS who might be able to offer the benefit of their experience? We are currently trying to decide whether or not to apply for DS1. DS1 is quite bright but probably not an academic superstar - is there any point in applying? Are the children happy and do they enjoy school, or do you feel the environment is overly pressured? How did you find the assessment process?

Bump.

I have a son in KCJS and he absolutely loves going every day. The school day is relaxed and fun based on what my son tells me. I am very impressed by all the things they do and how much he and his friends enjoy it.

Have you visited the school?

Yes, we went on a tour a few months ago. The boys we met were absolutely lovely and seemed very happy, but of course it's difficult to get more than a snapshot from a brief tour. The school didn't have the large playgrounds and outdoor space for the younger ones of some of the other schools we've visited, but maybe that's not such an issue as the boys have access to the senior school facilities?

The Boys in the Junior school have the Rushmere garden and Rushmere playground which is big enough for them and caters for all different types of kids. It also keeps them separated from the senior school boys. Some will play sports or climb on the frames, others will play card, build something, go to the library,… most of the clubs are also at lunchtime so there is lots to do at break time.

He needs to be an academic superstar to enjoy the school. It is very fast paced.

Yes, I had that impression @Dellas . I think we've ruled out it out as although we think DS is fairly bright (typical biased parents 😂), he's not really into doing extra work beyond his school reading and homework at the moment and really just wants to run around with his friends. So probably not the school for him.

We just heard on the 9+ admission from KCJS my son didnt get through. He was super excited about it so really a bummer for us. Dont have any other threads so just venting here, sorry 🤦‍♀️

I'm sorry to hear that @cassie0207 . We eventually decided not to sit our DS for King's as we decided that it wasn't worth it when we weighed the chance of him getting in against the stress of the process. We were also undecided that it was the right school for him - it's clearly fantastic and we know lots of happy parents and children but we couldn't really see our son necessarily thriving there to the extent that he might in other schools we looked at.

I know that's scan't consolation if actually it did seem like the right school for your DS, but I don't know if an alternative viewpoint might help. We're finding that the 7+ process can be dispiriting and it's easy to lose sight of the fact that these are very young children.

Thanks for your kind words.