Glendower/Falkner/Bute/Pembridge

[KyleSelina]

I was wondering what the reasons were for parents choosing one of these schools (all seem to have excellent reputations) over the others. We have friends whose DD were admitted in some of these schools and they are all adamant they would not have chosen any other, that it was their top choice all along. Is there a generally accepted ranking between these schools?

It really depends what you (and to some degree the school!) are looking for, eg; academic over everything, academic and sporty, good pastoral care if DD starts to struggle, “showy” parents, school management that encourages parental involvement vs “let us get on with it”, a more “corporate” style of running the school vs. traditional family run.

If you look at senior leavers destination at 11+, that would be the secondary schools their DC will be applying.

They are all great schools but if you had to rank them I’ll put Falkner House and Bute House as most similar in terms of academics, followed by Glendower and then Pembridge. However there are a lot of different factors that come to play when making a decision eg Falkner’s main entry point is 4+ whereas Bute is 7+., Falkner has a warm, family like atmosphere with its one form entry whereas Bute is much bigger with three form from yr 3. We know quite a few people over the years that received offers at 4+ from Falkner and Glendower but most have gone with the former.

Pembridge Hall is non selective unlike the other three so is an excellent option for those that don’t want to sit the 4+ or those that didn’t get in. There is quite a bit of movement to Bute also.

Also parents in general (after they have chosen), tend to only say good things about their school to justify their choices (even if somehow it wasn’t their top choice before the 4+ then suddenly it becomes their top choice after the results came in)

Bute - 4+ entry is ballot (though some might say not fully anonymous / impartial) so the main entry is really 7+ when very bright girls are selected. Everyone I know who got a place at 4+ are loving it however the commute could be brutal if you don’t live close by - not to be under-estimated for a 4-5 year old

Falkner - statistically your best chances of getting into St Paul and very hard to get into as they only have one intake of c.22 girls per year. So in a way it’s the most selective one at 4+

Glendower - two classes of 22 girls in each year so statistically getting in is easier than in Falkner as they take more girls in. As a result you do get more diversity in the type of girls - not everyone is a flute/ piano playing competitive swimmer who loves learning five languages

Pembridge - a non selective school so quite hard to compare to the other three. The year group is also very big compared - three classes.

I have been told by multiple parents that if your girls is “St Paul material” it really doesn’t matter if she is in Bute, Falkner or Glendower - all of three schools will prepare her well for 11+. So it’s really a question of commute as well as overall feel - glendower is a very social school with a strong GPTA and community feel (sometimes not great for working parents) and Falkner is more of a “leave your child with us and trust us” school. Demographics are very similar though in terms of parents.