North Somerset recommendations (sandford, Churchill, winscombe, cheddar)

Triceratopsandjellytots · 2024-06-24T17:59:24+00:00

Hi, I’m moving soon to Sandford and will be looking round primaries, I need to apply this January. Does anyone have any thoughts on any of the schools in the area, good or bad? Also if anyone else lives locally, hi! Will be moving with DH, DS3 & DD 8m :)

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NorSom · 25/06/2024 13:34

In general the primary schools in the area are all pretty good. I don’t really know Sandford, but Churchill and Winscombe are both popular. I also know a family at Burrington and they are very happy there. I think Cheddar first school is good, but it is attached to a middle school that I have heard not so good things about.

Roscow · 31/07/2024 09:38

There's lots of great schools in the area! One that particularly comes to mind is Sidcot School in the Winscombe area

https://www.sidcot.org.uk/

Original poster

Triceratopsandjellytots · 14/08/2024 09:21

Roscow · 31/07/2024 09:38

There's lots of great schools in the area! One that particularly comes to mind is Sidcot School in the Winscombe area

https://www.sidcot.org.uk/

This school looks fantastic! So many activities and I loved the ethos. but I looked up their exam results and they seemed quite poor in comparison to other schools :/

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NorSom · 14/08/2024 10:46

my dc are at the junior school and it is AMAZING. If you are considering private education I would recommend it wholeheartedly. We haven’t decided if we will stay for senior school or not, as dc are still young and different schools suit different children, but I wouldn’t have any reservations about staying on.

When looking at results it is important to consider the student body- as a truly nonselective school Sidcot’s results are always going to be lower than the ISC average as that is skewed by the inclusion of a number of selective schools (as well as nominally nonselective schools that still actively curate their student population). It is not a pushy school, and if you have the sort of child that thrives under a bit of pressure and academic competition then there are probably better options. Sidcot has a number of children doing extremely well in an absolute sense, but also a number who had struggled in other schools who go on to exceed expectations. It has a reputation for being very supportive of specific send like dyslexia, as well as those with spiky profiles who don’t naturally thrive academically.

Original poster

Triceratopsandjellytots · 16/10/2024 15:51

NorSom · 14/08/2024 10:46

my dc are at the junior school and it is AMAZING. If you are considering private education I would recommend it wholeheartedly. We haven’t decided if we will stay for senior school or not, as dc are still young and different schools suit different children, but I wouldn’t have any reservations about staying on.

When looking at results it is important to consider the student body- as a truly nonselective school Sidcot’s results are always going to be lower than the ISC average as that is skewed by the inclusion of a number of selective schools (as well as nominally nonselective schools that still actively curate their student population). It is not a pushy school, and if you have the sort of child that thrives under a bit of pressure and academic competition then there are probably better options. Sidcot has a number of children doing extremely well in an absolute sense, but also a number who had struggled in other schools who go on to exceed expectations. It has a reputation for being very supportive of specific send like dyslexia, as well as those with spiky profiles who don’t naturally thrive academically.

Thanks so much for this info, it’s really helpful. Unfortunately it’s not possible for us to afford right now, but we’re definitely going to keep it in mind for future.

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