DESPERATE - Coworth Flexlands or Bishopsgate or St George's - which school is the best for reception?

[Zozomum89]

Hi there, hubs and I are confused between Coworth Flexlands, Bishopsgate or St George's for our daughter who goes to reception in September. We want to send her to the best private school in Surrey ideally (academically and extra-curricular and not status/prestige wise). St George's seems to be the most famous out of all of them but is it too ostentatious? Coworth is great and was rated "double excellent" in 2023 by ISI but I hear the ISI ratings are scrapped now so what does that mean for the school? Bishopsgate has excellent facilities but what sets it apart besides their great wraparound care? Please, please help me make a decision!!

Bump

Hello! Schools are so tough! We have decided to send our daughter to Bishopsgate in September 25 for Reception. She is currently at a small prep in Windsor and we wanted a school that would help her be ‘world ready’ as opposed to just academically ready!

I have heard that Coworth Flexlands is nurturing but not the most academic. I thought I read somewhere that as they are non selective they take a fair few SEN kids and my concern was how much of the teachers time would be spent with children with varying educational needs.

I have a few friends with children at George’s and it’s a lovely school! We didn’t opt for it based on the location and the fact that my friend said they didn’t push the kids academically! Whilst we don’t want a hothouse we most certainly want our children stretched!

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them! I would also consider the secondary school you may want to feed into (I appreciate it’s years away)! Feel free to reach out if you are going with Bishopsgate! Good luck!

Can't comment on any of these schools (sorry) but I wonder whether that's a HUGE amount of pressure there for your DD as she starts school? From my own experience of being in a really lovely small prep school with my siblings - it was the best start I could possibly have had at all, but not better than the local primary for my older sister necessarily and demonstrably harmful for my younger brother (who absolutely thrived when he moved into state school). I think it's worth thinking about which school might suit her best as well as which is objectively 'best'.