JAGs and Eltham

[mala123]

Hello , Our daughter got through Eltham and JAGs, Year 3 assessment and we live in Bromley. We are leaning towards JAG but would appreciate feedback on both the schools. Eltham is definitely easy commute wise . Are there any coaches that go from Bromley to JAGs. I think the school said something on Open Day about students not allowed to take coach for the first term for Year 3. is that true?
Thank you for your guidance.

Bumping for a response as we need to take a decision ASAP. We missed the Open day at Eltham so requesting for one before we take a decision. :-) Thanks

I have a daughter and son at Eltham. It is an excellent school but, as with any school, it's not perfect. (I know plenty of people at JAGS who would say exactly the same). For primary school, in my view, you would be mad to have the pain of the JAGs commute. These are both schools where they will have a busy schedule and they get so, so tired and a long commute on top of that is not ideal. You can always rethink at 11+ if the commute feels worth it at that point.

(For what it's worth we had the same choice at 11+ for our daughter and live in Bromley and chose Eltham. I'm very glad we did.)

thank you. You are right about the commute-that is our primary concern. We are hoping the school coach will help a bit.

Definitely depends on the child. When my son started at Eltham in Y5 he had to use one of the coach routes and he hated every minute of it. It can be a pretty over-stumulating environment - particularly at the end of the school day. Good luck with the decision. They're both good schools!

@mala123 Yes there are buses that run from Bromley - you can see the full list of coaches and timings on the Foundation School coaches website. It's quite well organised.

And you are right that they are not allowed to use buses on the first term in Y3 - parents are expected to drop them until they settle in, which I think is a good thing if you can manage the logistics.

We also had an Eltham and a Dulwich school offer and went with the Dulwich school. I would personally choose Jags, but it really depends on your DD's personality and which you think will suit her better.

We also had offer in both schools in year 3 for my daughter. Definitely I would consider JAGS. JAGS first entry point is 4+ and has really impressive results. I personally do not find Eltham GCSE results very impressive especially when you consider their first entry point is 7+. Also in Eltham if you decide to try 11+ for another school you can not automatically go to Eltham Seniors.

thanks. Leaning towards JAGS ..:-)

oh is it. we were told its automatic entry to senior school..thanks

My daughter also had an offer from Eltham and JAGS.
In year 5 if you decide to go Eltham seniors it’s automatic but if you want to sit on other schools 11+ exam yes its not automatic entry - in that case you need to pass the Elthams 11+ exam to move seniors. My daughter also had offer from Eltham but in open day my daughter felt that environment is not warm. And its recently became coed - so in your case I would choose JAGS. My daughters so happy in all girls school, they are in Blackheath High now (they wanted to go Blackheath - we loved school in open day and my girls are thieving. They both get top grades). Our youngest had an offer from City of London as well but we never cared about the league tables.. As long as they are happy, bright kids will do well in any of these schools. But also statistics also says that girls do better in all girls school. Good luck with your decision x