Buckinghamshire Gateway School vs Griffin House School

[TheBellsAreRinging]

Moved to Buckinghamshire (South) not long ago, and currently looking for a school for our 3 year old. It's probably going to be either Gateway or Griffin and I would appreciate your thoughts/experience (obviously the latter will be different for everyone). The idea is to enable my little one to go to grammar school after 11+ (subject to them being academically gifted which we shall find out in the next few years). Gateway is apparently very good at preparing children for Grammars, and also growing their confidence etc. Griffin on the other hand seems to put (even) more emphasis on pastoral care. My little one is quite a gentle soul, always the first one to share with friends and help them. They might struggle a little with boisterous types and would probably benefit from smaller classes and a more personal approach (they will also be one of the youngest in the class).
Have looked up a few similar posts on Mumsnet but could not see any recent ones. Thank you for any insights you may be able to provide!

Replied on your other thread 😊

@TheBellsAreRinging sorry old post, but what did you decide, please? In similar position.

@Scottishgirl85, based on our research and having visited both schools, Gateway seems to be a better choice for us. It's the overall "package": academic results, their communication, what they offer/their pricing structure etc. It's a personal choice though and someone else might not agree.

@TheBellsAreRinging thanks so much, appreciate you coming back to old thread. Did you start at Gateway?

Hi,

I just wanted to add another angle on here as a current Griffin parent.

Griffin and Gateway are very different schools. Although they are geographically close and have a similar fee range the general feeling amongst parents is that you are either a Griffin family or a Gateway family, very few people move between the two.

For us Griffin has been an excellent choice, yes it has its flaws, but our children are thriving both academically and emotionally and we are very happy with our decision.

Likewise we have friends with children at Gateway who are incredibly happy with the school.

Once you have visited them both, go with your gut, one school does not fit both families and we are incredibly lucky locally to have such different options on our doorstep. I am confident your child will do well in whichever setting is right for them.

Please feel free to dm me if you have any questions about Griffin.

@Tally6543 thank you so much, really interesting! I'll pm you.