CAT score and Surrey Secondaries

[Almonds78]

DD is in Year 5 in a prep school and has a CAT score over 130. We are considering Reigate Grammar, Caterham, Dunottar School, Sutton High, Woldingham and St John’s School with a view to narrowing down to 3/4 schools. A naturing school is more important to us than academics. Any recent experience of these schools? And which schools would be good for an academic child but also very nurturing. DD doesn’t have special needs but is the least competitive/laid back child so I’m not sure how well she will do in a very academic/pushy environment. Thank you.

Dunottar is the least academic of those. RGS os not known for its pastoral care although friends dc had good support there. Caterham has an impressive wellbeing ethos.

Thanks Lizs. I went to the RGS open day in September and there was a lot of talk about ‘we are not a big school but a big family’ ‘we love the children’. I don’t know how true this is in practice.
I liked Caterham, it’s a longer journey for us but still doable.
Do you know anything recent about St John’s or Sutton High? Thanks

No sorry, don't know anyone whose dc went there. Mine are in their 20s so not recent experience.

That’s okay. Thank you

Which schools do your prep school recommend for her?

I would say that for a 130 CAT score child, an academic school won't feel like uncomfortable hot-housing, it will feel like going at the right speed and challenge, in an environment which is designed to suit her. Covering academic work more quickly also means that they have lots of time for other interesting and enriching activities. And it's rarely the schools pushing the children.

Don't undersell your DD.

Yeah with a CAT of 130 she should be fine academically wherever she goes. I wouldn’t avoid anything that looks academic, she probably won’t struggle.

Thanks Strawberry and User. Her current school have recommended Reigate Grammar and Caterham based on academics. However the head teacher and a few of her teachers have also said that St John’s might suit her personality better. Whilst they say she is quite academic, they say she is quite disorganised and not overly confident and St John’s might suit her better as it’s smaller. I need to visit the schools again!

I know a girl at Woldingham who loves it and also got over 135 on her CAT. They have a great STEM department and lots of extra curricular too. It gets very decent results for a non-selective and they have over 5 streams in most subjects she said so the ratios are good.

Thanks @Lioninthesun that’s good to know.

@Almonds78
We are in a similar situation to you with our DC and are looking to decide between Reigate Grammer and Caterham school but are in a real flux!
I wondered what you decided in the end and if you had any further insights into both schools as we are struggling to decide. Distance is almost the same for either and our DC does not have a strong preference either!

RGS has been amazing pastorally, socially and academically for my two very different children, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. We’re lucky to have good schools around us though, and you probably can’t go wrong with your options. I have one anecdote of a negative pastoral experience at St. John’s, but I’m sure it’s great for lots of children.

Would you mind expatiating more on the St. John's experience. Its currently a school we are considering for our child, at the moment.