Wimbledon high school Vs Surbiton High for secondary

[tabbycat4321]

Can anyone offer any insights into either Wimbledon High or Surbiton High for secondary education? Is Surbiton high very sporty? Is it very large and therefore do the girls get a little lost if they're not excelling at sports/drama etc. Is Wimbledon High a little more clique because half the girls come up from the junior school? Daughter has sat the exams for both but just wanted to get a better understanding from anyone with girls at either school currently. Thanks so much!

Wait until the offer letters are in front of you, there is still quite a long time to go, often the offer letter and offer morning visit helps make up your mind.

Hi, I have friends with daughters at SHS and the demand of sports is very high. the children are fully expected to commit to whichever sports they are, even if they have outside commitments.

I don't know anything about WH, good luck!

Thanks - do you know if they are all expected to commit to a sport outside of their games / PE lessons or is this for those girls who choose to play a particular sport? I am concerned about the sports so thank you for raising this.

@tabbycat4321 , my dd went to SH but has left. The standard is very high, for example the top netball teams will be made up of netball scholars and those who play for teams outside school. The requirements for football are club level etc. Tennis is county/ regional players etc.
The main complaint from parents is that their dd who played sport at prep school and enjoyed it don't get a look in at SH due to the standard and spends their Saturdays at home whilst their friends at less sporty schools are all playing school matches. This is why rowing is popular because everyone starts at the same standard in year 8 - the boat club is in teddington.
Yes it's a large school, yes you can get a bit lost if you don't excel but the teaching is good and my dd reached her potential. My dd wouldn't have got an offer from a more academic school like WHS so you have to go with where the offers come from.

@tabbycat4321 , in answer to your other question, no if your dd doesn't make any sports teams they won't care. My dd did dance outside school instead.

hi all,

I want to know from mums whose children are currently in Wimbledon high about the school trips the school plans in an year. My DD will take her second stage exam/interview in the new year. I am just trying to put my maths around the school fee(known) and these trips (which are unknown to me) , to plan my finances. They say these trips are optional. But can anyone give me an idea are they affordable or way too expensive or any ball park figure? How many trips would be in a year? Any info on these trips would be appreciated.

@MariaMangali our dc are grown up now but dd went to WHS. As a rule of thumb I'd say add 15% min to the fees for trips and other expenses overall. Many are educational, and ours went on these, and not too expensive, others are fun: ski-ing, etc. We limited to a fun trip every other year.

DS was very sporty and it got a bit spendy with sports tours in his final three years which were £2k to £2.5k a pop.

No trip was compulsory.

Obviously I'm out of touch with prices now but I would say that if you can't find an additional couple of grand a year once fees are accounted for, it's probably too far a stretch.

It usually focuses the mind when I tell people that when DS started aged 8, the annual spend was £8.5k, when he finished aged 18, £21.5k.

@tabbycat4321 we felt our dd would get lost at Surbiton if she didn't get into WHS. Have you thought about Sutton High as a back stop? It's a bit gentler.

@MariaMangali , it's not so much the trips but the small extras that you can't get out of paying like rowing fees or external exams - at many schools you pay for GCSEs and a levels. Then if you do D of E or music lessons you have the risk of VAT being added to the cost - it depends on each school. The new ruling says VAT has to be added to anything that is educational.

To give you an idea of the fees increase I've heard LEH are adding 18.5% to their fees and Tormead 20%.
I agree that if you can't afford a couple of thousand either way each year then don't step in because the fees are going to go only 1 way, the schools still have to factor in the NI increase and losing business rates charitable relief to the fees increase from September.

My friend's daughter goes to Surbiton H and her parents would not have chosen it had they known how big a focus sport has. As a non sporty girl, she definitely feels inferior to the sports team girls and at times it has affected her confidence and ability to fit in.