Notre Dame Cobham or Coworth Flexlands School

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Hi mums. I would like to hear opinions on Notre Dame and Coworth Flexlands schools. We are planning to enroll our daughter in reception but we can't decide. I would like to know opinions and experiences from mothers. We want the best for our daughter and we don't know which school would suit her better. My daughter is very active. At first, she is a little reserved and shy, but after a while she opens up and is very funny. She is popular and the children like her because she is a comedian. She also doesn't like big changes and has a hard time accepting them. She really enjoys arts and crafts, sports (especially ball games), swimming. She likes to spend as much time outdoors as possible. I'd love to hear about your experiences. Thank you xx

The Notre Dame reception is tiny, ask the Registrar how many dc are currently in reception and how many are expected to start in September. Also ask if they teach Reception together with Year 1 etc. I'm sure your dd would love it but you need to be aware of how many dc she will be in a class with.

Thank you. I will focus on that. Do you have experience with ND school?

No but I'm local to the area and know that there are not enough dc in the area to fill the Reception places at private and state schools. It's difficult for any private school that is religious, single sex and not within walking distance for any parents (remote location) to attract reception parents. The prep is much fuller as you move up the age groups because it has the linked senior school. Are you sure that you don't want to start at a local state primary school and move your dd to private when she is older?

Agree with the above poster- ND has a very tiny reception intake. Also that road is very annoying and sometimes that gates are closed. My daughters are in ACS and there kindergarten numbers seem Ok at the moment.

But there does seem to be a Surrey wide decrease in school demands for ages 4-10.

Thank you. We didn't even think about a state school, because we prefer schools with a small number of students in a class (maximum 20)where teachers are dedicated to the students. The traveling is not an obstacle for us, because we still travel to nursery. We are looking for a school that will be focused on sports and arts to help our daughter develop.

You needn't worry about class sizes in private schools in Reception in Surrey! There is a complete shortage of dc, any private pre prep in Surrey with 20 in a reception class would be a miracle!
Have you looked at Felton Fleet or St George's? Mixed schools tend to fair better than single sex in terms of admission for the pre prep years.

We have friends with a DD at Coworth Flexlands, and they're very happy with it.

I agree with PP about small classes in Surrey independent schools, we recently switched DD (Year 3) from independent to state school as her class dropped to 5 children (another child had since left).

Of course there are upsides to very small class sizes, but there are significant social drawbacks.

ND is a lovely school but very remote, so factor that in to your journey time. Have you also considered Feltonfleet, St George’s, Hoebridge, Halsted St Andrews and Claremont? Depends wheee you live but these are alternatives.

Poor phrasing. state school teachers are also dedicated to their students. My kids are taught by compassionate, motivated, inspiring young teachers who believe in their vocation.

Your daughter sounds a lot like my daughter and we decided to send her to Notre Dame next year. She will be in reception in September 2025. We were really impressed with the staff, the pastoral care, the facilities, and we liked the small class sizes in the early years. I've toured allllll of the private schools in the area and while there were a few schools that touted their acadmic rigor more than ND, but I believe that ND can help my daughter reach her full potential and she will come out well educated and most importatly - happy!

My daughter loves the sports facilities (for example ND's pool is way better than Clarmont's pool). I also love that they really support music and the arts.

The ND staff told me that usually they get a several girls who trickle in through out the reception year so the class size will grow even during the year. Not huge though, I think the current reception class is 12. However during recess they get to mingle with the other pre-prep girls.

The reception girls can also enroll in the early year's holiday clubs which is really helpful when we need that coverage. Our daughter doesn't always do well going to holiday clubs in new locations or without anyone she knows so this is really helpful for us.

Might be a little late on this one... Notre Dame reception is absolutely fantastic! The intake is smaller than some others but that's not a problem, it's an advantage. I have a girl that has just left reception and all the girls have well exceeded their peers in other schools because of the smaller classes, exceptional teachers, and surroundings. I have friends with children in Felton fleet, St Georges and Claremont and they're all behind. Most importantly the girls are happy, really happy. They love their teachers and are looked after by the older years. I wasn't fussed if my daughter went to a single sex or coed but I am really happy with just girls. I am generalising but they are calmer (most of the time), they concentrate compared to boys.

Some of the girls were shy when they joined but now they are the opposite. They will happily sing and speak on stage. No child is left behind and also if they excel they will be developed at their own rate.

A few years ago they got a new head of juniors and she is brilliant. I know in the next few years you will start to see this reflected in the results. One thing to note is that it is not a super selective school like St Georges, WP, Guildford, the list goes on... so you can't really compare to them.

I hope you made the right decision for yourself and daughter. :-)

would disagree, it's really well positioned for cobham, weybridge and Walton. Feltonfleet is on the A3 which is undergoing massive roads works which are awful and St Georges is a nightmare for drop-off.