Mayfield School / Walthamstow hall / other?

[ThisSunnyAzureFish]

We are currently looking at local day schools. Our current prep are very/aggressively pushy about staying until 13 but this would force us down the boarding school route. Given where she is in English im not sure Sevenoaks at 13+ is going to be an option anymore unless things pick up with a new teacher next year (they might, this year hasn't been great for the class as a whole). I'm not sure boarding is right for DD. Due to the schools big stay until year 8 push we have had zero help from school in weighing up some of the more local girls schools as these all start at 11+ (it feels like we are being force fed Hurst to the exclusion of all else at the moment). I'm also not sure about coed for boarding and neither is DD.

Any insight into how these girls schools compare? Are they financially stable? Are they continuing with development plans etc? Given VAT I want somewhere which is going to weather the storm for the next 7 years. She is a pretty grounded, sporty girl who works hard vs a social butterfly. Although she has a decent sized group of friends they are more the sort to lounge about reading on beanbags in the sun. Very keen on cricket, netball, swimming. She quite quiet and most of her friends are girls so I can see a calmer girls school suiting. Although I'm not sure she is quite up to Sevenoaks she is pretty strong academically, particularly in Maths so we still want a strong academic focus.

We do care about things like school
social media policies and as far as possible want to avoid an insta culture.

also open to other ideas!

As far as I know both a financially sound and have decent sized years for 25/26.

A few random points:

Mayfield is Catholic and they do take it moderately seriously.
WH has a new Headmistress who I don’t think is as good as the previous one.
Both fairly similar academically, but I think WH is stronger in the 6th form.
There’s also Kent College nearby, which has apparently improved a lot under the new head in recent years. There is some boarding there, but most are day.

We are looking at Mayfield, have visited a couple of times, done a taster day and we really like it compared to other schools (have looked at WH and KC too). It just feels safe, welcoming, the girls have a real buzz about them. Academically it seems strong but for us that's not the main pull, it's the small class sizes, pastoral care (I have had several email interactions with the school and all have been responded to promptly and clearly with thought). Phone policy I believe yr 7 & 8 have to hand it in at the start of the day and collect at the end. Bit more freedom as they head up the school. There are a few threads about Kent College you may want to read (just search for KC or Kent College Pembury - not to be confused with Kent College Canterbury) - it's got some pretty negative reviews recently but obviously I don't have direct experience. We weren't particualry impressed on open days, felt is was a bit of a hard sell (didn't get that feel at Mayfield at all) on their part. I also contacted them regards various things, got a general reply saying questions had been forwarded to relevant staff but heard absolutely nothing back from them. Pretty poor in my opinion. Facilities are good though. Have you looked at Beneden or Bedes?

Sounds like Mayfield would be a good fit, especially for cricket. It’s a very happy place. Phones are given in daily until Year 11 (I think). We are not Catholic. I would say that far fewer than half of the families are Catholic but appreciate the ethos and sense of purpose. New Head is fantastic.

This is all very helpful! Mayfield having a Catholic focus isn't a problem for us as we are CofE so although not the same we are happy with prayers/religious studies etc. Thank you also for the insight into cricket! Sport is quite important to DD as playing sports and reading are how she seems to decompress.

Does anyone have insight on whether Mayfield is are they also good at also stretching where appropriate? Particularly in maths/ science which seem to be DD strengths / area of interest? Also great news on new head we have struggled to adjust to our preps new / not so new head. We have come to realise we appreciate a more traditional/ grounded form of leadership with a bit more of an academic focus vs lots of exciting new initiatives (as boring as that sounds!), DD seems to thrive in a calmer focused environment it seems. It is part of why we are thinking moving at 11 vs 13 may actually work better for DD, I'm just not convinced her current prep will be the best fit for y7/8.

Kent college is a no for us as just didn't feel right despite its amazing sporting opportunities.

@Sanenotsane Benenden is a good idea to investigate further and something we are also starting to think of now they have day pupils (the new bus routes would work for us). However, we would need a better feel on how day pupils integrate into such a boarding focussed school. I wouldn't want dd on the outside socially and she is v ambivalent about boarding- particularly before 13. Looking at their A level results though they do seem very good at Maths/Science which would play to DD strengths and their science block looks fabulous. If anyone had any Benenden feedback or could offer insight into how day pupils are integrating it would be hugely appreciated too! Same sort of general questions as for Mayfield/ Wally Hall does it feel grounded? Academic focus? Sports - particularly swimming/ cricket/netball? Pastoral care? Is it too international or do the year groups mix and mingle well? Does it have a big social media culture?