Sir William Perkins’ or St George’s, Weybridge?

[Tenthouseandspoon]

Hello, we’re looking at both of these schools and wonder if there is anyone on here who has children at either and might be able to give their opinions, please? There are a few other threads with posters giving mixed reviews but these are based on things they’ve heard as opposed to first hand knowledge. Particularly interested in anyone with sons who have attended SWPS in the new co-ed system and how that has been? We’re coming from state, so anyone who has navigated that would also be brilliant to hear from. Many thanks!

Girls will always have an easier pass to St G, and vice versa to St WP as a boy on opposite gender. Id check how many boys in the yr above as it must be the minority. Plus check out the carpets 🤣 looked scruffy.

St G is absolutely huge massive site. Not sure how personable it could be. Lots of classes. Have you looked around?

If you are defo on co- ed you need a back up school as I don’t think St G and SWP are on the same level.

Also, some boys school eg reeds and the likes, plus halliford take girls in 6th form. However, appreciate if you are wanting from yr7 co Ed.

Cash is tough now, demand is reduced. Schools have dropped their levels they need cash.

Wait until you have an acceptance before you cherry pick. However I’d be picking defo 3 achools and maybe 4.

Unless your child is a county / uk player then you are up against the rest of the children and being a boy trying for co-ed is harder to get a place in my opinion (compared to a girl)

Good luck! Hopefully he has a hobby or 2 or an instrument to back him. Or he does fab in the exams / interview.

There is no interview at either school. Nor it is a thing to have a musical instrument (unless grade 6+ for scholarship) or hobbies - these things say more about the parents than the child.

@fartoomanymilestodayWe’ve been to several open / taster days at both schools and, whilst they are different to each other, I think each has pros and cons. My son had a clear preference for St George’s and loves how big it is (which would have intimidated me at that age!).

We have applied to state schools too, so that’s our back up. We didn’t love any others enough to justify the cost / travel and felt state school + cash for other opportunities wouldn’t be awful.

@CraftyGinBoth schools definitely involve an interview on the assessment day - we’ve spoken to each school about this.

I agree with @fartoomanymilestoday
you should really sit for 3 or 4 schools and decide
once you get offers .

Academically SWPS is better than St G’s (based purely on results) and is placed at 68th in the country and is over £1000 cheaper per term. St. G’s placed 104 but has bigger grounds and has better facilities. Costs will only rise so you need to take this in to account as well. Ditto transport costs.

I would also go on the charities commission website and look at each schools account. Both are healthy I believe, but always worth checking.

@CraftyGin There is definitely a ‘chat’ with an SLT member at Swps as part of the admissions process to year 7 and year 9 .

@Tenthouseandspoon sorry I posted before I saw your reply.
Both schools are good and I’m sure he would be happy at both. His chances at St G are good as they have hire fees which will put people off (Reeds have gone co-Ed this year for the same reason)
His chances at Swps are high as he is a boy and this will only be their second year of co-ed.

The 11+ process isn’t nice but actually it does tend to work out for the best and most children I know have got the right school for them .

If it all goes wrong on the day, he can always go state and then apply for an in year place or a year 9 place. They come up a lot more then you think (especially if not everyone takes up their offers)

@incognito119 That’s been our thoughts exactly re thinking about a year 9 entry if year 7 doesn’t work out. I’d also like to trust the process in so far that if he’s not selected, then we’ve potentially avoided him feeling like he’s drowning in too challenging an environment. We’ll continue to practice so that he feels as confident as possible on the day and then we’ll just have to see what happens! It’s been reassuring to have positive feedback of both. We were impressed at each but of course they will be trying to sell the school on these days, so it’s great to hear the opinions of parents who have had children at both schools.

@Tenthouseandspoon which state options do you have?

SWPS used to be more academic and less sporty, George’s was less academic and more sporty.

George’s has pretty hefty catholic traits even now, if that’s an issue for you.

That was often what swung things for girls choosing between the two.

@AdidasBadidasBishops Wand, Thamesmead, Salesian and Chertsey High are all possible… some we thought were ‘ok’, others less so.

St George's has great facilities and is pretty flashy and attracts some very wealthy and competitive families.

You have some good choices here. I’d say perhaps sort them all in the order of preference including the private options. Salesian might be worth putting above the private in terms of value for money. The private options might be better but ‘how much’ better than an excellent choice like Salesian and is that worth £250k - is worth pondering.

Hi, we were in your shoes last year, applying from a state primary school and looking at similar state secondary schools. We chose St George’s and have been really impressed so far. They have worked hard to help all the new children settle in, which has helped a lot as my son only knew one child going there.

If Salesian is an option, you will struggle to find a better state school imo!

Like a PP said, are St George’s and St W Perkins worth the extra money. If your kid is bright and switched on they will do very well at Salesian.

The private schools offer extra facilities and may offer smaller classes although I’m not convinced the actual teaching will be better at these private options than Salesian. Salesian get 45% of their kids an A*/A grade at GCSE with no entrance exam. Worth considering depending on why you’re considering private schools.

@BeSunnyRedHiker I’m so pleased your son has settled in well - thank you for sharing that. Can I ask how he found the admissions process and if you did a lot of work for that beforehand? Has he found there’s been a big leap in learning between year 6 in a state school and year 7 in private?

Both schools sound like excellent options, and it would be great to hear more from parents with first-hand experience rather than relying on mixed opinions or second-hand information. I’m particularly interested in how boys have settled into the new co-ed environment at SWPS, including the academic standards, school culture, pastoral care, and overall atmosphere. Experiences from families who have moved their children from state schools would also be really valuable, especially regarding how smoothly they adapted to the new environment. It would be lovely to hear the honest pros, hot games and cons of both schools and what parents feel has made the biggest difference to their children’s happiness and progress.

Hi, yes he did do quite a bit of preparation but it was over a few years so didn’t take up too much time each week. We applied to a grammar school near us and the exam dates were much earlier (October/november) so he was fed up with it come the SGC exam in December, but I think it helped as he was used to the exam format/working on a computer etc.

Yes, there has been a leap between state Y6 and private Y7 but it’s not been too much. I think some of the jump is also a jump you’d have anyway (eg. Having more than one teacher, multiple sets of homework due on different days etc). Homework seems to be at a reasonable level, with shorter amounts set more frequently and he’s just had a few mini tests to recap learning for the first half term, which is good for them to learn from.

For us a big thing that has helped him settle has been the clubs. He’s met children from other years in the clubs he is doing (most lunchtimes and a few afterschool) and it’s a good way to find likeminded children outside your tutor class. There is a lot of variety in the clubs so everyone will find things they will love.

Good luck to your child if you do decide to apply!

@BeSunnyRedHikerMany thanks for that, all
of which sounds reassuring. The clubs etc are a huge appeal for both us and our son - what a great way to find likeminded friends and develop hobbies and interests. He’s registered for the entrance exam so we will continue to get familiar with the questions and will then just have to see what happens 🤞

Does anyone remember the approximate drop-off and pick-up times for the St George’s 11+ assessment last year?