christ's or greycourt? help!

[stepfordwife]

ok, secondary application got to be in for ds1 on 31st...and feeling torn between christ's in richmond and greycourt in ham.

like both schools for different reasons and their different strengths. always thought i'd go for christ's as in walking distance, smaller which i think will best suit ds1 and stronger on the arts which he loves.

but haven't met head which worries me. we were overseas for the open evening and apparently he doesn't meet parents on tours/drop-ins
so what's he like??

impressed with greycourt head and what she's doing at the school. strong curriculum, although weak spot seems to be art at the moment and did seem a bit more dynamic.

so if you've got dcs at either school, i'd be so grateful for your views. strengths? weaknesses? most important, is the school community happy and thriving?
TIA

bump

We looked at Christs but missed the open evening. I must admit I wasnt excited by it but we must of had the droopiest student out as our guide and you cant judge a school by one student. The school seemed under control, classes were quiet and chat seemed purposeful. I saw it a few years back and it was quite different. Didnt seem, in control. Big kids barging round corridors f ing and blinding. Friend's child with special needs is there and she r rates it. She had endless trouble with her primary but feels Christs has things sorted. Its not our local school and I am sure we wouldnt get it even if we put it first!!! (Not church goers either!) I guess if you are happy with both Christs and Greycourt you can put them 1&2 and whichever comes up you are OK. reality is we dont have that much choice really what with link schools etc

Have a friend with ds at Greycourt, mainly because of the support they give to dyslexic pupils.
He's happy.....I do know Christs is very oversubscribed.

thanks for replies
mebaas mum - i think we must've had the same student showing us around! very sweet but not exactly mr personality!
think you're right - lucky i like them both, so will probably be swayed by christs being stronger in art and that put that as 1st choice and greycourt 2nd.
what's your local school?

deaddei - good your friend's child happy at greycourt. yes, christs is very over-subscribed, isn't it? they have 70 church places and 50 "open" places.

oh dear, all seems too grown-up

Have friends with children at both and they all sem very happy, doing well etc etc - if you have a choice of either you are lucky as the catchment for both seems to be very small - we wouldn't have a chance of either.

that's good to hear, mrs ghoul ..like your name [hsmile]

yes, tbh, i don't think ds has got a high chance of getting into christ's but we shall see.
his primary is a link school for grey court so a better chance.
but you're right, lucky both seem fairly good.
are your dc due to start secondary school next september, too?
good luck everyone!

Why thank you [hgrin] - is normally MrsGuyofGisbourne, but at this time of year...
DS2 is mving on this year, but going independent, same as his elder bro' - if we had lived near enough to one of those you are considering (or were godly enough [hgrin]) I would have been happy to opt for one of those, but we are geographically compromised...

Also have friends with children at both. From what I have heard, both are good and on the up, with strong heads. One thing that might sway you one way or the other is that Christ's doesn't seem to do much streaming, certainly not in the first year, so one friend with a bright daughter there is sort of wishing she'd gone for Greycourt because there I think they do stream much more and she thinks that might have been better for her particular situation. But it's hearsay...someone might be along soon to put me right! I think the head of Greycourt is really inspirational, she's done amazing things in a short space of time, sorting out weaker teachers, disruptive pupils etc.

My mates son went to Greycourt, is exprememly arty and it suited him down to the ground

How can you tell if a schools weak spot is art?

That's what I've heard stillfeel18inside about Christ's. Year 7 involves a lot of catching up so brighter students can be quite bored.

I know lots of DCs who have gone to both. Mixed reports about Christ's.

Christ's is our nearest school and I see the head every afternoon lurking on the corner of manor/sheen road (when I go to collect my DCs from school) reprimanding students for not wearing the correct uniform/jaywalking etc. The children who go there certainly seem a lot less threatening than when I first moved to the area 8 years ago. Maybe I was wimp then though

I know lots of children at Christ's and a few at Greycourt, though not as well. Most people at Christ's are very happy. I know one or two people who feel that the most able children aren't stretched and a lot of tutoring goes on in the GCSE years - so results might be misleading. Humanities never seem to be set, though there are maths and science sets from Y8 I think. They do this cross-curricular easing-them-into-secondary programme called PACE in Y7 and it works well for some children, but is a bit wibbly-wobbly for others.