Queenswood or Woldingham?

[Dustylaw]

Any comments appreciated or other suggestions for south east boarding school for 11+ daughter. Ideally a school which can do the academics but where the girls also have an all round education and some fun.

We have friends with a daughter in Year 8 at Woldingham who wax lyrical about the school - their daughter is certainly very, very happy there. They like how happy she is, how caring the staff are, all the interesting activities the girls do as well as their work, and say that although not all the parents are Christian by any means, they tend to share the same values so there's a cohesion amongst parents which they didn't find at their prep school.

Queenswood, I worked at a long time ago. Not sure about it now but there were some lovely girls/families there at the time.

Which did you get a better 'feel' for when you/daughter looked round? What does Good Schools Guide say about them both? Which is a more convenient drive for exeat pick ups on a Friday evening?!

Thanks for those comments. We haven't visited yet but wanted to know we were on the right track.

Take a look at New Hall School in Chelmsford. Would highly recommend - have 3 daughters who weekly board there.

@Dustylaw - Just give Woldingham a ring - they will give you a no obligation tour and you will be able to see the place for yourself. As the tours happen during the day you can see what it is really like. It runs activities every night of the week but also has a very thorough range of activities organised on Saturdays (called Saturday Active).

Have a look at Godolphin in Salisbury too. My daughter started there as a weekly boarder in September and loves it. Much more academic than it might appear as they set early. Loads of extra curricular stuff going on. Great location. Great music and drama and just become under 19 lacrosse national champs too.

Just found this thread on Queenswood and Woldingham which I am interested to know more information for my DD who will be applying Year 9 soon. May I know which school is more academic, vibrant in school life and weekend activities? Which school has newer buildings and facilities ? Which one is more for sporty girls?

Thank you!