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Secondary education

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Original poster

RGS Guildford vs. Hampton School?

38 replies

TheRealTigerMum · 26/02/2011 12:57

Help - I need some advice. DS1 secured a scholarship to Hampton but on the same week RGS wrote to say that they were also offering him a scholarship. Hampton offering double the monetary value compared to RGS. DS1 prefers RGS for their sporting opportunities but my husband and I are worried we may struggle with fees in 3 year's time DS2 is 8 yrs old. RGS 30mins travel and Hampton 35 mins away. Be grateful for any opinions...especially from RGS or Hampton parents.

OP posts:
thumbwitch · 26/02/2011 13:04

Has Hampton School's sporting opportunities gone downhill then? They used to be pretty good for sports too, especially rowing.

I was at the girls' school next door - there was a fair bit of interaction between the two, so we had the benefit of single-sex education but with more access to the opposite sex than some other single sex schools within a school setting, iyswim. (Probably not an issue now but I felt it helped me, anyway).

Can't offer any more useful info than that, sorry. Oh apart from the traffic in Hampton isn't as bad as that in Guildford.

Original poster
TheRealTigerMum · 26/02/2011 13:18

Thanks DS1 plays cricket for his school/club and knows a few boys locally who may also end up at RGS. Yes - Hampton rowing sounds interesting. Anyway we have until next Tuesday to make up our minds...

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Original poster
TheRealTigerMum · 26/02/2011 13:19

Thanks DS1 plays cricket for his school/club and knows a few boys locally who may also end up at RGS. Yes - Hampton rowing sounds interesting. Anyway we have until next Tuesday to make up our minds...

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MrsGuyOfGisbourne · 26/02/2011 13:19

On the facts - double the scholarship & five mins difference in travel, personally would be a no brainer for me Grin. Hampton has very good sporting reputation, I thought? We definitely considered for DS who has sporting G&T register.

thumbwitch · 26/02/2011 13:24

Oh, if you didn't see the boatclub that Hampton has jointly with LEH, then you really should! The Millennium Boat Club on the Thames - I went there a couple of years ago and was blown away; it's better than most rowing clubs I've been to (and I've been to a few!) and I think national crews would be Envy of it!

Meant to say - Hampton railway station is only about 1mile from Hampton School as well, with a bus that services the school directly from the station. Plus they always used to have private coaches for transport but I don't know whether they still do. Hampton is the last station inside Zone 6, whereas Guildford is definitely outside Zone 6 Grin so if you were considering train travel, Hampton is cheaper for that too (depends where you live though).

Original poster
TheRealTigerMum · 26/02/2011 14:38

We live in on the Surrey/Hampshire border so not in Guildford but there is a coach from Sunningdale (10mins away) for Hampton. DS1 will need to hop on the train for RGS. What about mums with musical offspring? Anything to say about RGS or Hampton music departments. Both looked pretty decent during our brief visits.

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MrsGuyOfGisbourne · 26/02/2011 16:37

One other thought - have you considered the radius around each school, say 45 mins commute, 'cos you can assume your DC will be bestest friends with teh child tha tlives on the furthest other edge of that radius Grin

Original poster
TheRealTigerMum · 26/02/2011 21:28

FT 2011 Top 1000 Schools report out today. Yikes! Hampton has slid somewhat..

media.ft.com/cms/7bb2ebb6-3fc7-11e0-a1ba-00144feabdc0.pdf

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thumbwitch · 26/02/2011 21:38

Again, my experience of Hampton's music department is old - but I was in the Hampton School Orchestra (it was unbelievably superior to my own school's one!) and it was very good. We also did joint choral stuff, I particularly remember the Mozart Requiem. They had excellent resources and were very active musically/theatrically when I was "there" but that is over 20 years ago now, so things could have gone down hill there.

RatherBeOnThePiste · 27/02/2011 07:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mummytime · 27/02/2011 08:03

I would talk to RGS. For Music it is fab, lots of ex-choristers from the cathedral. How easy will it be for your son to get there by train? (I'm not sure which line he would be using.)
The boys have lots of interaction with the girls of Tormead, St Catherines and High School; including some joint music lessons.
However I wouldn't have put it down as a sporty school.

How much do you need the financial help? RGS has Bursaries for those in need, so its worth talking to the head. (But a lot of boys come from State schools, and quite a few from single parent families, so there is a lot of real need.)

JetJungle · 27/02/2011 16:17

My son is at Hampton and he loves it.
You know, a lot is always said about Hampton's results and how hard the boys work, but one of the things that has struck me since he started there, is just how much time he spends playing sport and developing the extra-circular aspect of his education. He also plays in a school rock band and does rock climbing. The opportunities - beyond school work - are vast.

My only words of warning; there are lots or extra costs. Lunches, uniforms, coaches, kit, trips etc. and ALL these costs are casually added to your term bill. Believe me, these costs quickly mount. Yikes!

Although I should imagine that this would be the same at both schools....

Pagwatch · 27/02/2011 16:25

Ds1 was in exactly the same position but we opted for rgs.

I think Hampton is a great school, FIL used to be a department head there. But rgs is I think the stronger for academic results, post a level destinations and music.

The rowing at Hampton is fantastic and the facilities have improved across the board in recent years.

Rgs is a sporty school usually doing well in the daily mail cup at rugby plus ds1 has peers playing for England under 18s and going into the Harlequins academy. But the coaching can be iffy and a depressing number of boys start drifting away from sports in the later years. But given that they are an academic school who do not seek sporting scholarship boys they do pretty well across the board

Pagwatch · 27/02/2011 16:26

Thumbwitch. Dh was at Hampton. Knew a few girls from through the fence Grin

We are going to have a look for dd in a year or two. But the travelling does concern me a bit.

willow · 27/02/2011 16:58

Jetjungle (and other parents in similar boat) - always wondered about all those extras. Roughly how much does the average term cost over and above the fees?

Original poster
TheRealTigerMum · 27/02/2011 18:15

Thanks for all your input. V. helpful.

Just first impressions from going to the open days and listening to John Cox (RGS) and Barry Martin (Hampton) makes me think that bright boys with average academic capabilities might be feeling the pressure a bit more at RGS compared to Hampton.

Yes the extras a bit worrying...hmm..

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willow · 27/02/2011 18:25

Am curious - how on earth do you compare schools like this? If you go to something like the Daily Telegrapy league tables Hampton is supposedly tenth best in the country and does't mention RGS in the top 100 - but then the FT has Hampton down as 62 or something. They both sound like good schools though!

Pagwatch · 27/02/2011 20:25

The daily telegraph result sounds odd willow. Rgs have been top 10 - 50 every table I have looked at in the last five years. They get 30 plus into Oxbridge every year. If that is outside top 100, I wonder what criteria can be ?

We compared by going to both, talking the boys and, more importantly, seeing which ds1 liked best. They are both good schools. Tis horses for courses really - which one you like best or which is most practical

bettys · 27/02/2011 20:39

Telegraph League Table

They are both on this one but it is just for Independent schools

willow · 27/02/2011 21:24

But not on this one? Talk about confusing!
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/8254340/A-level-league-tables-2010-school-by-school.html

JetJungle · 27/02/2011 22:02

Well it's hard to say....

Last year we paid about £3000 over and above his school fees for extras BUT my DS did not go on all the trips and things that were on offer.

Really it depends on just how much they choose to get involved in. I personally don't really think it is great for your child to not participate fully in school life because of cost worries.

Having said that, I do think there is a balance to be struck - last year there was a rugby tour that was an eye-watering £1000 extra!

I said 'no' to that one.

thumbwitch · 27/02/2011 22:13

ooo pagwatch - dare you tell me which years he was there? Although I wasn't one of the fence-girls Grin, several of my friends were!

LadyPeterWimsey · 27/02/2011 22:14

Rgs brilliant brilliant school, great music, and the sport seems fine to me, but DS is not amazingly sporty, although able to keep up. A friend who teaches there says what a suportive atmosphere there is amongst the boys; little things, like ringing each other up ifnone has been ill and offering to copy notes for them, that sort of thing. But it is very academic, so will not suit everyone.

LadyPeterWimsey · 27/02/2011 22:16

Re extras, We have just had to say no to all trips, etc but DS understood that would be the case when he went there.

bettys · 27/02/2011 23:22

They are both on the second Telegraph league table too, just in different areas/counties.