Queensgate School

[MissPauline]

Does anyone have dd at Queensgate sixth-form? Have heard teaching is good but would like to know about about pastoral care social mix, etc?

i replied in primary education section

I have a daughter in QG but Junior School, not Senior yet. I love the Junior school. As I mentioned in my previous message, the Senior school has a good but compared to very competitive independent schools, a more softer approach. Not so many girls get into Oxbridge....but if you look at the reports they get into decent universities. I personally hope this improves. I think a lot of the problem is the reputation of a "posh school" for girls who are not so interested into a strong academic or power career. I have the feeling this is exaggerated and not quite true. The Junior school has strong academics so I cannot imagine the QG Senior school is so weak. I do think there is probably more hand-holding, a bit more care and a wider range of subjects you might not find in other schools. There will be more arts, business studies, psychology, languages and other topics to choose from, in addition to Applied Maths, Phisic, Chemistry, and other strong academic subjects for example. I think in QG they will not be embarrassed or afraid to have subjects perceived as "soft" because they encourage the girls to do their best and try their hardest, but not at the expense of being miserable or doing something that does not suit them. And let's face it, not everybody enjoys or is good at Calculous, or Trigonometry, etc. Best they excel at History of Art, than be mediocre at Maths. But I think if a girl has potential, QG will step up.
As for the type of girl, not sure in the Senior school, but from what I see in the Junior school all the girls seem to come from nice backgrounds. The school caters to English as well as foreigners, I see a good mix of cultures and languages. Parents seem caring in general and quite involved. It can't be that different in the senior school.
I find the Principal a bit too mild - It would be nice to get a bit more action, more live... I would like to see a bigger push towards Sciences, Maths, and a higher number of students going to Oxbridge and Ivy League Universities in the US or even Asia. I am old fashioned that way...but I am sure for many parents the appeal of QG is that it also caters to those who are interested in more than just academics. I would say pastoral care will be excellent and because it is not a massively large school, the individual attention a student will get here is very good.