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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Reading School vs top Public School?

40 replies

BlueElephant90 · 03/03/2012 13:37

My DS has been accepted by both schools. he could accept the RS place now and start in September or go to a prep school for 2 years and join the Public School at 13+.
I know they are very different choices: day/boarding, ....but I am really confused especially when I read some threads on this site. Any feed back will be much appreciated.

OP posts:

Original poster

BlueElephant90 · 03/03/2012 20:25

Colleger- Is it that good?

OP posts:

MrsSchadenfreude · 03/03/2012 20:27

I grew up near Reading and socialised with the Reading boys a lot. I am still in touch with two of them - one is a Tory MP and the other is CFO of a huuuuge company. So no reason why your son shouldn't be successful if he went there!

Original poster

BlueElephant90 · 03/03/2012 20:36

Thank you MrsSchadenfreude, so there is hope outside the Public School circle? :) Having read some of the threads, it seems there is none!

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DialMforMummy · 03/03/2012 20:52

RS is free and gives your DS does want not to board. Why pay bucket loads to force your DS to do something he does not want to do?
RS is also one of the best schools in the country in which your DS will have more of chance to mix with people from different backgrounds than at Eton (to some extend anyway, most pupils come from middle class background)
It's a no brainer IMO.

Original poster

BlueElephant90 · 03/03/2012 21:15

I am amazed that few posters are saying (it's a no brainer)! I was hesitating to post and when I did I left out ETON, I thought I was going to be bombarded with comment in the likes of 'what are you thinking?' 'How can you reject Eton for RS'? 'How can you even compare Eton to anything?'
I guess they are being polite, well Colleger just wants my ds out of the way :)

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MollieO · 03/03/2012 21:27

Isn't it about choosing the right school for your ds? I can't see the point in getting hung up on a school just because it has a name. If Eton is the right school for your ds then hopefully you'll make the right choice however it seems to be a lot of effort if you aren't really that keen on what it has to offer (ie boarding only).

Trix2323 · 03/03/2012 21:46

BlueElephant, congratulations to the DS for getting an offer from Eton, this is already an achievement even if he doesn't take it up.

You mention two years of prep school. Are you considering boarding prep schools? If you are considering a boarding prep school, they would most likely let him do a 24-hour "taster sleepover". It could be worth looking at, if you want to consider the Eton offer at all.

Or would the boarding not start for two years? In two years time, both you and he might have different views on separation.

Colleger · 03/03/2012 22:31

Eton is not right for everyone, I'm not even sure it's right for my youngest. I certainly wouldn't be risking my son's happiness for a school. Is a school more important than a child - heck no! So if he doesn't want to board don't pursue it, if you want Eton then you need to get him into a top notch prep school pronto. I did notice that RS is doing very well and it's always mentioned on the Sutton reports for being very successful at university stage, well ahead of Eton.

I really regret sending my eldest to a boarding school and now he is on that path he doesn't want to stop boarding. I've lost so much of his childhood and his sibling misses him so much. I've tried so hard to persuade him to go to the local independent but he refuses. They grow up too fast and I am full of regret!

Original poster

BlueElephant90 · 03/03/2012 22:37

Thank you Trix2323. It's a good idea but I have already done it. My ds had a week in pre school as a taster!! I have friends with dc in pre schools and they think that my ds hasn't lost his love for learning and discourage me from following their foot steps. They would be happy if their dc get to RS.
However I was told as well that the pre school experience is totally different from the secondary one.

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Colleger · 03/03/2012 23:16

I think there comes a time when a child is too old for prep school if they haven't started by Year 5. I looked round two prep schools this week for DS in Y6, looking for a Y7 place and he's also been offered a place at an 11+ school similar to RS. The preps felt rather babyish compared to the senior school and I was worried about integration and the minute time needed to get him to CE standard. We've opted for the 11+ school.

Original poster

BlueElephant90 · 04/03/2012 11:43

Colleger- For some reason I did get a different impression from some of your posts on other threads!

Thank you all for your posts, very helpful. I have decided to go with what is close to my heart. My ds is doing great now and very happy. We are taking part in his education; books, shows, music and many trps....so we will keep it that way and we will go for RS.

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Colleger · 04/03/2012 12:53

I have very different children who need very different things. I agree with the taking part in education. There are some things my boarding DS could have achieved greatly in but hasn't because of the restrictions of boarding - music mainly!

Regarding other posts, my point is that if you're going to send them to board then I wouldn't send them anywhere other than the top three schools.

grovel · 04/03/2012 14:06

Colleger, I'm assuming the top three are Eton, Winchester and Bedales?

Colleger · 04/03/2012 16:56

Of course!

peteneras · 04/03/2012 22:32

OMG!

What happened to Harrow?

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