Good Independent Schools in the Bristol/Bath area?

[flute123]

Can anyone help us out? We are most likely to be moving and hoping to be in Keynsham. The Bristol and Bath schools are probably the easiest to get to but we'd be willing to travel further for the right school. DCs = musical, not particularly sporty, solidly academic but nothing spectacular. Looking for a good all round academic school with good music provision. Thanks!

Boys or girls, primary or secondary, any preference for single-sex or co-ed, day school only or do you mind one that is mixed day/boarding? I know a lot of the Bristol schools quite well but it's hard to give any advice without more detail. Don't know the Bath private schools as well, but I expect someone does. Have you looked at the Good Schools Guide as a starting point?

I grew up in Keynsham and have been teaching around here ever since. Give us some details and I may be able to help.
If you are open to suggestions and its secondary, its really worth looking at Wellsway School in Keynsham before discounting state completely. Its one of the best state schools in the area.

I know a couple of boys who have/have had music scholarships to Prior Park College. Sorry I couldn't comment further but as you mentioned music I thought I might as well throw it out there!

What Jo said.

It's bonkers to insist on shelling out £15k or whatever a year when you have schools like Wellsway on your doorstep.

Lots of private schools though in both cities.

Another option in you want a co-ed school with good music facilities is Bristol Cathedral choir school - a former independent school that is now an academy. It has a lottery + banding system for Y7 entry with some specialist music places - so am unsure about how this would operate for in-year transfers. Very oversubscribed school, but they do take dcs from outside Bristol.
Bath comprehensives are well above the national average like Wellsway, so you may wish to consider these. The Bath Music service runs a schools music centre in Keynsham which would be an option for orchestral instruments.

King Edwards Bath is very popular with people I work. Don't know any more than that.

KES sounds fab for academic children with no SENs. My friend's dd is there - she really rates it.

Bath is a lovely place to grow up, but Bristol is more exciting. That might have a bearing when choosing between schools in either.

To clarify, I don't think it's bonkers to go private if you can afford it easily. I do think it's bonkers though to not even consider state schools.

Thanks for your replies everyone :)
We really would like our children to have the opportunity of private education - definitely at secondary school level but open to the possibility of private from year 3 onwards. DH isn't too bothered but I would much prefer co-ed (2 girls and a boy) though not necessarily the same school for them all ifyswim.
Does anyone know anything about Clifton College?
And Prior Park looks excellent, thanks! They seem to have a good prep school also but comments would be very welcome.
They'd be day pupils so we wouldn't need (or want!) boarding.
In the Bristol area am I correct in thinking co-ed schools are Colston's, Bristol Grammar, Clifton College and Clifton High? Any comments?
Thanks again

Also, brilliant on the Bath Music Service - DCs are keen to play in groups so that would be a fantastic option if the local primaries didn't offer much music. Thanks!

Yes, those are the co-ed schools in Bristol. They all take children from 4-18. There is also QEH just for boys, and Red Maids, Redland High and Badminton for girls.

Of the schools you mention, Clifton College is probably the most musical - very good facilities, lots of musical events, offers music scholarships. It is also very strong in sport, but I don't think you have to be sporty, iyswim. It's the only traditional 'public school' in Bristol, unlike the others which are all (except Badminton) day schools and most of which used to be grammar/direct-grant and so less socially exclusive.

Clifton's academic reputation has slid quite a bit in the past decade or so, and it is much less selective than it used to be (I've known several children accepted there who have been rejected by QEH, BGS and even Clifton High). I've also heard some complaints that it relies too heavily on overseas boarders (with limited English and a tendency to stick to their own groups) to prop up finances and academic results in the senior school, but I don't know if that is more true of Clifton than many other boarding schools these days. It is also expensive: fees for day pupils are about 40-50 per cent higher than for the other day schools in Bristol.

Bristol Grammar would probably be the most academic of that list, though not an academic hot-house. Also does lots of music and sport, but doesn't have the facilities for either that Clifton College does. I think BGS is the only one where you might have trouble getting a place in some of the junior classes at the moment.

Colston's has always had a reputation for being very sporty and not very academic. I don't know anyone with children there at the moment, so can't vouch for that, but certainly if you look at exam results tables, it lags well behind BGS/QEH etc. Don't know much about their music.

Clifton High turned fully co-ed two or three years ago, but boys are still very much in the minority. Its reputation is mainly as a nice, smallish, friendly school with respectable but not outstanding academic results. Quite arty, reasonably musical, moderately sporty (but not great for boys' sports because of small numbers).

Most people living in Keynsham will either be commuting to Bristol or Bath so you really need to consider the journey times and where you will be working before you look at schools in more detail. Bristol grammar school is close to Bristol university and main hospitals: BRI, Children's hospital, St. Michael's hospital etc. and probably has the best all-round academic results. I do have friends with dcs there who are very happy with the academic education provided. Went to the Open Day and they seem to have good facilities for Music with lessons in a wide variety of instruments. Sports facilities (apart from gym) are mainly off site (but this is true of most independent schools in Bristol).
Clifton college is organised as a public school with upper school Y9+, prep school 8-11 years and pre-prep school 3-7 years. The school day (upper school) is really planned around the boarders so they have a longer than average school day finishing lessons at 5pm and have some teaching on Saturday mornings too. They have very good drama facilities there and have their own theatre. Do know several dcs there who have high functioning dyslexia or dyspraxia, so they are more inclusive of children with SEN than BGS, which may explain their lower exam results. They seem to have a reasonable number of pupils going to Oxbridge and Russell group universities each year.
Clifton High school is a former girls school at secondary level, but has been co-ed at primary school for longer. They do also have a nursery which takes children from aged 3 years.
Colston's is probably the furthest away from Keynsham but is closer to UWE, Frenchay hospital and workplaces in Aztec west.

crazymum is spot on about the commute. Either way at 8-ish will be ugly; you absolutely need to take that into consideration.

I was too thinking about the commute! I would have thought Bath was easier in the morning from Keynsham - having done both in the past. Particularly worth a look at Kingswood School from this point of view, as maybe a slightly less torturous route through a place called Wick up onto Lansdown in Bath.
Bath schools all definitely worth a look. KES would be the worst to get to.
Kingswood, KES, Monkton Combe and Prior Park, are all co-ed and have prep schools. KES the only all day school out of the four of them, but the most academic. The others all fairly similar in terms of academics - all have a different religious persuation if this is at all an issue? Prior - catholic, Monkton - C of E and Kingswood - methodist.
I have a feeling music is fairly strong at all of them - with scholarships offered.

And ironically jo164 the people I know from Keynsham who have used BGS and QEH were families whose children lived outside the catchment for Wellsway school, so agree with your advice not to ignore the state options. Apart from Wellsway, Chew Valley would be a reasonable commute (against the main flow of traffic) and is a rural school with quite large catchment area. It has Performing Arts speciality. Oldfield school in Bath is going co-ed this September and has exam results that are comparable with independent sector schools.

Thanks so much for your messages everyone - much appreciated.
The commute between Bristol and Bath hadn't even really crossed my mind I just assumed not being London that it would be fine, and that there may be school coaches!
We haven't totally ruled out the state option so apologies if it seemed that way, we're just keen to give our children as much exposure to extra-curriculars etc as possible and we also want them to be stretched academically in an environment where working hard is seen as normal and not 'geeky'. DH went to a 'big name' public school so while not keen to inflict the same on our DCs we would like somewhere 'good'. I would prefer the schools not to be full of the types of people I met at university - suffering from all kinds of stress related disorders brought on by intense pressures. It's tough, like all parents we want to do our best for them so that they're happy and thriving.

Having trawled school websites with DCs, DS and DD1 have shown a big interest in Prior Park, Clifton College and BGS while DD2 likes Clifton High School's uniform . I think it'll probably come down to prior park v clifton college but not before we've all visited etc. Thanks again.

Oh we are about London transport; you London types don't know you're born! Public transport here is rubbish and £££ in comparison.

However there are school buses serving the private schools in Bath, and Bristol too I'm sure.

@ your dd's priorities! Have you looked at The Royal High for your girls? I can't comment on it as a school, but I think they wear blue checked skirts.

Flute, I really dont mean to pee on your parade but we live in Bristol and my DC go to a state primary about halfway between Clifton College and BGS. We live about 2.5 miles from school as we moved to a cheaper house. It takes me 25 minutes to drive it. The traffic around this part of town is shocking. Unless iy really doesnt work for you i would suggest Prior Park. Alternatively have you considered Beechen Cliff? DH went there and loved it.

I agree on the morning traffic - Keynsham to Clifton College could take ages, and I'm not aware of Clifton College having school buses. Several of the other private schools share some private bus services, but I'm not sure that Keynsham is on the route for any of them.

Can I just ask why you specifically want to move to Keynsham? It's a perfectly nice place and all that (somewhat boring to my taste, but I know not everyone would agree), but if schools are a priority, you'd find life much easier if you picked either Bath or Bristol and moved there. The train is handy if you want to get to central Bath or near Temple Meads in Bristol, but none of the Bristol schools are anywhere near Temple Meads.

I'd overlooked the train station. That would be helpful if you or your dh commute to either central Bath or Bristol, or to employers near the Parkway and Abbeywood stations. I get the impression they're v.overcrowded, but the roads are dire (and parking limited in a lot of places) unless you can commute out of the main rush hour times.

The children could take the train to Bath Spa and then the bus up to any of the schools (or indeed the bus into Bath and a second up to any of the schools). Oldfield would be en route if they took the bus, but although some people love it and I'm forever waving the flag for state secondaries, it wouldn't be my cup of tea.

I don't think the train to Bath and the bus up to Prior Park, say, would be too taxing for a teenager.

If you are set on living in Keynsahm - please go and look at Wellsway. It would save you a lot of time sitting in the car every morning! I went there as a pupil - several years ago now, I might add - however have friends who are now teachers at the school. It is a state school where you are able to work hard and not be picked on or made to feel geeky. I was that child! I played sport for the school, was in school choirs and orchestras and performed in drama productions - lots of us did, it was quite the normal and not considered 'keen'. There were of course a few children who thought they were above joining in and far too cool to work hard, but they are everywhere in my experience. on the whole expectations were high for us, and my only slight criticism was that I could have been given a bit of a boot up the bum during the sixth form.
However I totally understand why you are looking at private schools, depending on where I am living when my children get to that age I will most probably be looking too - particularly in Bristol! However look at Wellsway to give yourself a benchmark.

'Keynsham'

Hi flute123,
I know you?ve had lots of advice already but I?m not sure I agree with what?s been said about Clifton ? its academic reputation has been improving in recent years ? if you look on their website, they got 16 Oxbridge offers this year compared with six at BGS. They do have a very good music school and one of their violinists reached latter stages of BBC1 Young Musician of the Year comp ? there was something on the TV about it recently. There?s loads of extra-curricular stuff and they?re not at all stuffy ? sometimes reputations lag behind reality - you should take a look.

jo164 I wonder if we know each other? I went to Wellsway "quite a few" years ago too...totally agree with you that it's a very special school with an "independent" vibe ifkwim...the grounds are fantastic also, with a lovely view to Kelston Roundtop that I can still picture in my mind today...