Trinity school or Olaves

[Hamico]

My son is academic without a doubt...trying to decide whether to sit him for St Olaves or Trinity Independent School in Shirley. Does anyone have any opinions from first hand experience or know of someone at either school.

[Karramaboo]

lauramac sorry to revive an old thread but we are looking at Trinity for DS who has some mild SN. He is fine socially and academically but has issues around working memory and organisation. Would you be able to say how boys get on who have SN needs at Trinity and also how the non-sporty boys fare? Thank you!

[lauramac]

I have had two sons at Trinity and cannot praise it highly enough. DS1 is at Uni now but loved it and DS2 is there currently. It has been the making of him. The pastoral care is second to none and the atmosphere is fantastic - warm, caring, friendly but with very high academic standards and results to match.

DS3 has just passed for St O's and Wilsons but TBH, if he's offered a scholarship to Trinity then he will follow his brothers. Trinity seems to get the results without excessive or undue pressure. In my view education is about so much more than churning out exams and it is really important to me that they remember their secondary years happily.

[Dibbleofficer]

Not sure about the open day timing tomorrow

[Dibbleofficer]

There is by all accounts an unofficial open day at St Olaves this Friday for boys with likely or possible letters. This may help to confirm or dispell any views on St Os and get a chance to speak to Mr Onac.

[MrsCinnamon]

Sorry, longing, I meant the decision to change the entry requirements.

Yes, I agree, only 12 boys out of 112 is impressive. And I think all of them have the ability to do very well in their A-levels (they will only be allowed to do them in subjects they had an A in - now that I wholeheartedly support) it just seems a shame that they will have their confidence knocked because they didn't get those results, but the ones they got will no doubt have been very very good.

Oh well, I hope my son will not be in that situation. My dd is doing gcse at the moment, and she's at a super selective too, but with no pressure to get certain grades to be able to stay at her school.

[longingforsomesleep]

Mrs Cinnamon - you'll have to excuse me, I didn't know you were a teacher.

But when you say, "Last year 12 boys didn't and had to leave. That's what is so controversial and that's a decision I don't like either." it does rather read as if you think internal students should be allowed to continue even if they don't meet the entry requirements.

[Dibbleofficer]

Surely boys are actual meant to enjoy school. Listen and learn Parent2013.

[MrsCinnamon]

longing, being a teacher I know that.
But it still makes me feel uneasy if a boy has been there since year 7 and been a part of the school and then get told you're not good enough.
I can imagine under which sort of stress the teachers are to get those grades, which they should all be capable of.

[longingforsomesleep]

MrsCinammon - schools are meant to apply the same sixth form admission criteria for internal and external students. Once they've set their entry requirements they can't then make allowances for those internal students who haven't met them. If they lower the entry requirements for a few internal students then they would have to allow external students to join the school with similar grades. It's brutal, but most selective schools will lose pupils at the end of year 11 and 12.

Having said that, 6 As and 3 Bs is quite a big ask and I'm impressed that most of the boys achieve that - though of course I shouldn't be as they only take very high achievers. It's 7 Bs at our selective (but not super-selective) school and we probably lose more than 12 pupils at the end of year 11 (though some by choice)

[Dibbleofficer]

Thanks , I think this is a really huge sword to hang over the neck of boys until they take GCSE. More carrot less stick , and this may explain the wide scale exit of staff and the criticism of the pastoral system.

[MrsCinnamon]

sorry, nc'ed

[MrsCinnamon]

Difficult time financially.

You have to get 6As and 3Bs in GCSE to get into the 6th Form. Last year 12 boys didn't and had to leave. That's what is so controversial and that's a decision I don't like either.

It's too much pressure on the boys who should get these results easily considering how bright they are. It used to be 9 Bs but then some would not put any effort in to get As. I can understand the problem, but the solution is not to turf them out.

[Dibbleofficer]

Just to clarify you must get 6 As at A level and at least 3 Bs or you are turfed out? Also why did the head come in at a difficult time , the feedback I have from parents is the previous head was respected an well liked?

[MrsZimt]

Nothing strange I can pick up.
Ds is happy there, feels well supported and we know of no bullying (and there are certainly quite a few eccentric personalities in my son's year group).
The head came at a difficult time and has made an unpopular decision about access to the 6th Form (6 As and 3 Bs). I have talked to him maybe half a dozen times and find him easy to talk to.
Extracurricular activities are more than plenty, I cannot see a complete focus on exams.
Read the newsletter on the website for details of what's going on.
My son knows if he doesn't like it he can change schools. He would be all right at any school, he's a self motivated all rounder.

[Dibbleofficer]

Thanks,I must say that did not warm to the head . Arrogant and aloof.something strange about the atmosphere of St Olaves.

[MaverickAuthor]

After making the mistake of sending our DS to SO all I can say is think very carefully before committing.
In our experience bullying is rife and pastoral care is appalling - the school is now on its 3rd head of pastoral care in 3 years.
Results are on the decline – marked drop in quality and quantity of both A levels and GCSE’s from 2012 to 2013 – no song & dance from Önaç this year about results!
History department is apparently in disarray – look at exam results for confirmation.

Pannetone is not the only parent with issues with the school though many parents seem to think accepting the unacceptable is the only way – it’s not but you need the courage to go against the system which many people aren’t willing to do.
Önaç is anything but parent friendly but that doesn’t mean he’s untouchable, much as he seems to think he is – everyone’s accountable for their actions.
Most families at Trinity and Whitgift get some sort of financial support to send their kids there – unlike most independent schools the Whitgift foundation is a charitable foundation that provides money to support kids and not just a handful at that.
From bitter experience exam results are not the be all and end all to education – and afraid I can only disagree about exam factory label – SO was probably the school it was coined about.

[miss600]

By the way, I don't think the exam factory label is fair. There are plenty of extra-curricular activities & sports to get involved in at Olave's. If you do have a spare 16k pa to fund sec school education surely you would expect a bit more than a free state school can offer and therein lies the difference.

[miss600]

Yeah, this is a funny one. St. Olave's is not without it's problems (e.g. named stuff going missing never to be seen again) but it's fine to be a geek and fine to be a cool kid. DS1 very happy there but I am less so. If DS2 passes, I'm really not sure about sending him there to be honest. I am not dead set against it but am seriously exploring other options, even if it means much trickier journeys.

I know lots of Trinity parents but never heard any serious complaints or heard anyone taking their DS out unless migrating.

[bananadrama]

Just wanted to add to this thread re. Trinity school. My DS sat the grammar tests a couple of years ago & was close to passing. He is now at Trinity and it is definitely stretching academically. There are some very bright boys in his class, some of whom were offered places at grammar schools but chose Trinity. Their exam results are excellent & are comparable to the grammar schools' results in our area. We have been very pleased with the school so far.

[Dibbleofficer]

Well done panettone, still cannot get a grip on what I think of St Os

[pannetone]

To update - we won our claim of disability discrimination against St. Olaves on the grounds that the School failed to make reasonable adjustments for our DS's SEN.

As I posted above, aside from the School acting unlawfully, we have been very concerned about the unwillingness of the Head and senior management team to take our complaint seriously. From initially making our complaint we were treated as being 'ungrateful' for the opportunities DS had (after A level tuition in a particular subject was withdrawn from him!) and the School refused to consider all the evidence we put forward that they were acting unlawfully. We spent many months trying to get the Governing Body to effectively address our complaint, eventually making them hold an Appeal Panel as they are required to by law. This Panel found in our favour but the Head refused to follow its recommendations. By the time our claim came to Tribunal the Head was accusing us of 'abusing' anti-discrimination legislation and stating he would seek costs against us if the school won for a period going back almost 2 years before the complaint was made.

I am certainly aware of other parents who are unhappy with St.Olaves - see the threads on the Bromley forum on the 11+ website.

happychick - part of our motive of going to the tribunal was to improve SEN provision at the School generally, as well as getting justice for our DS. I sincerely hope the School will fully put into place the remedies of policy changes and staff training ordered by the Tribunal. We feel there also needs to be a change in the 'mindset' of senior management which is much harder to bring about.

[wineoclocktimeyet]

I hope you mean DS Dibble

[Dibbleofficer]

Interested in st olaves , are these concerns widespread , my DD loved the open day and we are hopeful of results , but this is a stop to consider moment

[happychick]

Our DS has just started at St Os and has SEN. So far they seem to have been amazingly attentive and helpful but it's early days yet!

[sydenhamhiller]

Oh no! We went to the Open Day on Saturday, and DS (Year 4) loved loved loved it. He is quite academic, and I think he felt he'd 'come home', after 5 years of feeling a bit odd and getting called geek. I would like a holistic experience if possible, very sad to think a new Head can make this kind of difference.

Any good stories about St O?