Ashcombe school and good primaries in dorking

[Crummymum]

Hi,
We are moving to Surrey to be nearer DH's new job. I've been doing some research on the internet and Ashcombe school looks excellent. Does anyone have any personal experience of this school they could share? It's very difficult to get a real feel just from the website.

Also can anyone recommend any good primaries in Dorking, which are also in the catchment area of Ashcombe school(though from what I can tell, the catchment area for Ashcombe is quite large?). I have two children and they will be in primary to start with but not long before oldest will be going to secondary school, so all a bit of a rush!

Thanks a lot of any information you can give

[Milliefizz]

I am a current parent at The Ashcombe school and the post by Gina1963 does not reflect my experience at all. My children have made some very good friends and have always been happy at the school. Pastoral issues are usually handled by Tutors/Head of year/or Head of lower/upper school and if more serious would go to the pastoral Deputy Head rather than the Head. The school encourages students to study a wide range of subjects for GCSE including a foreign language rather than pushing them towards subjects they will score higher in - ie. they are not chasing league table results. They have lower entry requirements for sixth form than other local schools giving more students a chance to move on to A levels. People travel in to the school from the surrounding area including Reigate and it is adding an extra class in September due to being oversubscribed. The range of foreign language and other trips available are impressive for a state school. I would say the weak area of the school is PE - some individually good teachers in the department but if you aren't A team material you might have less chance to play in sporting fixtures than at other schools who have A, B, C teams. The cookery facilities could also do with updating.

[ritatherockfairy]

I know people that are very happy at both the Ashcombe and the Priory (the two schools in Dorking). The biggest difference to me is size - this September the Ashcombe will have 8 tutor groups in Year 7 while the Priory will have 3 (I think - certainly no more than 4). Anecdotally I have been told that the Ashcombe works well for kids at the top and the bottom of the academic scale but those in the middle tend to get lost in the crowd. Be aware that a lot of children in the area go private which skews the intake somewhat. I know people that have moved to be in the catchment for Howard of Effingham school - between Dorking and Guildford - even bigger than the Ashcombe but also highly regarded and with a good sixth form.

[Zoolou31]

Hi I wondered if anyone could give me some advice on Secondary schools. I am looking for my son for next September 2020 but finding the situation very stressful.
We live in the Leith Hill area but my son currently goes to primary in Guildford due where I work etc.
As we do not live in the catchment, Guildford schools are looking unlikely that we will get in to any.
Looking at Our location The Priory and potentially the Ashcombe I think are the closest. Would really love some feedback from parents as to what these schools are like or if there are any others that are worth looking at.
Thank you you would be helping a currently very stressed out about schools mamma 😉.