which school will you choose?

[Salmw]

I got an offer from below schools of year 7 for my DS in Sep, I've no concern on area because we are abroad. Which will you choose? DS is good in sport than music which he know piano only.

1. Christ Hospital
2. Bromsgrove School
3. Merchiston Castle School

Only know of CH which afaik is fine. Think you'll be hard pushed to find someone who has knowledge fo all 3 tbh as they are so spread out. Aren't you liable for a term's fees for those you reject now ?

Which plays the same sports he is used to? Merchiston Castle is all Boys rather than Co- ed. There and at Bromsgrove he'd be in the Prep School not senior school at Year 7. You might also want to check how many junior boarders each has and how many are full boarders as opposed to weekly/flexi. What airports could he be flying into ?

LIZS, thz for your quick respond. I didnt pay the deposit yet, but I need to make decision soon. DS is interest in athletic, swimming and squash etc. I want to find the school have good academic, sports, pastoral care and learning atmosphere. I know these 3 schools have nos of boarding student, but I cant define how many of junior, can anyone provide information to me? Besides, I think changing flight is also fine for us.

I wouldn't rely on changing flight , better to have direct access ie . Gatwick for CH then train and MC via Edinburgh whereas Bromsgrove would be a road trip from Birmingham . Have a look at the sports fixtures for each school - who they play, how often and at what level.

There must be a head of boarding for each school with whom you could discuss the numbers and pastoral care. Will you be visiting in the next few weeks (term ends end June/early July). I think at CH the intake would all be new to the schools whereas for the others he'd have to integrate and establish his place in existing teams, friendship groups etc. MC suggest it only has 70 boys boarding between 8 and 13 , many of whom will be on a pt/weekly basis. I suspect the Prep boarders are less likely to be full boarders. so you need to ask how many stay all weekend and how they are occupied. Even without having paid a deposit if you have provisionally accepted a place you may be liable for cancellation costs.

If you wants specific info on a school you may be better naming it in the title of the thread.

You might like to browse at relevant ISI Reports here and boarding houses are Ofsted (Government) inspected too. But no substitute for visiting and getting a gut feel.

I would suggest Bromsgrove over Christs Hospital. Several reasons. CH doesn't have a lot of experience in having overseas boarders, at least, not overseas boarders starting in year 7 - it's very much a new thing for it to do. Bromsgrove does eg does airport runs for the international boarders at the beginning and end of term. It's also an advantage for the year 7 and 8 pupils to be separate from the main school in terms of having their own boarding house - I think it does work better than having them join the senior school/senor houses immediately.

I am local to Bromsgrove School so know that one but not the other two.
It used to be a fairly sleepy place but about 15 years ago decided to get its act together and is now very on the ball. It has re-built and expanded so many of its facilities are state-of-the-art, as well as having the obligatory historical bits. Bromsgrove is trying to gain an international reputation: many of its boarders are from overseas and it has opened another school in Bangkok.

A quick google shows that
MC does Highers (a Scottish qualification) and A Levels
CH does A Levels and
Broms does A Level and IB.

CH's website is a bit quiet about sport. MC and Broms both have their own indoor pool.

The Broms website says that it has space for 70 boarders in its lower school.

Go for Bromsgrove!

OP a mum who posts under the name derekthehamster has a DC at Christs she seems very helpful I'd PM her. Christ's is all full boarding or maybe literally a handful of day children, in the UK this is rare. The ISI reports which frankly aren't worth the paper their written on but thats another thread will state the number of full boarders in a school but this doesn't mean FULL boarders ie those who stay in all weekend rather than going home on Sat and coming back Sun/Mon.
Christ's has a reputation for being very sporty friends of ours have children at a school which plays them and they think they're pretty good at sport, its a a very well regarded school with a good academic school and a ridiculous uniform. The only thing that might concern and I'm sure some wont like my comment but a friend with a DC who went there said that many of the children there are there for a reason the most obvious being that their local state school is crap but there are children with complex problems at home and she felt that this meant that there was a significantly higher % of children with emotional problems than you would find in most schools and that this can have an effect on the dynamics especially within a boarding house.

Christ's is a one off,if you go for that option be very sure you know what you are buying,its not just the uniform,marching etc,its students often have extra needs because of the background they come from etc,,if you are paying full fees it would not be high on my list,not sure its really that good at sport,would think Bromsgrove is better,certainly it has a better reputation in Rugby,cricket about equal but Bromsgrove has a stronger fixture list ,but I would ask why Bromsgrove has so many students from overseas,its usually because a school cant attract home students,so I would investigate that further.
The fact that all three schools are open about vacancies in September should tell you something,

My DS is in Merchiston Y7 at the moment although as a day pupil rather than boarder. He only started this year and has absolutely adored it. The Junior school is growing and numbers of boarders and overseas students increasing all the time (we have had 2 new boys this term in his year alone). The pastoral care is fantastic- my DS had a few issues settling in and getting used to the long days and they were fantastic in supporting us through the bumpy times. The big benefit of the small classes/ year groups in the junior school is that all the boys get involved in everything- there aren't 200 boys trying to get on to 3 rugby teams! Their record in rugby right through to senior/ international level is second to none and their cricket coaching is done by former international players. The swimming pool and gym hall are pretty basic but there are plans to upgrade in the next year or two. They are also very strong in Tennis and golf where there are specialist academies and there are also football and swimming teams which compete regularly.

Music wise, the choir is very strong, and all boys who can sing at all get drafted in, they produced a school play / musical in conjuction with St Georges school for girls this year and I think this is an annual fixture. There are numerous social activities with the girls schools which become more frequent as the boys grow older.

All of this is not mentioning the academic side of things- my son has had a big wake up call in terms of his studies! Having been way ahead in his previous school he is challenged by peers and teachers and being stretched in small classes of 10 or 11 in each subject. The academic record has been transformed in the last 7 or 8 years under Mr Hunter and although it is not selective in entry, achieves great results for each boy as an individual.

I am happy for you to PM me for more information , but I have to say as an all round traditional education and the development and recognition of boys as individuals we are delighted with Merchiston.

Sorry, missed your second response. Merchiston have squash courts and it is an optional activity once a week from Y7, and swimming is timetabled twice a week for all boys plus swim team training once a week for those who wish.
Junior boarders: for Y7 of a year group of 25, there are 7 full boarders and 7 flexi boarders (3 days per week). The flexi boarders usually step up in Y8 to 5 days then full board from Y9. By Y9 the mix is about 70% full boarders vs 30% day boys.

Latest report on pastoral care of boarders from the local inspection authority Care Inspectorate report October 2012

Dont know about the other two but can vouch for Bromsgrove. DC is there and loves it. DC highly academic and very sporty and theres plenty of sport which they are successful at. We are also abroad so DC loves the fact that there is a mix of local and international students especially higher up the school. Not quite sure why some people consider having international students at a school a problem given that the high powered careers that most private school children find themselves in often criss cross the world nowadays. Bromsgrove also has a new prep boarding house in addition to other state of the art facilities. It is academically in line with the likes of Uppingham, Oundle, Rugby, Repton and other co-ed schools from what I can see from the previous few years results. DC offered places at all the above but chose Bromsgrove as thought it was a better fit for them. Have been particularly impressed with the pastoral side of the school, any email I send is answered fully and immediately by staff. Excellent reporting and communication systems, even though we are far away we seem to know exactly whats going on. No school is perfect but I guess if you have a choice see which school you and your DC think would be best for them. What is one persons cup of tea may not be yours. Best of luck!

Thank you for your information. I study the inspection report of those schools and found there are excellent rate for CH & MC. While the rate for Bromsgrove is outstanding and good. It said CH has excellent sport facilities fixtures which I can see few information in their web site. I couldn't search the report of MC in ISI, is it because of different region. I can find it from Education Scotland. Is it reliable? Their GCSE result have not big difference(please correct me if I'm wrong) can anyone tell me the strange academic subject of these schools, I think it could help me to make decision more easier.

yes possibly Scottish schools have a different inspection system, You will find that most independent schools are equally strong across academic subjects. Each will offer a slightly different mix of subjects (languages is a case in point). at GCSE/A level or IB. State schools sometimes have a particular subject bias and extra funding and resources towards, for example Arts, Science etc but that doesn't really apply to independent schools . They tend to gain more of a reputation based on extracurricular subject strength such as Music or Sport.

You really should visit as you won't make sense of these schools and what they can offer your ds until you are on site , meeting staff and pupils. iirc you have asked about a different mix of schools before but seem to be going around in circles and time is getting very short now.

Bromsgrove; "It is academically in line with the likes of Uppingham, Oundle,"
I'm not sure expat where you got your figures from according to the FT league table which simply measures % of A*'s A's and B's and A level or equivalent Bromsgrove was 506 th this year down from 315, Uppingham 177 th, Oundle 73rd Rugby 188th Repton 136th and CH 156 th. I actually don't think you should choose a school just on league table position but I don't think anyone would say Bromsgrove is in line with the others mentioned.

OP the ISI reports are worthless. Christs does hvae excellent sports facilties including a gym it is like mnay open to Jo Public so access is limited.

Thankfully Happy I dont just rely on the FT league tables because as you say such information is very suspect when you read between the lines. Salmw you are the expert on your child go with what you belive is best. LIZS's suggestion is good, visit if you can.