Abingdon School

[bico]

Along with the usual suspects ds's school has suggested we have a look at this school. We aren't local so would be looking for boarding, preferably full but would consider weekly. Does anyone know what percentage of boarders they have and whether those boarders are mainly from overseas?

The inside info I was given the other day was that there are over 100 boarders most are Hong Kong Chinese.
The head mistress has a reputation that travels well before her!!!

That's interesting. All of the pupils on their website in the photos for boarding activities appear to be Chinese, which made me wonder how many overseas boarders they had. That's a shame as I liked the look if Abingdon - especially their digital media opportunities which I've not seen anywhere else.

Head has a good rep from what I hear ...but I too was put off the boarding because it seemed to be mostly overseas and very much in the minority with most home students being day ...decided if we end up wanting weekly or full boarding we would look elsewhere but still looking at Abingdon if we decide to go day school...trying to keep both options until DS gets a bit older

I'm not sure she has a "good reputation" with everyone but she certainly has a reputation.

"digital media opportunities"
Curious what are they. I know quite a bit about it and no ones ever mentioned digital media opps"

Film making in different forms including animation. Ds would love to go somewhere that offered that as an interest.

bico I take it your DS is too old to register for SPS they definitely do film making etc.

I have a son at Abingdon, it's a great school. He's a day boy so no experience of boarding, he does say that almost all the boarders are Chinese, there are quite a few Russians too!

I have had very little (ie no) communication with the Head, but as far as the boys are concerned she got rid of Saturday school and introduced football, both of which were v popular decisions!

The Abingdon Film unit (AFU) has an amazing reputation, boys that want to join have to apply and be interviewed.

Sorry I can't help with boarding info, but if you have any other questions I'm happy to try and answer them.

I'm in the same pos as soda - one son just finishing his first year there. Head v responsive when I have spoken to her but I normally deal with the superb head of the lower school. We also have a lot of friends with kids there who are v happy, all the way up the school. However we are v local and they are all day boys. I don't have any sense of what boarding provision is like because it starts at 13 and my son is 11.
My answer is go and see it. It is never a waste of time to look at a school IMO. In fact I have never gone to a school expecting one thing and left thinking "I was right" - I have always left with my preconceptions challenged for good or ill.
Good luck!

My son's just finishing his first year there and loves it. I've never seen him so happy at school. We are very pleased with our decision so far.

Did find it a bit strange that of all the schools we visited, we never met the Head at Abingdon, she is a bit aloof, but the school is big and the housemasters and tutors are fab so I don't think she needs to be in the day to day mix.

OP, have you looked at the bus network they run? We live quite far south of Abingdon and DS is a day boy. Makes a long day but he's happy to be home. The network is extending to Twyford next year. They run buses in from a huge area in all directions.

Forgot to say, DS has a couple of boarding friends who are British, and there's a good few expat families who send their boys there, so not all foreign pupils at the weekends. And by the time they've all been back to school for sports on Saturday, I think the boarders like their day of peace on Sundays.

I always tell DS that I'm more than happy for him to bring boarding friends home for the weekend - my brothers used to do it and as a younger sister I loved it

We are about 20 mins from Twyford but I think that would be too long a commute to do every day. We will definitely look at Abingdon. It does seem to fly under the radar but the results are excellent and it has a lot to offer ds. Ds wouldn't need to do full boarding but he would need weekly boarding.

Ds is in year 4 and will be building up to do full weekly boarding mid way through year 5. He is keen to continue boarding at senior school and adamant he doesn't want co-ed.

happygardening ds is within time to register at SPS but, as with Abingdon, I'm concerned that it is predominantly a day school with a few boarders.

I suggested SPS because I'd got it in my head that you lived the London side of your prep and therefore SPS might have been doable as a day school. We seriously considered it as a full/weekly boarding school but ultimately felt it wasn't great for those under 16. As far as I understand the school does provide buses from areas like Ascot etc hence the decline in the number of boarders so it might be worth enquiring if you are interested. But I was also labouring under the impression that you had to register your DS before his 8 th birthday I know we did but that was a rather a long time ago.

Sorry didn't see the 20 mins from Twyford that's our DS is not going to compute from there to London every day!

Bloody predictive text trying to say your DS is not going to commute .....

Bloody predictive text trying to say your DS is not going to commute .....

I do an hour 20 min commute each way and there is no way I'd let ds do that. We had a chat about Abingdon and about the small number of boarders and he's not bothered by that at all (he's used to that at his prep). He is concerned about the majority of boarders being from overseas though. He said he still wants to look because of the film unit they have.

I assume his school didn't suggest SPS because of it being mainly a day school although it is within driving distance for boarding.

wondering if anyone could recommend a tutor to 'assess' my son to check he's got the ability to try for Abingdon School at 11+. He's at a great primary school but they have little/no experience of kids going off to Private Schools let alone one as bright as Abingdon! Don't want to give him/us false hope. Abingdon say they don't recommend tutoring for their exam but it seems everyone else I've spoken to has admitted they did so don't want to feel like we've missed our chance... we are in West Berkshire... thanks in advance

acliddell

I don't know a tutor but I think Magdalen College School Oxford on their admission page somewhere mention an pre-assessment offered by an unaffiliated teacher or former teacher they can refer you to - they mention it is for parents who want to gauge suitability before going for their pre-test ...can't imagine MCS pre-test is any easier than Abingdon's. I would not get too hung up on private tutoring...for 11+ you can do this at home DIY if you are willing to spend the time and research what is involved a bit and if your DS is willing to learn from you. I am not doing any (paid for) private tutoring for my DS and he is going for some super selectives but he has done some of the shelf 11+ papers you can buy online for familiarisation and timing practice ...it just depends on how much time/effort your DS is willing to put into that...at some point i think it just plateaus and they don't improve much and then it is keeping their interest up...But an assessment service is a good idea- at least it may help you identify any weaknesses and then you can decide if you still want any additional tutoring for those. I went to a tour at Abingdon and one of the folk there said they were looking for top 25%...but that could mean anything ...depending on the school your children were at and how selective it is!

Hi Amber
Thx v much, lots of good advice...

Hi - I've just seen the message that lots of people are using private tutors for Abingdon school entry exam. Has anyone any experience of this? I have not considered it but I do not think the ds's school had much experience of the Abingdon pre-test. Any thoughts gratefully received.

I've heard the same thing from friends who live in that area who have or are trying to get their DS's into Abingdon and MCS Helen. A friend said that this year it was very over subscribed.