Six form choice : Wycombe Abbey, Westminster, St Swithun

[Evachan]

My dd got accepted to all the schools listed in the subject. Any advice to us which one to choose from while she aims at a medicine destination in university. Thank you

Michaelahpurple, I found the boys not showing any interest while talking or showing you around. Another friend felt the same. One boy was Head of House for something and when I asked him what that involved, he didn't know. So it generally didn't give a good feel. I didn't leave there with a gaga feeling! Also I'm concerned that if she goes there, would the teachers get to know her well in the first year to be able to give good references for Univs.

WorkingItOutAsIGo -am fully aware of the deadline! Can you add something more helpful please?

Ashnika if you are not engaged by underestimating the boys at Westminster then that sounds as though it is as good a reason as any for your DD to stay put. She will have the co-ed / boarding experience in 3 years anyway at university. I'm not sure if your rather peremptory response to Workingitout will be successful in drawing out more information from mumsnetters who have DCs there.

Ashnika my DS was in the 6th Form at Westminster and had friends there from SPGS. Believe me, they settle in well. The 6th form teachers are often new to the boys as well as to the girls. Westminster boys can be laid back and claim not to know things when they do. It's not necessarily a bad thing.

Summerends, I agree with your views and didn't mean for it to be a peremptory response though that's what it sounds like so apologies to WorkingItOut. I've heard to show continuity in activities etc it maybe better to stay put where she is more so because she is planning to apply to US universities. I think the change and the whole process of change will cause her more stress. She is already stressed with the GCSEs and regular testing at school. Plus next year at this time she will have to prepare for SATs while settling at Westminster.

WorkingItOutAsIgo - apologies for my response to your previous post. Do keep the thoughts flowing everyone. Thanks

In which case, my three-penny-worth.

Westminster has a very strong track record for US applications. Don't know how it compared with SPGS, but I would be surprised if it weren't as good.

Westminster appears to be a very different school to SPGS. As long as you are not struggling academically, and sixth form entrants should not, it is surprisingly relaxed. Pupils work hard, but that is the norm and because education is seen as something to engage in, not seemingly because they are under pressure from teachers. My son was very happy there, and has done well. However it might not be a school for a pupil who lacked self-motivation, as there is quite a lot of onus on the individual student to organise themselves.

DD is not at SPGS but knows a number of girls who are. From the outside at least there seems to be a lot more homework and testing. She has been surprised at times how the girls will describe others as "not very bright" and how seriously they seem to take things like scores in Intermediate Maths Challenge. Most of the girls DD knows at SPGS are very happy there. A few are not, and indeed a couple have left.

If your daughter is doing well where she is and happy, she should probably stay.

If she is doing well but not particularly happy, Westminster is really worth a try. As you will have spotted from the boys you met, it is quite laid back. The sixth form is special. It operates as a boarding school, so open long hours, so scope to study in the library after school, have dinner and then go to the gym. Class sizes are small, which combined with bright pupils and good teaching makes for good results. Equally though, the other activities and the expectation that you participate in, say house competitions and performances, gives a rounder traditional public school edge. In my view it provides a great preparation for University and adulthood, and it was lovely to see my son and his friends develop and mature over those two years.

I understand that only a handful of girls made the switch last year, whereas in DS' year about a dozen moved. DDs friends say that this was because SPGS was top of the League Tables, having passed Westminster. If true, I find it sad that a decision of two outstanding but very different schools would be made on the basis of League Tables and raw results, not on the quality of education and the fit.

Thanks for your detailed response Needmoresleep. My daughter is hardworking, bright, intelligent, organised but not as self-motivated. She is doing well at SPGS and is happy but she does have her ups and downs. She takes on stress easily and hence the worry of settling in a new school when she is already in a good school. She is not aggressive but not docile either.

Do the boys or girls get distracted because first time many are studying in a co-ed environment? I am surprised and happy to know that it is laid back. I guess it would be difficult to say if the homework and testing at Westminster is less than SPGS? A friend's DD at Godolphin keeps complaining they don't get much homework whereas my DD does get quite a bit of homework and tests.

Surreal thing about St Swithuns : their prom last summer the girls had to take boys from WC or not at all - even if they had boyfriends from other schools.

I couldn't say whether there is more homework or testing at Westminster than SPGS. What I can say is that I rarely heard the word "stress" from DS or his friends in the 6th Form. This is a school which prides itself on the quality of the education it provides, inside and outside the curriculum, and where the pleasure of learning for its own sake is appreciated by teachers and pupils alike. All too rare these days, so a privilege. It's a great atmosphere for young adults.

Is Westminster big into girls rowing?

Ashnika, these schools were in the VIIIs final at the National Schools Regatta.

1 4 HED A Headington School 01:41.2 03:26.5 05:11.9 6:56.08
2 2 SGC St. George's College 01:44.2 03:32.7 05:21.0 7:06.85
3 3 SWB Sir William Borlase's School 01:44.8 03:33.6 05:22.1 7:09.45
4 6 KCH King's School, Chester 01:46.2 03:36.0 05:27.3 7:16.38
5 5 LEH A Lady Eleanor Holles 01:45.3 03:38.0 05:28.4 7:18.07
6 1 SWP Sir William Perkins's School 01:46.5 03:37.6 05:29.6 7:19.46

No evidence of Westminster in Semi Finals.

I think being with boys (very bright studious ones in the case of Westminster) has a positive influence on girls who are prone to overdoing things for homework and tests. The girls observe the boys doing just as well if not better with a more relaxed approach and the stress that girls transmit to each other is dissipated at least partly.
Obvious disclaimer is this is a generalisation.

Ashnika - no worries! I saw your apology before the other response. I actually was trying to be helpful as you'd not expressed any urgency in your post and by piggybacking on an old thread rather than starting your own, I thought you might not get many responses.

I can't add anything else as I've no direct experience of westminster - had two DCs sit and one get in, but neither went. And one DC who went round it and decided not to sit. I definitely encouraged my DD to look as I thought coed might be nice for her final two years but she decided for her she was happier staying where she is now - super engaged with sport music and drama and a lovely bunch of friends. But obviously I thought it was worth a look - a special place and an excellent education. And of course as per the famous other thread, it is the best school in the world.

More thoughts.

Rowing. I think the standard of girls sports is a bit hit and miss. There are only 120 girls in the two years. If you got 8 rowers they could be very good, as the facilities and coaching are there. However you probably wont get a boat full at that standard. A lot of sports are offered, including girls football and netball, and they get two full afternoons a week for sport. However in any intake there are likely to be more musicians than sports people. Instead the school is good at individual sports and participation. It is good at fencing and became the top climbing school in the country. Girls are encouraged to participate in inter-house competitions, and if sufficient girls don't take part and the house is penalised, there will be some cross 13 year old boys to contend with.

Boys. A personal view but I don't think Westminster boys are particularly distracting. There will be representatives of the pan-London party circuit amongst both boys and girls, but proportionally fewer perhaps than you get at SPGS. I suspect more will be like the unimpressive boys you met. Many of the SPGS girls we have met appear to have bag loads loads of confidence, so your daughter might find the slightly diffident Westminster boys, easier company. As long as she is comfortable with the nerdy boy-next-door type. DS and his friends formed some nice straightforward friendships with some of the new girls, and the fact girls in the class worked harder than they did was not a bad thing for them to realise.

It depends in part what subjects she wants to study. Things like Classics and History of Art are very well taught, but the boys will be skewed towards STEM subjects. Some, including some of the sixth from new entrants, will be very very clever. If your daughter is maths/science orientated it is hard to think of a better place to go.

WorkingItOut - I see your point now. At the time I thought there was some sarcasm. This is the first time I have posted on mumsnet so wasn't sure if a new thread would be looked at soon. Equally I didn't realise I had not indicated the deadline for responses.

Thank you to all who responded. In the end we decided not to apply due to various reasons. Good luck to anyone who has!

@ashnika

WorkingItOut - I see your point now. At the time I thought there was some sarcasm. This is the first time I have posted on mumsnet so wasn't sure if a new thread would be looked at soon. Equally I didn't realise I had not indicated the deadline for responses.

Thank you to all who responded. In the end we decided not to apply due to various reasons. Good luck to anyone who has!

How was your experience finally with Westminster?