Winchester secondary schools

[Louisa500]

We are moving to Winchester and would be very grateful for advice on Winchester Secondary Schools for our dd. We have already looked around Kings which we liked but have also read some threads referring to Perins. Kings seems a huge school - is this a negative in any way? How successful is the school in sport? What about drama? Any comments at all about Perins would be appreciated - academics, types of kids who go there etc. Our dd is in year 8 so would be starting part of the way through the school. Thank you.

Kings, HenryB and Westgate all very good, though different feel.

Kings streams, which I personally view as a negative.
Henry B hardly sets at all in the first few years.

I know parents with children covering all 3 and all are happy.
I would happily send my DD to any of them if I lived in Winchester.

It may just come down to who actually has spaces.

Yes it does come down to spaces and unfortunately year 8 isn't a great year to move. Do you have any feedback on Perins? Thanks.

Is Perrins the one near Alresford? If so have heard general good things but no details.

There always seems to be a bit of movement, my DD y10 has had regular leavers and arrivals at her school throughout. It's just whether you are in the right place at the right time!

Perins is a sports academy. I know several families who send their kids there, partly because of the good extra-curricular activities and partly because it is also strong academically - some feel it's a safer bet than Henry B (although I know many people happy there too).

Yes - Perrins is Alresford.

How does Perins compare with Kings? Is Kings sporty? Is one more academic than the other? Is there a different feel? Why is Perins 'a safer bet than Henry B' - is this in terms of school or getting a place? Lots of questions, sorry!

I am marking my place as we want to move to Winchester this year . I would like to know about junior schools too. I know that is abit naughty to ask on someone else's thread.

I don't think King's is overtly sporty but it does have a swimming pool. I think Kings is probably seen as a bit more academic, but there's not a lot of difference in their results, and some may argue Perins is a little more "holistic" - but again people's opinions. Henry B had relatively poor results at GCSE this year compared to the others, and I think this has worried some people, but think all these things need to be seen in context (e.g. what % of students are submitted for exams etc) and I certainly at the moment don't have access to that sort of info so can't comment!

In terms of primary schools, there are some very good ones in Winchester (St Bedes, St Faiths, Weston, Weeke to name but a few), but they tend to be very heavily subscribed and may be difficult to get into. They have recently opened a new primary school attached to Westgate Secondary and I don't know whether that might have more room - don't know much about it but I thin at moment is just reception.The ones in the surrounding villages often have places further up the school as a proportion of the kids leave to go private so free up places. These are often very good schools, as long as you don't mind them being small.

DH works at Westgate sometimes - they are nice too.
Kings is huge, but then so are lots of the schools round here
Winchester is a good town to bring up kids.
Would love to live there rather than at the bottom of the M3

The Primary Section of The Westgate does not open until Sept 2014, and then only year R.

There are no bad primary schools in Winchester; there are, however, some seriously middle class ghettoes. (IMHO) You need to visit schools to get a feel for them, as a huge Grade 1 school can be a grim experience for some children, whereas many thrive in less honeypot-like environment.

Winch is a fab place to bring up children, though.