Schools like Millfield closer to London

[ForPetesSakeNotAgain]

We are planning to return to the UK in 1-2 years time. DS1 (who will be in Year 9) has mild-moderate dyslexia and is creative (art/drama/design etc) while DS2 (who will be in Year 5) has no learning issues but needs a bit of a push. I am impressed (at least on paper) with Millfield's facilities (design studios, theatre etc) and its dyslexia learning support and like the fact that it says it is a sort of private comprehensive. It would probably also give DS2 the push he needs.

But in my heart I don't want to live so far from London. I don't want to live in London but I would like to feel that I could go to the theatre in London and have access to the facilities around London (I don't want the boys to board). We are looking at St Christopher's in Letchworth which is very different from Millfield and doesn't have the same facilities but might still suit DS1 but I suspect DS2 would coast.

Does anyone have any suggestions for somewhere in the South East that offers Millfield type creative facilities (I'm not bothered about the sporting stuff) and some dyslexia support. Ideally I would like a school that caters for a wide range of abilities so that both boys could succeed. I guess I am looking for somewhere where DS1's creativity would be celebrated and DS2's academic ability would be encouraged. We are coming to the UK in June and would like to visit a couple of schools while we are there.

Does somewhere like that exist?

[tickinglists]

Actually the education at Millfield is far better than certain areas of sports coaching at Millfield. Many students go there for the sport and the lack of interested coaches in certain sports is appalling. Why be a coach in sport if just don't want to coach youngsters to the best of their ability - whatever that level of ability is? So would most certainly not recommend Millfield for certain sports that they are supposed to excel at - no matter what facilities they have to offer! Yet their learning support facilities for their dyslexic students are exceptional with teachers that all have great enthusiasm for how well each individual can do. So education is actually very good - certain sports offered are not despite their reputation.

Agree with comments that Millfield Prep seems better than Millfield senior.

Heard good things about Milton Abbey School overall if that is any help. Nice size and very pleasant teaching staff and Head. Lovely location.

[smellyfishead]

shapwick specialise in dyslexia btw oh and add burtle (where some of the school is) to the desirable places to live pile.

shapwick

[smellyfishead]

ok, if your thinking of somerset for millfield, as above poster said, you may want to do some serious research into the school, it has its good and bad points, the prep seems to have a much better reputation than the upper school. nice areas to consider around millfield are selected parts of Glastonbury, wells, butleigh, barton st david, castle cary is nice but much further out- about 20min drive from street. If you are not bothered about the sporting aspect, there are probably other schools in the area which would be more suited a millfields forte is sports.

Other good schools in the area I would say are shapwick, bruton, hazelgrove and wells cathedral school.

[tickinglists]

I have never, ever posted on any forums. But after reading a parent who was even vaguely interested in Millfield School I have actually joined MumsNet to give a very recent experience of Millfield! Our youngest child has just finished at Millfield and the sigh of relief the whole family is breathing is immense. The individual teachers our children had were amazing. The problem is the overall management of the school! The senior management are simply not interested in the students as individuals. We slowly watched both of our children become more and more lost, withdrawn and totally overlooked as so-called member of the school community with lots to offer and contribute. The senior management just seem to operate a conveyor belt system that gets the students through the school with as little contact or communication with the students or their parents as possible. We, as parents, have never been so 'out of the loop' as these past years at Millfield. And when you try to communicate with the senior management they make you feel that you are sticking your noses into your child's education! Both our children were simply over looked and ignored by the overall senior management and not one of their non-academic needs were met. We had emails and written promises of what would be put in place each term or each year - yet none of it ever came to fruition. Our children simply gave up trusting the school to do anything they 'promised' either verbally or in writing. Senior management just never ever followed through. Both our children simply looked after themselves and their own non-academic needs, wrote the school off and just turned up to 'clock in and clock out' for academic lessons. Neither of them ever received the 'experience' that Millfield (and any school) should offer students. Millfield make a lot of 'promises' but never come through with the actual goods. We have kept quiet and kept our heads down as we have been exhausted by endless meetings with senior management to try to get them to adher to their verbal and written 'promises'- but we constantly hear from other parents the same type of stories - families just appalled at the total lack of interest that the school shows in their off spring. Just very sad as these are all nice, characterful, enthusiastic students who know full well that they are over looked and ignored every day at school. If I was treated like that at work and ignored by the company management I would have left and found a new job somewhere that appreciated me - warts and all. Our youngest has now left as this was the first opportunity we had in the national curriculum - as with modular exams etc these days it is hard to leave in the middle of national exam courses. Now both our children are at education establishments that actually enjoy having them as students and that are as enthusiastic about our childrens efforts and their attainments as our children are. Educational establishments that actually seem to enjoy being involved with students! This is all based on our own experiences and is obviously just our opinion. But hope it helps with any decision making.

[mummytime]

Frensham Heights is certainly not Academically competitive - it just wants to make sure its students are average up and won't struggle. However if your son isn't quite academic enough for Frensham, next door is a specialist Dyslexia boys school More House. The two schools, although very different do interact. And just down the road is the Helen Arkyll Centre which is a specialist Dyslexia charity (all three combine to offer dyslexia related saturday lectures).

[willow]

Millfield - a private comprehensive? Sorry, but I just spat my coffee over my laptop. Things must have changed an awful lot since I went there. Admittedly that was eons ago, but there was nothing of the comprehensive about that place - and having come straight from one I was able to judge. Many kids were extraordinarily wealthy in their own right - millionaires, banked at Coutts, designer outfits that were worn once and were never seen again (or donated to the house parents!), haircuts not at Trevor Sorbie but by Trevor Sorbie.... I could go on and on. To be fair, there were a lot of kids on scholarships - both academic and sporting - and we did all manage to just muddle in together, even if those of us with less cash in the bank might have felt a bit poorly dressed by comparison! But it was definitely populated by some of the most privileged children on the planet and I would be very surprised if it still isn't. I can't say I was particularly happy in my time there - and the tuition wasn't all that either, although I am sure it must have improved by now. That said, the one major life lesson I did learn there was to like a person for their personality, irrespective of whether they were rich or poor - which is a very good life lesson to learn!

Also, if you are not that bothered about the sporting facilities, why not look for a school that doesn't have that as its main lure? You'll only be paying for something that your child is not going to benefit from.

[MadameDefarge]

St Christophers Letchworth? Heard good things about it.

[Expatmomma]

If you check out CreSted you may find some good suggestions for a school for your dyslexic child

Crested approved schools are those which meet certain standards in teaching dyslexic children.

I have visited 2 schools on their list and was very impressed by their learning support units.

[LAK11]

Have to also say that someone I know who lived around here (north London) who sent her son to Belmont/Mill Hill then went on to send him to Millfield in Somerset as it suited - she then went on to buy a business down there and apparently son is happy and I know parents are too!

[LAK11]

Aldenham is NOT boarding only. Majority are day pupils, some flexi boarders and a few full boarders.
I know as my son is there - not boarding, even though he wants to....

[NearTheWindymill]

Is Frensham Heights still going?

I don't know if it's just like Millfield but St John's Leatherhead has ticked the boxes for some of my friends' children who aren't unduly academic and who might be dyslexic albeit not readily admitted by their parents.

[Lottiedoubtie]

Mill Hill?

[ForPetesSakeNotAgain]

Recommendations for movies as well as for schools - more than I could have hoped for. Hot Fuzz is obviously a key part of my research of Somerset locations and I'll be onto Amazon as soon as I finish.

Thanks everyone for the great recommendations for schools. I'm going to make a list of all the suggestions and then work my way through their websites.

[GuybrushThreepwoodMightyPirate]

Wells could certainly furnish you with a takeaway or two. Some nice pubs, independent cinema and shops plus lovely town (city?!) centre with Cathedral and Bishop's Palace. About half an hour to Bath for theatre or a bit further for Bristol. Castle Cary is 15/20 mins away by car.
Johnny Hot Fuzz is awesome!

[JohnnyBarthes]

Wells is where they filmed Hot Fuzz. I don't know how accurate a representation it is of the actual place itself though

[ForPetesSakeNotAgain]

Thanks for all the votes for Somerset. We are planning a week there at the end of June to see whether we think we could cope. We currently live in a small country, are surrounded by fields with nothing at all in walking distance - I am a bit desperate to move somewhere I could walk to the shops and maybe have the occasional takeaway curry. So I was thinking Wells? Should I consider Castle Cary too?

[ForPetesSakeNotAgain]

Thanks for the suggestion DwellsundertheSink - do you know anything about Frensham Heights admission process in practice? On their website they say "We are selective only in the sense that we aim to choose the students we believe will get the most out of everything the school has to offer" which sounds lovely but they also say that "candidates are also set skills-based standardised tests in reading, writing, spelling and maths. In addition, they will sit a science paper and non-verbal reasoning paper.....We aim to have all the papers marked and offers made within a week" which sounds rather less cuddly but they may not mean it the way it sounds.

I can't pretend that if they offer places after a competitive academic focused exam that DS1 would be top of their list!

[JohnnyBarthes]

I second looking Somerset way to live, although places right on the train route to London would be a bitch of a commute to Millfield (happy to be corrected).

I don't know anything about the schools, though. How about Kingswood School in Bath? I know a few children there who have dyslexia, although I don't have direct experience.

[DwellsUndertheSink]

frensham heights in Farnham - they have a very different approach to schooling, but their results are fantastic. ARt is a huge strength

[m0therofdragons]

Millfield is near ish Bath, Bristol, Exeter so you can get to the theatre etc with cheaper house prices and better quality of life. Fast train takes about 2 hours to get to London from castle Cary I think so not as cut off as you may think. I'm biased as I love it here and moved from the south east.

[schmee]

Second seaford college

[LIZS]

Ardingly , Box Hill

[toastedteacake]

Bryanston - creative
Milton Abbey - good for dyslexia
Rendcomb College - all-round

[indieakka]

Leighton Park sounds like it might fit the bill....

[lilystem]

Bedford school.