Kingston Grammar School

[ohtobeanonymous]

Having a DD who seems keen to go to this school and being highly impressed by the website and promotional material, I was a little underwhelmed when we went to the Open Day yesterday.

Any current parents who could 'sell' it to me based on their own DDs experience? I am struggling to justify the huge fees for a school which doesn't actually seem to offer anything (other than the fact it is mixed, not single sex) more than DDs current indie (nowhere near as expensive as KGS).

Genuinely keen to get DD into the best school possible for her that we can afford, but she would need some significant scholarships to be able to go to KGS...

[CountessDracula]

I think we were very lucky in that all of us had the same gut feeling, it really helps.

[Shootingatpigeons]

Tess Well worth finding a bit more about a school via the interview process at the same time they are finding out more about your DD. It was the interview process that switched my DD1 off SPGS and on to the school she went to and me off G&L. So that very much simplified the decision

From past experience, yes it isn't so much a decision as a choice because a decision tends to be something that is rational whereas it really is important that you allow this to be a subjective decision about where you and your DD feel she will be most happy, a choice that could not have been more different for my DDs. Don't be swayed by rational things like facilities, league tables etc. With my DD2 at 16 we even went so far as to construct a decision tree on the same basis you would for a management decision with all the factors that mattered to her weighted according to how much they mattered to come up with a score for each. It may have helped her Maths at GCSE but she thankfully disregarded the school with the higher score! I seem to remember someone on here said, make the decision, then if you feel disappointed you will know it is the wrong one......

[tess73]

thanks countess & Shooting.
actually after an afternoon digesting i'm a bit more back onto KGS. If she will do some NVR prep and watch newsround she can sit the LEH exam just to give us til March incase we change our minds!
Interestingly on the tour we were with another family with a DD who also got the 10+ at KGS and had a brother already at KGS. They were not overly impressed by LEH. maybe i am just too superficial

[Pop1ns]

Tess73-do you have a LEH guaranteed place?
Go for the easy commute ...no tiredness and can make local friends.
How about holding two deposits?

[tess73]

no, no 10+ at LEH. Would have to get up to speed on NVR, general knowledge etc.. for the general paper for LEH. Would certainly need some prep.

commute is a tricky one - LEH is only 10-15 minutes drive but not a direct bus so actually a bit fiddly, 2 buses
KGS is 9 mins on the train, or a 10 minute walk + bus.
not sure which is easier!

[Shootingatpigeons]

Tess NVR is just a few questions on the General Paper, they are not, unlike the Grammar School ones, repetitive and therefore tutorable. Anything more than a few practise papers using decent quality tests for familiarisation, NFER used to be good but they have morphed into something else, will be overkill. At the end of the day they use those questions to get another objective measure of ability and potential to see beyond tutoring but will also get that from other parts of the process and if your DD has a 10+ place at KGS it is almost certainly not an issue. I think there may be some VR type questions as well.

The General paper itself is just another source of evidence, to give them an indication of how widely read etc. they are. Unless you are going for a bootcamp, making your DD read every classic children's book, every newspaper, the New Scientist etc etc etc then I would rely on her, well, general knowledge, and watching a few Newsrounds and discussing the issues after. Amongst the questions my DDs answered were "in which children's novel was Titty a character, cue giggling which may have been the idea!! But there was also a question about a Jacqueline Wilson book, I don't think a weakness in any one area is a deal breaker, some may never have picked up a "children's classic" they are just building an overall picture to see if they are right for the school

[tess73]

Thanks that is very helpful!

[Anna9775]

To those who are considering Kingston Grammar, I hope my message reaches you well and perhaps will allow you to rethink and reevaluate whether you would want to send your child to that school.
I have read several positive comments on the brilliance of KGS for years 7-11; quite frankly I am unable to comment in regards to those years as my daughter only joined for Sixth Form.
Although the school looks very knowledgable and friendly, as well as rich in resources, and a broad range of subjects, after the first term my husband and I were already finding many issues with the school. It had begun with my daughters history teacher who used to arrive 20/30 minutes late to their 45 minute lesson, and instead of teaching the students, he would either read or merely put on a film in the ??subject field??. I am aware that I was not the only parent who complained, and after more than 3 complaints, the teacher was finally given a warning, after which he finally begun attending the lessons on time. Moreover, my daughter was not lucky with her art teacher. When we first visited the school, we admired the vast talent of the art students, and this eve encouraged my daughter further to choose art as her a-level.Nevertheless, to my greatest disappointment, she was unable to enjoy the subject to her maximum. My daughter, who received an A* for her Art IGCSE??s, greatly due to the encouragement and support from her teachers at Wimbledon High (her previous school), was not given any guidance at all, and hence was clearly loosing marks. When she desperately came to her art teacher, he told her a month before her deadline ??there is not much that you can do now??. This negative support was also given to other students. Since this was not the only school my daughter had attended since year 7, my husband and I often compared the previous school, Wimbledon High, with the current Kingston Grammar. We would hear from parents at WHS that their girls were given full guidance and were allocated compulsory times when they would speak and plan their personal statements with teachers who they either felt most comfortable with, or with teachers who would be most helpful according to the subject they wished to study at university. Unfortunately this was NOT the case for KGS. The class tutor was unable to help my daughter when she asked him for support, instead he pushed away from the task, and directed her to other teachers. The school only set deadlines in order to push the students, and although they encouraged for the students to speak with the teachers, it was not until I emailed into the school, that my daughter was able to get suitable advice.
As you have read, there have been a few problems with my daughters last two years of learning at school, which we had hoped would only be positive and memorable for her

[Niquitic]

Reanimating the thread as going through process of deciding whether KGS or SWPS...any further thoughts on KGS from current parents much appreciated!

[Niquitic]

I should add that commute & coed etc are not the key considerations for us; it's the feeling that DC should be encouraged to pursue wide range of interests and able to reach full potential.

[Niquitic]

Bump for the evening crowd

[ZMog]

Not sure of the protocol of reanimating an old thread as rarely come on here these days but saw KGS on the list so wanted to comment. I don't know anything about SWPS but I have a DD and a DS at KGS and couldn't be happier with the school. The games fields are amazing and they get bussed down there and back to school if they want to be, sport is taken very seriously as are the arts - the thing which attracted us to KGS was that co-curricular is seen as vitally important alongside academic studies and the kids are encouraged to do as much of it as they can. I have one that is v sporty and one who is more musical but they have both got involved in a wide spectrum of co-curricular activities. The parents are very down to earth and the teachers extremely approachable. I love how seriously they take the PSHE topics and provide parallel talks for the parents in the evening. I could go on. My kids had offers from WHS, PHS and Hampton but both chose KGS and haven't looked back. Good luck with your choosing.

[Waitingandhoping2015]

KGS seems to be like marmite on this forum, it's a bit of a love/hate. Never liked it, too claustrophobic and the idea that the first years spend break time crowding around the vending machine sounded woeful. If you are into hockey then they are exceptionally good; football rubbish; cricket even more rubbish - they had a great coach but he left to join KCS.

[Niquitic]

Hi Waiting, I guess that means you're not a current parent? Thanks for your impressions, though.

Any other KGS parents? Happy to be pm'd if you prefer. My DD is at the top of her state primary, but I don't know where that would put her in KGS or SWPS... I don't want her bumping along the bottom, nor do I want her sitting at the top. I'd like her to stretch her mind and learn to think hard. Most of all, I'd like her to continue her love of learning and not descend into a cynical teen. That may be asking too much!

[notOnYrNelly]

I'm not a KGS parent Niquitic but if it helps I know 3 who went from DC's (state) primary this year. None of them were top at the primary (generally in second of 6 groups for English and Maths) and they were all tutored.

The top ones (incl my DC) all went to local state secondaries .

[Zhabr]

I think I've read about "crowding around the vending machine" at least three times by now. But I agree about the lack of space.
Also both Tiffin Boys and KGS are situated at the most busy and polluted street in Kingston.

[Wriggle45]

Can't comment on KGS but can on SWPs as have DD in year 8 (who came from state school).... She is in the top few in her strong subjects... Above average in most. There are lots of state school kids and a wide range of schools that children come from so no big lump from any one place. She has loved her time there so far!

[Waitingandhoping2015]

Yes Niq not a current parent! KGS was a backup plan last year.

It's horses for courses, depends on what you are looking for. I know one friend there with a boy in Y8 who have been very happy with it, though even they were moaning about the location of the winter cricket nets at the moment (Grey Court school).

[Dinocroc]

Hello! DS year 8 and very happy at KGS. He was not quite at the top of his primary, a scarily bright girl who went to TGS was. He is middle to top sets there. He has played football hockey and cricket as well as x country running and just auditioned for and got a part in the school play . To my absolute astonishment as he was a quiet low profile boy at primary. And did very little sport there. The first term was a big culture shock as he wasn't even used to getting homework ( and had to be torn away from the vending machine obvs) . Now he is well in the swing of it all and not showing too many awful teenage traits yet .... If I can answer any questions I will ! Best of luck

[Owlandapussycat]

Has anybody got 10 plus kgs offers yet? We haven't heard from school since the interview.

[TeddTess]

offers are posted this thursday.

[CountessDracula]

LOl @ vending machine - I wasn't even aware there was one!
Another very happy KGS parent (and dd) here

[TeddTess]

yes that is true, neither am I

DD seems to get either a panini, slice of pizza or a cookie at breaktime. not that i am that keen on any of those choices but hey... whilst she's doing this much sport and as active as she is i'll let it go. def never mentioned a vending machine.

[Owlandapussycat]

TeddTess, Thank you for the information regarding kgs offers.

[Graceandfavour]

My son is in year 7 at KGS. He loves it and thanked me for sending him there! He's too busy playing football with his friends or doing debating club to spend too much time at the vending machine (!) He went to a good but not outstanding state primary, but got level 6 in SATs. He's in the middle set for maths and seems to be doing fine with other subjects. He's being stretched much more than in his primary school but is keeping up. I would say the main differences with state school (I have another DC at a state secondary) is that they teach them to think critically and conduct research themselves from day one and they have high expectations of him based on their assessment of his capabilities. I should imagine all the other indys are similar in this regard. For me the main differentiating factors were that KGS is co-ed and had a very warm and friendly atmosphere. The only downside for us is the focus on hockey as DS loves football and the trek to the playing fields on a Friday afternoon when he's tired. I can honestly say that I haven't heard of one year 7 parent who's disappointed with their choice so far.