Re : Downside School in Bath

[changesided]

i plan to let me son study in this school this year. any comment of this school?

Is that the boarding school?

yes. a co-ed school.

With the monks? Maybe it's not the one on thinking of!

not good in acadamic? how about the students behaviour? can u tell me more

My friend went there. Very big on music - they used to record albums. Good on discipline but the kids seem to like it and pop back to visit (so or can't be all that bad). Was there a whif of priest scandal a while ago?

I'll ask him what he thinks. Always good to google schools and Head.

Has your son got a place?

yes, they offer a place to my son. i'm wondering whether it is suit for my son.
Awaiting for your friends comments, thanks a lot!

Hello, my son also got an offer of Year 10 from Downside. Which year of your son?

Downside is now the top school academically in Somerset. It is boarding and day and is co-ed. DD is in 2nd year now and loving it. Would recommend!

I attended Downside School in the 1990's and still have deep psychological scars from my experience there. Physical and emotional abuse was institutionalised and actively encouraged. The school may have made recent changes, but only as a result of being forced into doing so. This was more than a "whif of a priest scandal"...

An Independant Report into Child Sexual Abuse in 2018 found that there was "a wide spectrum of physical abuse, much of which had sadistic and sexual overtones".
The Chair of the Committee stated that "safeguarding children had been less important than the reputation of the church and the wellbeing of the abusive monks".

The Inquiry was the result of several convictions against the monks there for child sex offences. This led to a drop in applications to the school and the school going co-educational to boost numbers. Following from the Reports recommendations, in 2019 the monastery seperated from the school.

In short, if you want to spend £30,000 a year to completely screw up your child well into adulthood, then yes, "Would Recommend 🙂".
It might buy you a little bit of status though, if that's important to you.

My ex boyfriend went there and he was completely messed up. I know every school has a proportion of kids who experiment with drugs, but this was another level. Rich kids, money to burn, away from home. And a school that did nothing whatsoever about it.