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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Schools similar to Alleyn's?

37 replies

DeadDuckFace · 03/07/2016 22:45

Hi all,

Would love some advice please. ds is going into year 5 and we are starting to long list schools. Two of his teachers (class and English) have both said that Alleyns could be a really good school for him and after a bit of research I also think KGS could be good and ds's class teacher agrees. He is very arty (on a scholarship prep scheme at school) and also great at creative writing. He's good all round academically but has DCD so not at all sporty. He's polite and hard-working, very gentle and not the loudest boy but popular with the other kids as he's a good listener. I wouldn't say he'd suit a very high testosterone, sporty school or a hothouse as he's gentle and hard working anyway. Alleyn's sounds perfect but I'm aware just how popular it is, would love to hear suggestions for other schools we can apply to, at the moment we are just looking at KGS and Alleyns but would be good to have some other options too.

Thankyou!

OP posts:

surreygoldfish · 06/07/2016 21:35

Not sure Alleyn's has a reputation at suiting quiet types. A lot of schools are sporty but provided they don't 'define' themselves by that generally there's a mix of children.

Original poster

DeadDuckFace · 07/07/2016 00:09

CountessDracula First of all, well done on your dd for getting into KGS at 10+, I heard it's much more competitive than at 11! We decided against putting ds in for KGS 10+ because although I love the school the location is an issue, Alleyns/Dulwich and even Latymer better for us so rather chance it at 11+ - I'd hate to decline a place at KGS at 10+ as it's still a school I'd love to get ds into and if we can't get into something closer and he gets an offer from KGS we will definitely take it.

SurreyGoldFish - Re Alleyns not being suitable for quiet ones - ds is funny because he's quiet but also quite popular - very good at drama so has a bit of a rep at school as the 'actor' which is lovely for him as he's so bad at sport. The impression I got from Alleyns is that it's ok as long as you have something you're good at but interested to hear if that's not the case...

OP posts:

Noitsnotteatimeyet · 07/07/2016 19:53

There are lots of very quiet children at Alleyn's - they're not all in your face party types ... In my dc's case the staff have been really encouraging and they've tried lots of different, new activities as a result

OrlandaFuriosa · 07/07/2016 20:11

DC art pretty good. You can be as sporty or not as you wish. There is a rugger elite but after lower school you can avoid it pretty much completely. Brilliant at debating. V good St maths. Music good but I'd go to Trinity if that's his thing. Single sex.

New head at Trinity comes from Dulwich and is lovely. Co- ed in 6 th. Good art, excellent music. Has a ten plus.

Whitgift, good all round. I found them pretentious, trying to ape eg Eton, but that's prob just me. I prefer scruffy like DC and Trinity.

Eltham, might be too far, but good school, small, intimate, excellent music.

St Dunstans has done really well by two young people I know, co-ed, bright, but not forced, good Russell group universities but lots of other activities.

Original poster

DeadDuckFace · 07/07/2016 22:57

Noitsnotteatimeyet would love how to hear how your dc is getting on at Alleyns. In ds's small prep he is quite a 'cool' kid - despite his dyspraxia and total lack of ability in sport. I think this is down to the ethos of the school - there's an emphasis on celebrating all kinds of achievement and because ds has the drama and art going on he has a niche. He's pretty geeky tbh and I think that in the wrong school a gentle arty boy like ds is at risk of bullying so I'm keen to find somewhere that celebrates other achievements - not just sport.

OrlandoFuriosa thanks for all that great info. We met with the registrar of Whitgift at a schools fair who seemed really keen that ds apply to them (based on what we'd told them, so not exactly objective!). Having looked at the prospectus it does seem very sporty and a friend who has a ds in year 9 and was previously really happy with the school is having a bit of a nightmare with her ds being bullied at the moment and the school don't seem to be really helping. Trinity sounds lovely but ds is great with art and drama but music isn't something we've really pursued. DC has been recommended by more than one person. Ds also recently won a drama competition at his school that was judged by Dr Spence, the head, and we all got a really good impression of him plus he had lots of lovely things to say about ds's acting which gave us the impression that it's something they take seriously. All great info and makes me more confident in our shortlist!

Thankyou!

OP posts:

Noitsnotteatimeyet · 08/07/2016 07:25

OP - Have sent you pm

OrlandaFuriosa · 08/07/2016 21:38

Yes, DC's acting dept is ok. DS got quite a few film auditions ( no parts) which was a surprise to us, and could have gone on and pursued more seriously, DC and Alleyns both understand. Dc also v good at chess. One if DS's mates gave up captaining the English u19 s in about year 9 to focus in GCSEs but still made enough money per annum to pay at least his fees.

Trinity wipes the board at water polo. Sings at the ROH and Glyndebourne. Whitgift gives huge sports scholarships but we were not convinced about the bullying either. There is bullying at every school but there was a degree of denial I didn't like. But that was a long time ago.

LockedOutOfMN · 10/07/2016 20:25

Eltham College? Very sporty school but also strong academically and pastorally.

Karramaboo · 06/07/2017 11:00

Hoping to revitalise this thread as I have a ds who could be the OP's twin! We are also looking at Alleyns' but didn't get the warmest vibe from it on the Open Day. Thought about Latymer Upper and Emanuel as alternatives but heard that Latymer can be tough socially.

Ds is dyslexic with some motor planning issues too but academic and with the right help is doing well academically. Loves art, music and drama - sport not so much! Interested as to what one pp who said they went to Alleyn's wouldn't send their dc there - can I ask why?

Thankyou!

SleepyByeBye · 06/07/2017 12:15

My eldest is at Alleyns. It's fine - good teaching, very organised. It is however VERY cliquey in an almost tribal way. Mine has a nice set of friends but finds the cliques a bit tiresome. We haven't come across any bullying though. Mainly white/suburban.

Cloudberry1 · 14/02/2020 21:17

Can someone please dwell on this cliquey thing? Is it really that bad? Does it start from the beginning or at senior classes only?

Vinobianco · 15/02/2020 08:52

DS at Emanuel - RS is taught like at every school for year 7,8 and 9 a couple of lessons a week. Then you can choose for GCSE - we are a non religious family and I have never felt religion has been forced down their throats or even that it was that big there chapel once a week but that doesn’t seem an issue for my DC. DS actually chose it for GCSE and it’s a good dept. I think there is no sibling policy there anymore and no cap on entrants to 11+. If you get a place at Y10 go as gives you a head start on those starting Y7. Headmaster upper the anti on academics which parents like but kids not so keen on.

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