Piper's Corner School, High Wycombe/St Mary's School, Bucks

[Lucyabby]

Hi Mums, hope you can help. We are looking at relocating back to UK after a stint overseas and would like to base ourselves in Bucks to be near family. I have 2 daughters (currently starting Year 3 and year 4) who are relatively bright (but not top of the class!), quite sporty and friendly. Does anyone have any first-hand experience of Piper's Corner School or St Mary's School in Gerrards Cross (good, bad or indifferent?) It looks lovely from the website but I wondered what the level of academic success was like? Many thanks!!

This is getting a bit dated now, but my three neices went to Pipers Corner. They're very different girls (now young women) and they all did very well in their own ways - I'd say that they all achieved/exceeded reasonable expectations and they absolutely loved their time there and now speak of the school with affection. Part of the reason my sister sent them there was that one of them would probably have passed 11+ no problem, one might have done with tutoring and the third definitely wouldn't. I think the school did very well with all three of them and they all got the academic outcomes they needed for the things they wanted to do next. I gather PC used to have a reputation of taking girls who didn't pass 11+ but that was already out of date by the time my nieces were there.

I visited a couple of times and it seemed a lovely place.

My girls are registered to join Pipers at 11 but not St Mary's. Both have a similar sort of feel - not academic hothouses, good pastoral care, all round education including extra curricular. St Mary's is on a much smaller site with fewer facilities.

The main thing that put me off was the very small number of girls in each year (in the 20s). That's not a lot of girls to find your soulmate in.

Both suffer from a reputation of being the school to send your daughter to if they fail the 11+ although Pipers has seen their GCSE results improve year after year and is getting more selective in it's intake - it's not a given that you automatically proceed on to the main school at 11. Neither school preps for the 11+ though as they are "all through" schools.

If you want great sport then look at Godstowe as well. Maltman's Green has a good reputation too but isn't everyone's cup of tea.

I visited st Mary's and thought it was great but went elsewhere.
It has a lovely head and ethos.
You get a good idea of what is going there by looking a thing what people study beyond A levels.

Most Godstowe girls stay until 13 and very few go to Pipers Corner at 11. The parents are frying bigger fish normally. However, Godstowe is a far better prep school because it is larger and is preparing girls for all future senior schools, not just one. A few leave at 11 for Bucks Grammar schools. I don't know much about St Mary's but Godstowe is the best of the bunch.

If you want Pipers they are now way more selective than they used to be at 11 intake. They take many borderline 11 plus girls and some opt for there because they don't like Wycombe High (too ethnically mixed for some I'm sorry to say) or they want a small school. The grammars are not small. I would say choose based on your final destination of senior school. Pipers prep girls stay at Pipers by and large. They don't go on to Wycombe Abbey or CLC for example.

Thanks everyone. This is very helpful indeed! My worry was exactly that...that the schools took those that had failed the 11+ exams and while I am convinced that a hothouse would not be the right environment for my daughters, I would want them to feel challenged and not bored as they are pretty bright girls. Just perhaps not absolute supersonic brainboxes!! Its great to hear that Pipers Corner results are getting better and better. We also have the added issue that my husband is a primary school teacher so ideally we need him to be based at the same school, in order to help with the fees!! Argh! Its a major jigsaw!

You might be waiting a long time for a job to come up!!!

You should also look at Berkhamsted School. Much bigger school and transportation from most of the Bucks towns. If single sex is important then they have Hetherton House for prep as well as their co-ed prep.

Sport is excellent- national champions at several sports. Great academics although I know several children who have a tutor outside of school for various reasons.

Again a bit of a marmite school but the only other All through school in the area that's not a hot house.

Thanks Zodelbud. Really helpful to know about Berkhamsted. My heart skipped a beat at your comment on waiting a while for a job. I know this will be the case which makes the whole thing sooooo much more stressful!

At the prep my girls go to there have been no KS2 jobs come up for five years and then two came up at once. You are not the only people looking to take advantage of the school fee reduction.

If money is potentially an issue then maybe look at Berkhamsted as a place to base yourself - it's 25 mins drive to Pipers from there so not as far away as you might imagine (literally half a mile away is where the border of Bucks starts). All the state primary and junior schools are rated OFSTED good or outstanding so could be great as a second option whilst waiting for a place to come up.

A lot of children from the town then go on to the grammars in Chesham and Aylesbury High. Out of catchment technically but, for example, 70 kids from Hertfordshire (mainly Berkhamsted) went to Chesham Grammar so whilst it's not definite the chances of getting a Grammar place are very high.

Food for thought and takes the pressure off needing to rely on both the job and school places coinciding?

Thanks so much again. Hubby home so will be chatting away about all this tonight:) LOL! It doesn't help that we are overseas either! It sounds a bit cheeky, but if you do hear of any of the schools needing a Primary Teacher, we would of course be thrilled to know!

Godstowe has more staff vacancies I would have said. However that will not help with senior school fees. There is also The Gateway in Gt Missenden but that is really an 11 plus crammer style of school and not the same quality as Godstowe.

Pipers is getting very good results and is a popular school. I would say look at the destinations of leavers rather than pure A level stats though, and the subjects. It obviously isn't Wycombe Abbey but it does have some bright girls who want a cosy school rather than a larger more challenging one. Having said that, parents love Beaconsfield High which is, of course free. If you cannot get a job at Pipers you could always do prep for a few years and then hopefully get a grammar school place at Beaconsfield if you live in catchment. Many people would think that is money well spent.

I love Beaconsfield High (it's like a private school you don't have to pay for), but it would mean a house move for us so lots to consider. If your girls are bright and (assuming you want single sex) then I would definitely consider it. There's also Dr Challoner's High and Aylesbury High, as well as the grammar in Wycombe.

Thought of another school for you - Royal Masonic in Rickmansworth. All the private schools advertise their jobs on their websites - just search for the school name and jobs. Schools to keep an eye on:

Pipers Corner
St Mary's
Heatherton House
Berkhamsted
Royal Masonic
St Helen's
Northwood College

The last two are highly academic though.

The state school jobs for Herts are advertised on the website www.teachinherts.com. Not sure about Bucks. Most school jobs are also posted in the Times Education Supplement at www.tes.com/jobs/

Knock yourself out!!

Et voila!!!

www.tes.com/jobs/vacancy/english-teacher-high-wycombe-526482

you guys are the best...I cannot thank you enough!! Wow!!!! would love to meet you one day:)

If your girls end up at Pipers then we may well get to meet up!!

You wanted Queenswood last week Zodlebud. Quite a difference between Q and Pipers!

Starting to look properly at my options in the area. My girls have been registered at Pipers for a couple of years (you can search for my posts).

I live in a bit of a vacuum for girls schools - I have Berkhamsted on my doorstep but don't like it. Ditto Abbots Hill a bit further away. I am after a school that's not a hot house but where the girls achieve their potential with great extra curricular - drama and music must be good and an inclusive sport policy I.e. Not just the very best get to represent their school, even if it's only on a B or C team. I am very anti tutoring - happy with doing a few practice papers at home with me and working on exam technique but nothing more. I came across Queenswood via an advert in a local magazine and had never really heard of it as it's really too far away from where we live and on further investigation it's GCSE results were brilliant so I feel we need to look. Would involve boarding a few nights a week or a house move though.

For full disclosure the schools we are considering are:

Pipers (visited)
Masonic (not yet visited)
Queenswood (not yet visited)
Beaconsfield High (visited)
Aylesbury High (visited)

You'll see I pop up on several threads about these schools!

Queenswood would fit your requirements really well zodle

They have loads of sports teams that all levels can play at.
Drama and music is superb.
Not exam factory, but incredible value-added they will get a grade higher on average in exams

They also do door to door transport and offer flexible boarding packages (1-7 nights)

They have an open day really soon as well.

Loads of girls get school transport at Q. Some from quite far away.

Claire's Court in Maidenhead (not sure if the girls' school is called the same). Maidenhead but lots from Bucks go on the buses. Great school (Piper's v good too).

Heading to the Open Day on the 30th! Need OH to keep an open mind about flexi boarding a couple of nights a week to make the travel less burdensome but I am loving what I am hearing.

@amandabarron we had exactly the same issue with the admissions process, I think the admissions lady is either a bit inefficient or very snowed under (or a little of both). My daughter hasn't started yet, but apart from the admissions process, I haven't heard anything except good things about the school.

Thanks! That’s what I wanted to hear!

Hello, I've been following your thread on P's Corner. Currently considering for my DD in Sept 2019. Are you pleased with your choice? Thanks in advance :)