Coombe Girls / Tiffin / Kingston Grammar / Surbiton High / Sutton High / Wimbledon High

[whycantwegoonasthree]

Hey wise women of Mumsnet,

What's your opinions/ insider knowledge of the above schools and am I missing anything?

They strike me as my best options in the area but I've only had the internet to go on, and a few brief chats with other mums from school (some of whom are a bit hyper about all this TBH...)

I'm in the enviable position of needing to move house before applying for schools and being afford to pay fees if I have to. (Only just, and I'd rather not obvs. but I can.) so my options are pretty open in that regard.

I have 2 DDs, currently in years 3 and 5 at a private prep – not our choice, we were unlucky about where we lived when it came to primary applications. I'm not snobby about it, in other words.

Eldest DD is, I think pretty bright, but a bit lacking in self confidence. She's been talking with her peers and is hell-bent on Tiffin - but the idea gives me chills - it sounds like a scarily competitive place and not especially nurturing. This is said on the basis of not much actual info though.

I went to a GDST school (on a scholarship as we were broke) and had a great time, so am positively disposed to them for that reason - but am unsure of how they differ from each other.

I know nothing of Surbiton High other than it looks very much like a GDST school from the website!

Coombe girls has great reviews, and it does look like I'd be nuts not to just buy a house in catchment and escape the whole selective stressy nightmare and the fees. And I would know that both my girls could go there, whatever happened, and I wouldn't have to go through all this again in 2 years.

But I currently live in Raynes Park, and this wold mean a move further West - which on the one hand would be a shame as I like it where I am, but may be a small price to pay for a guaranteed school place! (We'd get more for your money with houses too...)

I'd really appreciate your thoughts and insight if you wouldn't mind!

WCWGOA3

I think 4 exams is fine BUT only if the dates are not all bunched together in a week. You really need to look at the exam dates and think carefully.

Coming late to this but throwing in a favourable view on Surbiton. DD is in year 7 and very much enjoying it so far. Yes, it’s big but that hasn’t been an issue - class sizes are decent and she has been able to make new friends.

It’s been super supportive and nurturing for the new girls. My daughter is super sporty so she loves that but there are non-sporty girls who have plenty to do as well.

The homework load has been very light so far. DD has friends at schools such as Ibstock where it seems more overwhelming.

WHS and PHS definitely are harder to get into and probably have on average a higher academic level of pupil but there are plenty of smart girls at Surbiton as well.

Having been through this pain last year I would definitely say it is more about finding the right fit for your DD than whether a school is ranked slightly higher in academic league tables.

Good luck everyone.

Hi all, completely new to mumsnet but thought, who best to ask but this huge datebade if wise mums, who may or may not be wondering something similar. So here goes (forgive the elongated post): I live in Surbiton and have two DD’s. 5.5 (yr1) and 7 (yr3). Have been very happy with their education so far in good and outstanding state infant and jr schools that are both opposite my house. 7 yr old doing well. Great teacher and he describes her as bright, lovely and conscientious but very middle of the road and still developing academically. 5 yr old struggling. Extremely bright but lazy and poss dyslexic ( testing in new year). My ideal plan is they continue in state education until 11 then sit 11+ for KGS and SHS. BUT I’m worried that pressure and competition of 11+ will be too much. We’re not pushy parents but do hope they go to reasonably academic local private schools. My dilemma is do we keep them in state and risk the 11+ or move them early to say SHS? My 7 yr old was offered a place at SHS for entry to year 3 this Sept but we decide that she was so happy with her friendship groups and all her friends were going to local jnr school that we said no! But I’d really like to hear from others as I hear so much scaremongering about 11+ and the level of competition at this point. Options therefore include pulling her from local state in 2 yrs ( into yr5) to SHS (assuming it’s possible) and her sister to join (into yr 3) at same time OR start tutoring in yr 4 in order to maximise chances? Thoughts and experiences very welcomed. Thanks in advanced!

Ps, also happy to hear about other local ish schools Radnor Hs, Manor Hs etc...

I feel your pain!. We are going through the 11+ now and it’s HIDEOUS! I think it depends on your child and possibly your working situation. if you have a studious child who applies themselves, then tutoring for the 11+ would be ideal. However, if like my DC, your child is clever but lazy (my DC will end up ‘winging it’ throughout their life, I’m sure!), then private school may a good option. If SH is local, then your DC may know other children there already? I regret not moving my DC before the 11+, possibly even for the start of Year 5, just as you are thinking. Also, If you work full time, then even with a tutor, you will need do work with them later on down the line - it’s not easy. Mind you, private now doesn’t automatically guarantee entry later on. Saying this, a lot of private schools (I’m not sure about SH), spend much of the last year of junior school prepping for the 11+, which you don’t obviously get in state schools! Good luck!

We are going through the 11+ at the moment too and it has not been hideous at all. DD has quite enjoyed the process. I have chosen a very few schools that I honestly believe would suit my daughter and if she doesn't get them she will go to one of the excellent state options that we have available. My advice is find two or three schools that you like and think would suit your child and they would probably get into with a bit of work (of the order of an hour a week, no more - we have done an hour a week for about six months, not counting summer holidays). If there is another that you like better but is a bit of a stretch, apply there too (if you don't like the stretch schools better than the others, don't bother). Don't stress, educate yourself about the state options and accept that you are not able to choose - it's the schools that do the choosing.

And honestly, I think private schooling at primary level is a massive waste of time unless your state options are really really poor. I would save your money for the later years when it really matters.

Why didn’t you consider the Ursuline girls school op - did I miss something?

Totally disagree with the advice given by Hebenon, I think the prep school years were by far the best value for money and the older they get in senior school the bigger wate of money it is.

DS is currently U6th at a top London Indy, he has exactly 14 weeks of teaching left for this academic year but we will pay fees for 2 more terms and will also have to pay the entrance costs for his exams. Unlike many state schools his school will not be providing revision classes over Easter and we will pay for him to attend a privately run course.

What the private school brochures won't tell you is that it is now much tougher it is to apply for top unis from Indys as they are doing everything they can to increase their state school intake. Miss one grade from an Indy and its a no thanks, they are much more lenient with the state school applicants and you can miss a couple. Sixth form for me is the biggest waste of money, and with the pressure on widening access to top uni courses increasing every year it is only going to get worse so you are effectively paying for your child to be disadvantaged. Future DCs are going state for 6th form.

But Cake, my understudy that universities look at where GCSEs were taken rather than A Levels, to stop this switch to state at 6th form purely to try and bypass the “anti private bias”. So that wouldn’t help. Obviously if it’s to save money then worthwhile anyway

“Understanding is” not “understudy” DYAC

Oxbridge assess whether you went to a good school or not, an outstanding comp is the same to them as Eton, RG's dont care where you sat GCSEs. Their headline figures are the numbers applying from state schools and 6th form colleges and they are looking to increase the intakes from both. I am sure that Indys will try and give the impression that there is no advantage swapping to state for 6th form but then it's in their interest to do so.
DS1 is bright enough for it not to matter but I am building in some wiggle room for the next ones. Nothing to do with cost, school fees are not an issue for us but having seen where friends DCs have ended and how generous the top Unis are to state school applicants who don't make the grades school fees are looking more like paying to be disadvantaged. Many schools in SW london are excellent and DCs do extremely well there. See the earlier posts a Coombe parent, its typical of what I hear from friends with bright DCs.

Themummy76 the top criteria to get a place at the Ursuline is that you must be a practising Catholic, so that could be why OP isn't considering it.

Actually when I said 'where it really matters', what I meant was actually the depth and breadth (which is entirely unrelated to the exam curriculum) that a good private school can offer. I was thinking long term and for life rather than the relatively short term university application business. If your DC has got into a good private school, they will have been given all the tools to get into a good university, should they want to do so, and Oxbridge is far from the be all and end all (I say that as someone who went there).

And revision classes are neither here nor there, I certainly never had any at my school as far as I remember - maybe a few sessions with past papers to practise the format. A good private school will have spent time over the years explicitly teaching you how to learn and how to take an exam which are skills that will last far beyond the university years and can be applied in all kinds of different situations. It is harder to instil that kind of metalearning/metacognition behaviour in the younger years, IMO.

Abbi - her children are at a catholic primary

You don’t have to be a Catholic to go to that school though

I still disagree Hebenon. The formative years when good habbits are learnt are the younger years. If you look at the experts like Chalktalk their advice is that if you can't pay all the way through pay for prep to 13 and then transfer to state. The point being is that for GCSE years they are all learning the same stuff from the same books to pass the same exams. I thought it was madness when I read it but now with older children I can see why it makes sense.
There are Sutton studies that show that DCs from state schools do better at Uni than children with similar qualifications who joined from private schools so I'm not buying the "skills beyond university" are only taught by private schools line.
I actually think that once people become more aware of the state school bias of RG unis it will have a huge effect on the choices they make. Hence why I am posting it here when people are just about to make that decision.

OP - When you say you aren't tutoring - you are still going to do some mocks for her aren't you so that she can have some practice with the timed papers? Both Wallington and Sutton Grammer mock bookings open in January and both take boys and girls.

They are 11+ SET format but still useful for you to see how she copes with the timings and the overall experience.

www.wcgsptfa.com/tests-2-2/

We are in Year 5 too at a prep but are still tutoring as we are aiming for the grammars with Sutton as a back-up.

You don’t have to be a Catholic to go to that school though Truth be told I think Ursuline is supposed to give about 7% of its places to non-Catholics (certainly the case last year). HOWEVER, I don't know anyone locally who wasn't a Catholic and put it on their CAF (even as first choice) who got a place. I strongly suspect that those places tend to be ring-fenced for families who can strongly demonstrate that the religious environment would benefit their DDs.

Yes, both DDs are at Ursuline prep, but you don't have to be Catholic to go as it's private. EXH wanted a 'Christian' primary education for them, and I liked the school so went along with it (no chance at CofE state primaries locally).

Ursuline High - we'll put it down but don't stand a snowflake's hope in hell of getting in... I'm not sure how I feel about the Catholicism continuing through secondary anyway. I have become much more rampantly atheist in the past few years, and can't really square the idea of Catholic ideas on sexuality and women's rights etc forming any part of their education once they're teenagers.

FWIW, although we ended up in private prep not by choice, in my opinion its been worth every penny. It's given them a really good start, great habits, and a love of learning and lots of one-to-one attention...

DDs favourite schools are Sutton and Surbiton so far - and it seems like these are among the easier to get into. S that might be serendipitous. I still think we'll move into Coombe catchment though, because it would remove huge amounts of pressure and DD2 is a bit of an unknown quantity academically (and in every other respect really!) at the moment... And it would keep our options open a bit if we decided that financially it doesn't make sense...

WCWGOA3

OP (and others who know the schools) - have you found a big difference in how technology is used in the different schools? So Putney High requires them to have iPads, WHS (I think) requires a personal laptop, Sutton High, KGS and Emanuel didn't say (as far as a I remember). SPGS seemed by far the least technological of the schools (handwritten rather than PowerPointed stuff on the displays), and didn't require a device. I wondered what difference it makes, if any.

In principle, I'd rather not have my teenage girl at a school where she is constantly required to have a tablet / laptop with her, as surely it opens up more temptation to spend time on social media etc. But perhaps that's an old-fashioned view?

FlumePlume I know that at Sutton High the girls are not required to have their own laptop/iPad. The school has their own set of iPads though which the teachers can bring into the class if the students need to use them for the lesson. Social media is blocked on school Wi-Fi.

It seems to work well this way. I don't have any experience with the other schools though so can't comment on them.

Flumeplume - they'll access social media on their phones anyway, so I don't think it makes much difference. I have experience of WHS, where the girls are required to have laptops for lessons, but they don't use those for their social media (in fact I'm sure it's blocked).
I wouldn't turn down an excellent school because of its IT policy, tbh

@BadgerFox I wouldn't choose a school based on it, but it's something I'm intererested to know about (along with how many science GCSEs, how many do A level maths, options for languages, how much compulsory sport, number / type of choirs and orchestras, quality of the food etc.).

WHS requires girls to have a laptop with touch screen function. Unlike some other schools, mobile phone policy is that the phones should be switched off and in the locker during the school day and they are not allowed to use them even on breaks. I am sure that some do, but they are aware that they are not supposed to.
Compulsory sport is twice a week, girls are split into ability groups for PE, but there are quite a few of options for extracurricular sport/games as well. My impression is though that unless it is a sport that is being played competitively against other schools (hockey, netball, swimming, gym), other sports are taught on a very basic level.

The laptop requirement puts me off tbh

Do they have to carry them to and from school each day?