Sherborne Girls as a day pupil

[m0therofdragons]

We are considering Sherborne Girls as an option for dd. She’s very academic and I fear our local comp will see her bullied as she’s so focused on her studies. However we definitely aren’t looking for boarding options. As such a large number of pupils do board, is there a segregation between boarders and day pupils?

Can anyone recommend a school in the area that would suit academic day students?

Kings Bruton. A good proportion of day pupils. Leweston also has a reasonable amount too.

Why don’t you go and have a look for yourself. Surely that’s the best way of seeing how the relationship works between day girls and boarders. At some schools there is little difference because the day girls stay for tea and after school activities. The boarders then go into the Houses and the day girls go home. Where my DDs went they were called day boarders. Also more girls boarded as they went up the school because travelling home every evening was time consuming and girls were busy doing so many activities. She may wish to be a boarder later on.

I will look but I know they’ll give us the sales pitch so was asking if anyone had any knowledge on here. Clearly I wouldn’t send my dc to a school I’ve not visited and if she’s a day pupil it’s likely we’re nearby. Bizarre advice.

When I worked at a boarding school we had day boarders and they fitted in well. Be prepared for 2 things though:

To be overrun on exeats with friends of your DD who can't go home / don't want to go to guardians

And

Be prepared for her to want to board in the sixth form. You'd be amazed how many of our sixth form boarders lived in a 5 miles radius of the school!

Thank you @PotteringAlong

We always seem to be the house everyone gathers at so I’m happy for extras to hang out here. Not sure our house will match the size of potential class mates though lol.

Yes you definitely won't get an idea of integration between day girls and boarders on a school visit. You are more likely to get that info from parents of girls or by understanding if day girls stay for prep, activities or weekend sports etc. My daughter is a day girl at a school that has about 1/3 borders and even with the best efforts of the staff a bit of segregation goes on, that said if enough girls are day pupils so she has enough of a friendship group I am not sure if it matters that much.

Our school makes a huge effort to mix the girls but I think when you have some borders and some day girls you will naturally find the borders have a lot in common. My DD says that the borders often huddle and talk about secret 'borders things' but she finds it mildly irritating/slightly amusing.

A degree of segregation between boarders and day pupils is the norm. How could it not be when boarders have extra bonding time from late evening, bedtime etc chats. It does n't stop friendships between boarders and day pupils though. There is usually a bit of envy from day girls of the boarding life style especially as they get older. Schools may also have a distinction between day boarders (staying the occasional night and more part of the house) and day pupils. It looks like that is the case at Sherborne and very few pupils are day girls (5% quoted). Your daughter will be in a minority which makes it hard unless she is very outgoing.

Sending you a pm, m0therofdragons

which side of Sherborne are you?

You will see all the girls working together on a visit because there is no separation of day and boarding unless boarders go to the Houses for lunch. What differences would you expect to see? What sales pitch? You know day girls are a minority so clearly the boarders will gel but that does not mean your DD will be left out.

I think lessons are for all girls and so are the activities. Day girls may have their own House. Day girls may not want to stay for activities but they almost certainly are not excluded from them. Ditto sports matches. Day girls may be allocated to a boarding House and take part in House weekend activities if they wish and some weekend activities may be compulsory, eg sports matches. I think you are over thinking the differences but clearly there is bonding in the evenings and at night when your DD won’t be present. That’s your choice though. Where my DDs went, day boarders nearly paid as much as boarders. No brainier to board and in the 6th form they were very local!

It was also boarding parents who had the overseas girls home for the weekend where we were! That was the result of bonding!

Well God help you OP if any state school parent reads this . No one's forcing you to educate your child at the local comp but to say you're going to Sherborne because she might get bullied for focussing on her studies really does sound daft. Does one study at all at the comps then?

@TweetTweetTweet I’m not trying to offend anyone, simply looking for the right school to best fit dd. I believe she’ll do well wherever she studies but I also believe there may be schools she’s happier in than others. Dd2 & dd3 will probably breeze through the comp due to their personalities but dd1 is a different child entirely. I’m looking at all options and independent schools are an area I know very little about. I went to a state grammar and we don’t have any round here.

We are Somerset side of Sherborne.

I read a thread that slated Millfield for the difference in treatment of day students and boarders (but that was one person).

I also think Millfield isn't particularly the school I would choose for an academic child or a family without their own helicopter.

If you are that way, is Wells a possibility, or is that too far?

OP i'm not disputing you're trying to find the best school to suit your dd. But you're explanation of being she might be bullied for 'focussing on her studies' is outrageous. You don't need to justify why you're looking for any type of school but if you are going to try and be a bit more genuine.

If your local comp is the Gryphon she deffo won't be bullied for being academic. More to Oxbridge than Sherborne or Leweston put together!

Hi, my daughter is a day girl at Sherborne. We have been beyond happy with the school. Feel free to pm me.

@TweetTweetTweet I wrote a long post explaining but actually I think you’re looking to be offended. The comp may be right for dd, I will look at all options.

Gryphon is definitely an option. We plan to look at 3 comps (including gryphon) plus Sherborne, Park and Leweston. Dd likes Millfield as she rides but we’ve said we’ll support her riding outside of school so just focusing on academic and enjoyment.

@Sherbornemum I’d love to pm you but can’t figure out how to in the app. I’ll try to log onto the website tomorrow. Thank you.

Sherborne is in a different league to the park and Leweston. It is still single sex whereas all the others you've mentioned are coed, not sure how your dd feels about that? It also has Saturday school which means riding can be tricky to fit in.

We’re in Somerset and the private secondaries round here don’t seem to be particularly academically focussed. Millfield don’t get great results (although have amazing sports facilities of course). Wells is better but still too music-focussed for us.
Bruton girls school was mentioned to me as a possibility for my very academic DD but is a bit too far for us, have you considered that one?

Millfield isn’t necessarily the school for everyone but do look at the results carefully. Their 6th form has approx 300 pupils and a mixed ability range so they get mixed results. An average sixth form often has approx 100 pupils so Millfield provide their results for their top 100 pupils too. So 94% A* to B grades for a level, BTEC and pre U is actually comparable. Good luck choosing a school for your DD.

Sorry forgot to add link.
millfieldschool.com/senior/academic/results/a-level-or-equivalent-results

Millfields results are pretty good actually considering that they do do much amazing extra curricular. I doubt they attract the top tier academically, but people I know who have sent their dcs there absolutely love it. Bruton girls I don't know much about, it has a bit of a wet reputation so we didn't consider it.