Kings school

[TCKN]

Hello there
I am considering sending my son to Kings School in Gloucester. He has secured a grammar school place at Marling and possibly the Crypt, but has always been very unhappy with the prospect of going to an all-boys school (although the Crypt is going co-ed in September). He is a very sensitive chap and has never had any male friends at all, so we would be loathe to send him there. He won a scholarship to King's which is great but my husband and I reservations. My concern is that Kings seems to have very small classes indeed, and that his circle of potential friends would as a result be quite limited (he has never had close friends although is a very popular if singular boy). My husband is concerned by its academic record. I don't know anyone with a child at King's so I would really appreciate any feedback on the school either good or bad. My husband has decided that moving to Exeter and going to Exeter School (our work can move with us, which is a plus) would be a better alternative but this would be such a massive move that I would like to avoid it if possible, but I do appreciate his reservations about the school. Thank you so much.

If he has secured a place at Marling (top 150) then he would be a safe bet for STRS or Crypt. Of those three, STRS has the best academic record, and you could appeal after 1st March, even though you didn’t share results with them at the time of the test. Or you could opt for Crypt - you’ll get a place if you’re in the top 150 for Marling as most of the top 150 for Marling will be headed for Pates and STRS, and only a few will be competing with your DS for places at Crypt.

If I’ve misinterpreted your post, and your ds hasn’t secured a place at Marling but has qualified for the school, along with Crypt, then wait for results day! The changes at Crypt this year are likely to put more pressure on places for boys, so boys who have qualified in the lower ranks (got Marling, didn’t get STRS; got Marling, didn’t get Crypt) might get pushed out of a grammar place altogether.

In terms of the schools, I think Marling is a lovely, lovely school where all sorts of boys are very happy: there is the full spectrum from introvert to extrovert, geek to sporty. It’s a really nice environment and co-ed in 6th form.

Crypt has a good pastoral record and although it’s not as solidly academic as STRS the boys there do well.

My recommendation would be STRS, or move to Cheltenham and send your child to Balcarras. Kings gets similar results at A Level to the grammars, and not a lot more than Balcarras, and I would be wondering why I had spent 7 years paying fees.