80% bursary at Godolphin & Latymer or Tiffins girls school?

[Piggy456]

Hi ... looking for some opinions and advice. My DD has got some great news from GL. She passed the exams and we have secured an 80% bursary for the duration of the school years.

If she manages to get into Tiffins girls school (free) Which would you send her too and why ?

We live about in between the two schools so travel either is not an issue ( I chose the schools based on realistic distance and travel ) and academics.

Any advice would be most welcome. My DD likes both and is a confident person, likes sport and music.

Depends on your daughter and finances. Tiffin girls is fiercely academic whereas godolphin is fairly academic but will have more co-curricular going on and will probably have more support for students struggling in whatever manner.

Horses for courses...

I’d go for Tiffin as it is free and all sorts of schemes are only available to pupils who have been to state schools. If she is at the top end of an academic selective school she’ll probably do well anywhere and you can go on holiday somewhere lovely with the £5K a year you won’t be spending at G&L.

Great options. I was put off by the oligarch element at Godolphin. I was there in the 80s and loved it so I was predisposed to it but It has changed a lot. Don’t know tiffin other than by reputation.

How do you know the 80% bursary will stay in place for the duration of the school years? Bursaries are usually reviewed annually, so any changes in your finances could impact the value. Also some schools might adjust it if your DD doesn’t perform as expected (don’t know if this applies to g&l)

Thanks larrygrylls,

My DD, she is very strong in maths (imo), as we currently work on ukmt junior level questions which she finds comfortable and a little challenging. But it helps that I'm a maths graduate (and tutor) very passionate about maths and not just a means to an end sort a way.

Most other areas she is also at 'greater depth level' ( in national curriculum terms) with ease.

She's also grade 6 piano, grade 5 violin and until a year and a half ago she was competing at floor and vault with the RGA (Richmond Gymnastics Assiciation)

So she is used to hard work and tough competition.

But we also make sure she does a lot of other activities like wall climbing, cycling in Richmond park, feeding ducks and just reading for fun.

The bursary, means we can afford to send her to GL, we live one 20 min bus ride away. And 2 buses with 30 min from tiffins (assuming she gets in).

But exactly as you said horses for courses...

Thanks BigGreenOlives

(Assuming my DD gets in ) the £5000 could go a long way for anything.

I have 4 nieces, 2 went to Tiffins and 2 went to Nonsuch. both great schools. The 2 who went to Tiffins then went to Oxford and LSE. So definitely no lack of opportunities there.

Academically she is strong (imo) especially maths (but I'm a maths grad and tutor)

But £ 5000 is nothing to go to GL but a lot for anything else .

Thanks Backingvocals

Would you mind sharing more about your experiences of GL past and present ? It's always nice to have somebody with the benefit of hindsight and perspective.

I'm not really thinking in terms of academics, but everything else such as school friends and bonds made there, which I hold equally important as the academics.

Many thanks

Thanks WestLondon2

You raise some very practical and important questions, which were addressed at the interview, that we (the parents) had with the school.

The bursary is not attainment dependant (within reason). We also discussed our current and future financial positions.

But I will check and reconfirm again just to make sure, we both have the correct understanding, before committing.

Many thanks again .

I knew G&L well in the 80s and now have a daughter there. It remains a terrific school with fantastic opportunities. It is incredibly friendly and the new Head seems approachable and sensible. 10% of girls have bursaries; 1/3 of my daughter's class were at state primaries.
One oligarch does not a summer make!

It really sounds like your daughter will do well anywhere. I didn’t know anyone at G&L with all that sporting and musical prowess at such a young age but I think things were different everywhere in the 80s!

When I was there it felt calm and quietly academic. No mad pressure - I was the academic one in my set of friends so I spent a lot of time in the library whilst they were hanging out in Coombes the bakers on King St ! My friends were ordinary like me. I came from a boring SW London suburb - before they were all swanky and so did my friends. All our parents has ordinary jobs - my mum was a social worker (I was on a bursary). Others were teachers, builders, worked for the council. There were rich girls but they were a different set to us and we didn’t have anything to do with them really but we knew they were clubbing on the Kings Road at the weekend while we were meeting up in Richmond and going to the cinema !

There wasn’t a lot of extra curricular then but I had a long school journey so I didnt want to do any of that. I think a lot of this is the fact that London in 2018 is unrecognisable compared to London 1984.

I loved it having come from a not great comp. But I heard Zoe Williams on the radio the other day who must be a similar age to me saying how she hated it because everyone had to excel all the time and so even these privileged girls were being set up to fail. That was utterly unfamiliar to me but I guess so much depends on the group you fall in with.

Good luck with your decision.

I could read the small print for your bursary.
Bursary awards are subject to review annually and the value of the award may vary from term to term, depending on parental circumstances. Awards are made on the basis of the family’s financial circumstances, taking into account income and realisable assets as well as any other pertinent circumstances.

Go for G&L. Tiffin can be quite dour, and has less resources for extra curricular. G&L is perfectly academic, I am surprised at those who suggest it is not, and bright children will do well. Kids will find their own friends. Academic kids often hanging out together, and equally those commuting together. And some Oligarchs have nice children!

G&L will offer much greater breadth in the 11-16 years. Then you can have another look. Tiffin XIth form vs IB at G&L. Lots move at this point.

Bursary funding come from a specific fund, fundraised separately.

Bursaries are often funded by alumni donations and are not creamed off from the fees of full paying students. Our school collects an acceptance of place fee that at the end of their time at the school is either refunded or donated to the bursary fund.
My daughters scholarship is a percentage applicable for the duration of her schooling but the bursary is assessed annually.

Sounds like Tiffin will be a good choice if she gets a place. She already has a packed co-curricular timetable by the sounds of it, and the music at TGS is (or certainly used to be when I worked there) great!
Which does your DD prefer (assuming she gets a choice)?

@User89556000
I'd check that. Every school I've known have funded bursaries from trusts and legacy funds, not income. And even if you're right, that resentment really isn't healthy. Don't pass it on to your dcs.

Thanks nylon14
We definitely will look very carefully at the small print and check with the school. That both our expectations and the schools expectations are aligned. And not just for one or two years but throughout the entire 7 years to ensure that it is feasible for both the school and ourselves, before committing, to ensure a stable and consistent school life for DD.

Thanks again.

I think it's a lovely school and very supportive. I just wanted you to be aware that you will probably have to fill out those financial forms every year.

Thanks LetBygones

I have read many reviews with the same message as yours, that the school is friendly, and provide opportunities, whilst remaining academic. And thank you for your insight of the school, its helpful to understand the mixture of people you will meet there.

Crikey, Everydaybusy.
Do you have evidence for this?
In which case the teaching at G&L must be excellent to get the results it does, with these 'not particularly bright' girls around.

Many thanks Needmoresleep

Your descriptions of how the children will make friends is reassuringly normal and organic. Which is exactly what I would hope for in any school.

Thanks again