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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

kings college school vs Wilson ( or Tiffin)

179 replies

mumhelp07 · 02/03/2018 07:55

Dear Mums,

                  My DS has been offered a place at Wilson school (Top Grammar school) and Kings college school ( Wimbledon-  Top independent school). Travel time to both school is same; feedback from close family friends is both school academically are same. I am aware both schools are excellent. However, there is 50:50 divide. DS not bothered.

So not sure. I am sure other mums have had same dilemma before.

Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
mumhelp07 · 02/03/2018 07:58

Wilson is same standard as Tiffins

OP posts:
Thegirlinthefireplace · 02/03/2018 08:14

If both are excellent and your son doesn’t have a preference then you go for the free one surely?

GnotherGnu · 02/03/2018 08:21

I think in terms of actual results King's is better academically, and of course it has an excellent reputation. It also has very good facilities in terms of things like sport, drama, music etc. So it really comes down to (a) cost and (b) what would suit your son best, which really only you can decide.

dimsum123 · 02/03/2018 08:22

We had the same choice but had no doubts about choosing King's. We didn't do much tutoring for DS. I know a couple of parents from our state primary who were so desperate for Tiffin that they tutored their child 5 days a week after school from around year 3. We are not that type of parent and we didn't want DS amongst the DC of families who value academics and results above all else to the exclusion of extra curricular activities and a social life for their child.

So it was a no brainer for us (obviously you need to be able to pay the fees at King's too!)

dimsum123 · 02/03/2018 08:24

PS DS is now half way through year 7 at King's and is absolutely thriving, academically and socially, and we are definitely on the same page as the other parents we know there.

nocampinghere · 02/03/2018 10:28

Surely you'd need a strong preference for KCS to pay the £150k it costs to go there? Confused

cakeisalwaystheanswer · 02/03/2018 10:39

What nocampinghere said. And I am also a Kings parent.

Polkapink · 03/03/2018 05:21

We are exactly on the same boat and chosen Wilson’s over kcs. You are right: academically both are excellent and extra curricular and sports at Wilson’s has plenty to offer btw. Other than the obvious difference between fees/ free( that should never be the key decider imho if you are able to afford it), here are points that contributed to our decision:

  1. Seen children at both schools and while the main selling point( KCS seems a bit corporate) is well rounded and confident kids, I found this to be true of Wilson’s too.
  2. I’m sure you’re aware that KCS has adopted a slightly different strategy for 11+ last year and this year. 40 or so children get admission and they are combined with the King’s prep school kids at year 9. Rang all sorts of alarm bells for us and seems like they’re testing out a new strategy. For us,it takes away slightly from the brand name due to the admissions process being slightly relaxed in comparison to previous years. Happy to explain further if you’re interested
  3. I know parents in KCS prep who are very happy but still say they would give up the place if their child gets into Wilson’s. Financially too it becomes a long term investment and the cohort is able to provide for additional lessons for their child to push them further if needs be. Not something we would be willing to do I’m afraid
  4. It does come down ultimately to what you want as a family unit too. We could do without the burden of fees for an equally stellar education,trying to perhaps play catch-up with the peer group( since I work full time too and wouldn’t be able to go for games, events etc as frequently as others might well do). And, once a child is in a top grammar such as Wilson’s, switching to an independent later if needs be is easier than missing the 11+ boat for Wilson’s completely given the single entry point.
Not sure if my reply is helpful but thought I would send it your way. We are thrilled that DS will be going to Wilson’s and I wish that the clarity in decision making comes to you soon. Tough choice for sureGrin
Polkapink · 03/03/2018 05:27

I have to disagree with your statement here generalising that grammar school children have no social life etc. That’s simply the perception the independent schools have created. Yes, perhaps more sports teams but depends on whether a child actually even wants to try the sports and be in team D . I know that top independent schools including Kings do come down heavily on children who are not up to par In academics and there are helicopter parents on both sides. Equally, parents at both grammars and independents continue to tutor their kids for those extra few points but that’s a personal choice. More than happy to substantiate and the reason Im replying to your specific post is that this journey of choosing between KCS and Wilsons has been a real eye opener. I too started off with certain perceptions just because I attributed paying fees to better overall education..

Polkapink · 03/03/2018 05:31

Sorry but thought the reply would show immediately below question. My reply above is for dimsum123

dimsum123 · 03/03/2018 05:57

My impression is based on fact. I personally know quite a few parents who were absolutely desperate for their DC to be offer Tiffin. One had their DC tutored from year 3, one had her DC tutored EVERY DAY for an hour after school plus homework, since year 4. Another had their DC tutored all day Saturday since year 3. Any many of these parents could barely speak English themselves as it was not their first language.

Based on that and stories about the school being a hot house pressurised environment there was no question of us choosing Tiffin.

Whereas I also know parents with DC at KCS who have done nothing but sing it's praises since their DC started there age 7.

sanam2010 · 03/03/2018 06:16

dimsum, I know so many parents who tutor since Reception even if they want their sons to go to KCS. Also, maybe if the Tiffin parents you describe don't speak a word of English, hiring a tutor is probably a good idea as they wouldn't be able to help. If you dad is a headmaster of a prep school (and many of these happen to send their sons to KCS), of course you don't need a tutor. Not a fair comparison. But every boy I know who got into KCS at 7+ was tutored heavily this year, also another boy I know who got in at 11+ was heavily tutored for KCS. Bright boy nonetheless, so I have no problem with that, but it is absolutely wrong to suggest kids at grammars had more tutoring than those at KCS. If anything, grammar school parents are less affluent and won't be able to afford more than 1-2 hours of tutoring per week, whereas in the independent sector, some parents go all out and hire tutors for 5 - 10 hours a week!

dimsum123 · 03/03/2018 06:39

I'm sure boys are tutored for KCS. But there is not the desperation in the parents that I sense in the Tiffin parents. I'm sure because KCS is one of a number of good options such as St Paul's, Westminster etc as it was for us. Whereas perhaps for some it's Tiffin or the local comp.

jeanne16 · 03/03/2018 07:57

My DS attended one of the prep schools in SW London and if you wanted to meet desperate parents, that was the place. The obsession with getting your DS into Kings or St Paul’s knew no bounds. No other school would do and most of the boys were tutored daily as well as attending this very expensive prep. When we moved my DS to a ‘lesser’ school, I had to get used to all the ‘ohs’ from the parents.

Original poster
mumhelp07 · 03/03/2018 08:12

Thank you all for valuable feedback. in the interim, I have spoken to few other parents. In fact one family has a boy at Wilson and other at Hampton. They are very impressed by the extracurricular facilities availaible at Wilson's.

One of my main deciding factor is travel to each school-
KCS- 60 to 70 mins
Wilson- 20-30 mins

Based on responses on this forum, I am gearing towards Wilson. Two more days to go to make final decision.....................tough

OP posts:
GnotherGnu · 03/03/2018 08:26

It's misleading to suggest that standards at King's will have changed due to the new arrangements for 11+. They always did take 11+, but they went into the junior school, whereas as I understand it they now go straight into a year 7 class in the upper school. It makes sense in terms of helping them to catch up - when my DS went in from a maintained primary school he had to catch up a bit in some subjects, particularly maths and French.

That said, if I were in OP's position the fees plus the longer journey time would probably make it a no-brainer to go for Wilson's.

BigGreenOlives · 03/03/2018 08:33

Go for the shorter journey time. There are all sorts of courses & opportunities that are not available to children at independent schools, eg summer schools at great universities, work experience programmes.

Original poster
mumhelp07 · 03/03/2018 08:42

wats OP's

OP posts:
Abetes · 03/03/2018 08:48

You said in your original post that travel time was the same, then that travel time to KCS was 60-70 mins and Wilsons 20-30mins. I would say that is significantly differently twice a day over a school career?

Original poster
mumhelp07 · 03/03/2018 09:23

Hi

the Air distance is same. However, we did trial run on thursday and friday. Crossing A3 to kings in peak hours adds to the journey time.

OP posts:
Abetes · 03/03/2018 09:50

Go for the closer one then. Doing a journey which is potentially 70 mins twice a day for all those years makes KCS a non starter for me when you have such a fantasitoc alternative with less than half the travel time.

giardiniera · 03/03/2018 10:02

Just to say I have never heard of standards going down at KCS because they have split the intake at 11. If anything it's the opposite and is intended to widen access making he transition from state primary easier than finding a prep for two years.
Astonished that anyone would think this would "take away from the brand name" Confused

That said OP I would really think about the grammar option in your case - 70 mins is too far to travel twice a day for any school in my view.

MrsFantastic · 03/03/2018 10:16

I know two boys, who rejected places at KCS for Wilson's or Tiffin. They haven't regretted it.

I have two sons at Wilson's. Wilson's isn't the crazy hothouse often portrayed in these threads. They put a big emphasis on extra curricular activities. They are particularly strong in music and there is plenty of sport for boys who like it.

I do get sick of people getting their children tutored for private school exams and interviews and then talking about the "pressure" of grammar school entry and the "obsession" of grammar school parents. Most people tutor to get their boys into KCS too even when they are already in a feeder prep school. And the grammar schools don't do interviews.

One area where Wilson's is weak, however, is in computer science. They don't seem to be able to recruit enough teachers (a problem at all schools generally). My son in year 10 is doing GCSE Computer Science, but the subject hasn't been offered to the current years 9 or 8 (they start GCSEs in year 9 at Wilson's). There aren't any coding or computer science clubs when you would expect there would be plenty of boys interested in it. I don't know what computer science is like at KCS, but it could be a consideration if your son is particularly into it.

If your son is interested in music, sport or the Army or RAF CCF then the school is great for extra-curricular. It is also good on classics/Latin. They enter a lot of national science, maths, history etc competitions and do really well in them.

MrsFantastic · 03/03/2018 10:23
  • I meant feeder pre-prep.
nocampinghere · 03/03/2018 10:39

based on those travel times you have your answer.