Royal Russell reviews??

[ProudToBeAMom]

Hello mums,

we have got a confirmed offer for DS from royal Russell and he has been put on the waiting list for Whitgift. Our first choice had been Whitgift but now not very sure if we should wait to see if he gets a place in Whitgift or should be take the Royal Russell offer. Does any of your child go to royal Russell?. I cannot find much reviews online . My son is quite sporty and Royal Russell seem to be offer good opportunities in sports. But we are not sure if it pays equal importance on academics side too.

Thanks

Wow! vastly different schools. What kind of character is your DS? Is he ‘a let me do it on my own time ‘ or a competitive child who responds well to pressure?

Ive had children at both schools and Whitgift is far superior in every way.
Be very wary of the sporting opportunities at Royal Russell, great facilities but little substance beyond that. The focus at moment is only on football. Boys Hockey has been non existent with the current yr 8s only having played one or two fixtures to date. Compare this to Whitgift who have a fixture down to atleast a D team every Saturday. Royal Russell has an on site swimming pool but this is mainly used by the junior school.

Royal Russell don’t do rugby. They do cricket and invested quite a lot of money in their football. We know children that go there but I would say they are not driven academic types.
I get the impression that Whitgift will pull you up to meet their expectations. Boys seem busy and active and expected to give it their all. Royal Russell would be a less intense experience I would expect.
We looked at both. We didn’t apply to RR because it wouldn’t have stretched DS in our opinion. That said we got a scholarship place at Whitgift which my son turned down because he said it felt too competitive and quite big - over 200 in a year I believe.
There will be exponents of both on here but I suspect people will be more vociferous about Whitgift.

ProudToBeAMom First of all congratulations on getting a place at RR. Was RR a real second choice or just a safety net?
If it was a real 2nd choice, then I would do the following:
I would arrange another visit to RR - ideally during the school day so that you can see the school in action.
Ask for a meeting with the head or someone senior in the school, armed with all the questions that this thread and others surface, and any concerns that you had, which made you choose W over RR in the first place.
Do you have a preference to single sex rather than co-ed or does it not matter?
We loved RR - especially the head. I think he is doing amazing things with that school. I'd probably agree with the comment about not being 'driven academics', but I do feel that if your DS has the ability, they will certainly push him and get the best out of him. Initially my DS put W above, but by the end of the process, he much preferred RR.
It does really boil down to your DS and what is right for him. Does you son like Rugby? As Wobbles21 said, they do not do rugby there.
However as he is into sport, there are plenty to chose from. You can look at all the sports fixtures here:
www.royalrussellsport.co.uk/Fixtures_Teams.asp?Id=216

W is huge in sport and it could be quite easy for your DS to lose out amongst the county players etc which tend to go there.

I don't know if W will tell you how far down the list your DS may be. You could ask to see the school again etc, but I think that they will prioritise the boys which they have made offers to.

You still have a few weeks to decide.
If people do the right thing and decline the offers that they do not need asap, then hopefully spaces will be freed up soon.
Good luck xx

I know a number of people who made the same choice I did to reject former 1st choice Whitgift in favour of RRS. My reason was because my child preferred a coed environment.

The reputation of the school has moved on immensely under Chris Hutchinson’s leadership. He’s not a ‘look at me’ blogger but over their past 7 years has made a huge impact and is very well respected by parents as well as approachable to pupils.

If your child is an avid rugby player they won’t access this during school sports but they can still play club rugby as RRS focus and investment into football is correct. The U15 and U18s are in this years ISFA finals - the school is rapidly becoming one of the best schools for football. Girls’ netball is also performing well. The array of sport at W is impressive but frankly if your child is at county/national level at hockey, swimming or athletics they’ll be engaging with their club more than school.

Re academic - I think it’s time to put the rumours of RRS being less challenging to rest. RRS has a wider ability of children but the top performers hold their own with any of the more selective schools. Speak to the school and ask them how they support the kids with higher prior attainment. One of my kids is on an academic scholarship (we turned down a free grammar as well as 2 more selective schools) and he’s doing absolutely fine. In fact he’s likely to access a more tailored level of support as the year group size is smaller and RRS is keen to show that high achievers fare just as well in a more inclusive educational environment. More parents than you think reject W, T and grammars for RRS.

The school is very attune to mental health and safeguarding; and pastoral care is good. Recently the timetable was suspended to focus on social and emotional learning priorities, which shows how important the school rates this alongside attainment.

Royal Russell won’t try to play W or T at their game because they’re happily developing their own model. I totally applaud this.

@ProudToBeAMom feel free to message me if you have any specific queries.

Hello @ProudToBeAMom. I'm looking at RRS at the moment and wondered what you decided and why. Would really value your opinion, the real story and experiences from the inside of RRS if you did end up going there or not. Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance.

@mrfreddie we decided in favour of RR and very happy with our decision. DS is really enjoying the new school. Happy with the academic side too. DS was selected in the top set for maths after initial test and they had been challenged more than other students . We decided mainly for sports(read football) and DS is getting a lot of exposure. We missed the sports scholarship form while applying but he was given one in September after seeing his performance . Everyone in the school is reachable in case you have any issues. So overall very happy.

@mrfreddie did you enter RR year 7 or year 9?

Hi there, we viewed Royal Russell recently and loved the feel of it and the welcome talk from the head teacher.
My question is how easy is it to get a place for a state educated primary school child?
How many places are available after their own children get in from lower school?
Is the exam hard, do they take into consideration personality? Other interests such as art? English?
I don’t want to get all our hopes up if it’s nigh on impossible to get offered a space?
Appreciate your advice on this thank you

Ratty, how is your child doing at the state primary? In my experience, they’d need to be a reasonable standard but it doesn’t take a genius to get in. Make sure you do some precise tests, though, and practise interviewing (just simple talking about hobbies, favourite books, subjects, what your child likes about the school etc).

I can’t quite remember the numbers but there seems to be at least double the number of children per year group in the senior school so there will be quite a few spots available.

Thank you, she is doing pretty well and a good all rounder not top of the class but doesn’t struggle. I would prefer her to go to mixed school too. She would be fine in an interview she is very chatty! If you apply would you find out your result of application before the council offer you something?

I’m not sure if the timescales for RR vs state applications but it sounds like she’s in with a good chance.

Hi everyone my son sat entrance exams for RR and has been offered a football scholarship so we are now waiting.... is anyone else in this situation ? We heard today that we were not successful with whitgift so hoping RR comes through

Hi, Wondering how RRS are in terms of S.E.N support, specifically Dyslexia and related anxiety?
I would be grateful to hear anyone's experiences on support received, is it nurturing or fairly results driven?
Thank you!