Westgate vs Kings - Winchester

[cactusrevolution]

Interested in any views on the relative merits of Westgate and Kings in Winchester. We're moving from overseas and won't have an opportunity to attend open days to see for ourselves before applying. I've looked at their respective websites / OFSTED reports etc, but it would be great to get more of a sense of what they're actually like in real life.

Friends in Winchester whose DC have been through all 3 schools have all been happy. Don't rule out Henry Beaufort.

Also think about Perins in Alresford - it's a fab school and some children travel from Winchester to go there.

Thanks. I know both have a great reputation- just trying to find out a bit more bout what they're like beyond the exam results / foster report so we can decide which catchment to move into.

Hadn't considered Perins. What's the commute like from Winchester?

This may be a bit out of date:

Kings - pushy
Westgate - more laid back, but generally solid

You now need to be in catchment for Westgate, particularly when their primary section hits yr 7 in 2021. Kings' within 1.5 miles - or less, to be safe.

Both great schools. As are HB and Perins.

Kings' still does GCSE options in yr 9; Westgate in yr 8, which might sway you.

Thanks you.

@Lemonsole - for King's, do you mean we would need to live within 1.5 miles of the catchment boundary, or within 1.5 miles of the school itself?

The GCSE point is interesting. I had assumed that all schools made children choose options in Year 9. At Westgate, does this mean that they start working on the GCSE syllabus in Year 9 (ie that they spend 3 years rather than 2 working on this)? Can't quite work out whether this is a good thing or not.

It means 1.5 from the school, if you live out of catchment. As all of the schools are concentrated in one side of the city, catchments are not neat circles, but more wedges, designed to ensure that nobody would have too far to travel to school, and that each took its share of easy and more challenging intake, and of outlying villages.

Ofsted aren't keen on KS3 ending early; some parents love it, when their DC know what they like and don't like, and value getting stuck into the more difficult GCSEs early, so there is less pressure to cover the massive content. Others don't like it.

Some parts of Kings' catchment - eg Colden
Common are a lot more than 1.5 miles away; Twyford and Owslebury are a long way from Westgate.

@Lemonsole - thank you. That's really helpful.