Wychwood School Oxford

[crosspelican]

Are there any Wychwood parents here or anyone with any knowledge of the school?

We're very keen on it, and my daughter has done the entrance exam, but looking again at their grades and comparing them to other schools in Oxford, both state and independent, I'm having a wobble - in both A-Level and GCSE their results have been sliding dramatically since 2015.

We didn't pick it for its academic attainment in the first place, but for its vibe, and I'm not interested in a school with a highly competitive atmosphere, but I still my ddd to do well - so why this steady downward slide over the last few years?

Any insider info?

Also, the percentage of girls with SEN seems very high compared to the national average - 37 out of 115 in 2018 compared to 24 out of 103 in 2015. Does this have any impact?

I think the school is so small, the academic figures can be misleading. Last year they had an Oxbridge offer, which the girl turned down in the end.
SEN figures I guess tend to be high because the school suits mild SEN in the fact that it can tailor the education more or less to individual girls.
This shouldn't affect a non SEN pupil, just that the school is particulary good for mild SEN pupils.
Personally I think it's a wonderful school for the right girl.

I think the school is so small, the academic figures can be misleading

That was something I was thinking about too - in a school with 100 students going forward every year figures are more reliable, but with small numbers it just takes one or two to skew it.

It's like in minority subjects - once in Ireland I think there was a 50% A1 rate in leaving cert. Hebrew, from which we can infer that there were only 2 students!

I've often wondered what the national averages for state schools would be for SEN if children with diverse needs were catered for well enough for all parents to be happy to stay in the state system (if that sentence makes sense!).

And thank you for taking the time to answer, @1805 - the other problem with such a small school is finding people who know enough about it to have an opinion!

No problem. PM if you like. Happy to help.