Roedean, MSJ, Queen Ethelburga’s

[UKboarding]

Am planning to send my DD to UK next year. Any views about these three schools? Am not local and hence want my DD to get to a school where she can have good education and make good friends.

My DD works well academically and not that good at sports.

There is a lot about Queen Ethelburga's on the education boards of MN I suggest you do an advanced search of it and draw your own conclusions.

QE has a reputation on mn for being selective with publishing results and aggressive marketing. MSJ?

Do you have relatives in UK or someone who could act as guardian, if so where. Which is the best UK airport for your location? How old is your dd?

happy gardening n LIZS. Have read the threads on QE. And doubt so much. That’s why I want to get more from mumsnet.

MSJ = Malvern St. James

Roedean is the best.
Then MSJ.
Then QE.

In my personal opinion.

But I am interested to know where you got that shortlist from as they are all very different schools. Are you sure this is not just a list of schools which are paying your agent a commission?

Do you want all girls or co-ed ?
Do you want full or weekly boarding? Full boarding is better if you are abroad.
Do you want highly academic or more middle of the road? A big school or a smaller one?
Does your child have a particular interest in music or acting or sport?
Do you have friends/relatives in UK - so do you want a particular geographic area?
Do you want to be near an airport?

If you answer those questions you will come up with a better short list.

Oh, wonderful - was missing the annual thread!

One of the main things with QE is that they fudge their results reporting by registering themselves as two exam centres. The have QE School and QE college (I think that's how they're named) and they put all the clever kids through on the school exam centre, all the academically weak kids through on the college exam centre, then loudly proclaime the excellent School results while quietly burying the college exam results in the small print.

That seems both dishonest and unpleasant to me.

Quoting sayings might be a bit cliched but you know what they say:
“If in doubt dont”
You wa t your DC to be happy your not in the same country as any potential school you need to have total confidence in the school you send her too.
All these schools use clever marketing to try and convince you they are the best choice go with your gut instinct.

Yes. These are from my agent. 😐
Preference is girls over co-ed unless a very good school that overrides
Full boarding, no need close to airport
Interested in acting.
Preferred not too small the school so that not too lonely when day school students go home after school
Academic - not too pushy as my DD may need time to get used to a brand new environment, but still good academics
Hopefully to be all rounded and that there are opportunities for my DD to try new things

flickeringcandle45

Seems you have some insights. What makes you come to this sequence? If you can share.

How old is your dd? Are we talking 11, 13, 16? Cosmopolitan or rural preference? From a local school, international, British curriculum?

Have you ruled others put and what basis? Agree agents have a tendency to recommend certain schools. Have you visited any schools or even UK recently?

That's a really odd list of schools. St swithuns and sherborne girls are both full boarding

You could try Talbot Heath at Bournemouth or Claysmore in Dorset.

OP.

I think I can see what your agent has done. Roedean is quite academic without being a hot house. It has a large number of overseas boarders and would at first glance fit your DD. It is also single sex which you want. This is probably your aspirational school. So go with this if you are offered a place. They have quite a few boarders from the Far Wast though so may seek to limit the numbers from HK/China to ensure a good mix.

MSJ girls school also single sex. Fine academically and will get students to fulfill their potential. Decent numbers of full boarders. Probably less competitive than Roedean but still a good school.

QE is co-ed so not what you really want. Entry is not particularly competitive though, so this is probably your agent’s back up school.

You will get hundreds of schools recommended on Mumsnet so it can be a bit confusing if you are abroad and not planning to come to UK to visit personally. So rather than recommend more I would suggest you go for Roedean with MSJ as a back up. You will not go wrong with these two schools. Good luck.

Far East not Far Wast

flickeringcandle45

😊 It’s helpful.

If your DD loves acting, Roedean might be a good choice for her as it has a strong theatre production and vast acting opportunities if she will be selected after audition. It has a good mix of overseas students and local students. The location is not too far from airport and close to town for errands.