BGS or QEH Bristol

[schoolchoice]

My son is luckily to have been offered places at both schools. I understand it has been a bumper application year and from speaking to friends that lots of DC are now anxiously on waiting list or just given a flat no so I know we are very fortunate.

Does anyone have experience of both schools as I can't make up my mind. I actually thought pastoral care was better at BGS although QEH seems to market itself on that! The extra curricular at BGS was very impressive.

Traditionally BGS has been viewed as more academic but it's a level results seem to have fallen off a cliff last year compared to the other bristol indis. Does anyone know why? The school has been very silent on it and parents I know already at the school have just shrugged their shoulders and blamed a less academic cohort for that year which seems like BS to me!!

Any viewpoints gratefully received.

Anyone?

Can’t speak for the school now academically but I am an OB who is still involved for alumnae events, and if I lived in Bristol, I wouldn’t hesitate to send them to BGS

I can't help with your dilemma as we didn't consider QEH because we knew we definitely wanted co-ed so QEH never on our radar. Just joining this thread as we're delighted that DS has an offer for BGS for y7 entry 2020. interested to see if you get any replies from someone who can compare the two schools properly. if you end up choosing BGS we'll need to invent a special mumsnet handshake to recognise one another by!

Also can't help as no specific knowledge of either school.

But are A level results a one off drop? If so, a less able cohort seems plausible. If it's a long term downward drift maybe worry, but your son will be 7 years away from A levels and any school can change dramatically in that time.

If I were picking, I'd choose where I thought my DC would be hapiest and thrive now rather than on what might be in 7 years.

Yes, it's a massive drop this year compared to other years (where they have largely been regarded as the best co-ed and better than some of the single sex). They still got a good number of oxbridge and med school offers fulfilled though. It's just frustrating that they haven't been upfront with overall performance this year. I think gcse was still strong. I understand from speaking to other parents that they have responded by encouraging pupils to only do 3 a levels which seems sensible to me.

@KirorivePeyowa very well done to your son too. I don't know your experience but I know of quite a few that didn't get in to either that fully expected to get offers everywhere so I think it is a competitive year.

QEH seems to market itself as a more handholding environment. Does anyone know if that's true?

Just as an add I get the impression that the new head at bgs is doing some great things and is more inclusive.

We really liked the new head, he seems very inspiring and a great leader.

I hadn't noticed the A level differences tbh. That seems so many years away!

I have looked at them now and yes A s were about 24% in 2016&2017, down to 19% in 2018 and only 15% in 2019. A grades were around 34% 2016-18 and down to 25% in 2019. B grades were around 23% and are up to 28% and C grades were around 11% and are now 18%. If it was a less academic cohort you would expect to see a similar blip in the stats in 2017 GCSEs. Looking at GCSE results 2015-2017 yes there is indeed a dip in A grades in 2017, when A level grades were still fine. I wonder if that cohort had a particularly bad experience under the previous Head who I understand was rather disliked? It's difficult to project any kind of trend on GCSEs after 2017 as the new grade numbers can't be directly compared.

In any case I am not going to worry about it for now - a school is about so much more than exam grades, but if there does seem to be a problem come 2025 there are other options. A lot of kids change schools for the sixth form anyway, but the chances are this will just have been a minor blip.

I hadn't picked up that it was 2 years of falls. I need to look again. It's a pretty big drop in numbers at the top end though and not what you would expect from a "selective" school. I think on those numbers Cathedral (non selective, non fee paying but lottery) actually did marginally better percentage wise. Not the end of the world as actually I think you pay for the extra curricular and environment largely but equally not what I would expect.

You're right it's enough to raise an eyebrow. the 2019 results do look marginally better than Cathedral (13% A*, 25% A, 31% B and 18% C) but Cathedral is selective for 6th form - You have to have a grade 7 at GCSE for each subject you want to do at A level for most subjects (6 is acceptable for some) and I know of a few families whose children have not been allowed to progress into 6th form having been there from Y7. But I will definitely be keeping an eye on what the BGS results do in 2020 and 2021!

Whilst they might be selective they also need enough pupils to be financially viable. It could well be a lowering of standards 8+ years ago to let get enough pupils in to cover costs which is now feeding through to their A-levels results.
And/or it could also be they didn't adapt well to the changes to A-levels a few years ago.

I notice QEH a previously boys only school is now allowing girls into years 12 and 13 to make ends meet.

I found this on QEH's website. Much more impressive. I get the point about bums on seats but you would think that would affect the different schools broadly to the same extent. Anecdotally BGS has always been viewed as the academic choice but these results don't bear that out (and the downward trajectory is really concerning). Last year BGS were so over subscribed they put in a bulge form so maybe it is a temporary blip. There is much less indi choice in Bristol now as so many schools have either merged or gone state.

What is a bulge form? Love to hear feedback from people who have kids at both schools...

A bulge form is where a school increases its intake onto a particular year of entry, often at the request of the LA to alleviate a local shortage of places. The increase doesn't constitute an increase in PAN, but if it needs to be repeated, may lead to a permanent increase,

My understanding is that BGS are now offering the IB diploma alongside A levels in their sixth form. Could it be that the more able pupils are now doing the IB and this is having an effect on the A level results?
For Y7 entry you really need to concentrate on GCSEs as so many pupils change school for sixth form that it's hard to compare.

I am millions of years out of date now so can’t add other than to say that BGS’s decision to drop to 3 A levels is in line with what a lot of schools are doing now (FM as a fourth still common). 2017 was I think when the first cohort who did the Linear A levels came through so things changed a bit.

To compare the results you need to know how many A levels that cohort were taking as if you are comparing a majority took 3 cohort rather than a majority took 4 cohort then you would expect to see a difference.

Also, is there a fair bit of movement when it comes to sixth form? If so it’s not a bad strategy to reassess in year 11 as they can change a lot.

QEH students are expected to take 4 subjects in year 12 and then can drop down to 3 in final year. Any opinions on this? Be interested to hear about how teens are helped to manage exam stress/ school pressure or whether parents think it is no worse now than in the old days?!! I don't think pressure and stress are always bad - if teens can learn how to cope and manage it then I think that's good preparation for real life!

I don’t think they have to take 4 subjects in year 12 - they can drop one to do the EPQ - but that sounds like more work.

I know people with children at both schools across a variety of years and they are all very happy. BGS is THE academic school in Bristol - if they had a bad year then you know they will be doing everything to sort this out. BGS will be more competitive especially with the girls.

For A levels it looks like BCCS are actually the best schooling town (state), followed by QEH (independent).

• school in town

I went to BGS. It was a bit of a hot house then and it is now. Very much so compared to others. Having said that I work at another of the top independent schools in Bristol.

Out of the two QEH is better, at the moment, but close to BGS.
But BGS is co-ed and I would want that for my son.

I think both schools are very good. DS spent a day at each school and I let him pick which he preferred. I realise this probably isn’t an option this year. He picked QEH which I was secretly happy with. He has lots of friends who went to BGS and they are just as happy. I know boys who’ve moved from QEH to BGS for year 9 and vice versa so I think there’s still a bit of wriggle room if you decide you’ve picked the wrong school.
I don’t think I have anything negative to say about QEH. Any concerns we’ve had have been dealt with quickly and fairly. I remember being impressed at our first parents evening in the first term because his teachers not only knew ds but had managed to work out what makes him tick. School is good at motivating/encouraging him and he is really happy there.