Roedean vs CLC

[stassiehuntington]

Hello, I'm currently looking at schools for my DD to join. she is very bright, big on sports and enjoys a bit of drama and we would prefer an all-girls school. I have visited both schools and honestly, I am torn between the two. My DD also loves both but slightly favours Roedean however she is extremely indecisive so she still hasn't decided. I am also aware that Roedean had a bit of an issue a few years back but I've heard it is back to the Roedean it used to be. My DH, however, is not a fan of CLC as he says it has a slight 'chavvy' side to it. At least that is what his sister has told him who went there. Is this true? I also have a DS who goes to Eton college, so my husband would like our DD to go to a school of that sort. We have also looked at WA however we were not fans and the same goes for DH. If anyone has DD's that have gone to either of these schools or knows about them please let me know what they are like.

We had been to both CLC and Roedean school visits, and few other boarding schools. After all the visits, my DD prefers Roedean as she feels the staffs, student body, environment and overall vibe fits her the best. It's all about how you feel about the school, if you don't feel right about it, no matter how high ranking the school is, your DD still can't thrive and be happy there! We can't say one is better than others, just find one suits you.

Who is to judge what the definition of "world class" means? Both of these schools, CLC and Roedean, are great! You need to choose which one your DD would feel happiest in as they are so different.

I would challenge that Roedean is only the girls Eton. At Eton exam results and achievement (both in the classroom and extra curricularly) are very important. It's a competitive place, as the OP would know having a DS there.

Roedean A levels: 22% A, 56% A-A vs Eton 33% A and 75% A-A (and they also do Pre U so these results do not tell the whole picture)

GCSE Roedean 9-8 52% vs 79% Eton and A*-A 68% Roedean vs 93% Eton.

Also Eton is fully boarding, whereas at Roedean 82% of KS3 are day girls.

CLC is more like Eton in that it is 80% boarding (fully boarding, not flexi or weekly, with a full programme of weekend activities for all boarders). Also its results are more like Etons

A level 32% A, 72% A-A plus an IB score of 40 points for those who do IB. GCSE 9-8 74% and A*-A 90%.

Roedean says 55% of girls go to Russell Group unis which doesn't seem very high to me.

Posters are right that you must go with your gut instinct about the feel of a school and find one where your DD will thrive.

FWIW, I think Wycombe Abbey is probably the closest girls school to Eton in terms of exam results, competitiveness and full boarding characteristic.

Yes. WA is more academic but with all these schools, how DD is likely to fit in and thrive is key. Most top 100 schools will educate DD perfectly well. So ethos, boarding arrangements, extra curricular and location come into play plus things like sport, music etc if that’s what you want. Just choosing on academic results alone isn’t the best way to choose.