Suffolk Independent Schools

[BunsyGirl]

Any recommendations for Suffolk independent schools? I have two DS. DS1 age 10 is very bright and sporty. DS2 is 7 and just finding his feet. Doesn’t look like he is going to be as academic as his older brother but is showing promise at sport. Need a good all round school as DS1 gets bored if he is not stretched academically. We would be relocating and are flexible on location. Both are currently at an all through independent school.

I'd highly recommend the Royal Hospital School; my son is thriving there. It is quite full-on - it's a long day, with Saturdays, but they get used to it very quickly.
You might hear people saying it's not very academic, which simply isn't true these days. The truth is that it isn't as selective as some and takes a wide range of abilities - but there are loads of very able children who do very well and imho the quality of teaching is generally fantastic; teachers are incredibly committed and work very hard. Plenty of sport - and not just for the A team stars, everyone gets to play in teams.
Great ethos, and we've found pastoral care to be excellent. Loads of other stuff going on too, and pupils are actively encouraged to make the most of all the myriad opportunities.
It's about half and half day/boarding, and it seems to work well.

Framlingham College from 13 with the feeder prep before hand or Woodbridge School.

I rate Framlingham College. Lovely all round school. Nice kids. I like it a lot. Great for Suffolk families. RHS I liked less. The naval aspect/sailing and isolation didn’t do it for me. But personal choice really. Have a look and see what you like.
My children have played RHS at matches and the standard wasn’t great.
Fram though really doing well on its sport especially hockey. Much more driven on its sport.

Thank you. RHS wouldn’t be suitable as it is 11 upwards. We need a school that can accommodate both DCs. Youngest is 7 and we want to move in the next year or so.

If they are sporty, Culford in Bury St Edmunds has high performance sports programmes and is all through.

@BunsyGirl , you won't have much choice apart from the schools mentioned already and there is a big difference between living in Bury St Ed's and in a village near Framlingham. Do you know where you want to live? Those who live in the Woodbridge area often have a parent who drives to Manningtree station and takes a fast train to London for work. Framlingham has boarding. I don't live in Suffolk but have many friends who do with children at the schools mentioned plus the Ipswich independents and Wymondham College in Norfolk - state boarding.

@Singingrain1223 we can live anywhere in Suffolk. We would find a school first and then a house near the school. My DH works from home and I work for a firm with offices throughout the East of England so I can transfer to the closest office to where we end up.

@SchrodingersUnicorn Do you know what the academics are like at Culford for bright children. My DS1 is complaining that he is bored at his current school so I need somewhere that can support his needs whilst still being sporty.

I went to Woodbridge school and it is a fantastic school, sports and music focused and a wonderful environment. In terms of living locally to the school, Woodbridge as a town is lovely and lots of choice locally.

@Singingrain1223 We live in a rural part of Essex so relocating to Suffolk is not a big move for us. We’re happy to live in a village or somewhere more isolated. The main objective for the house is that it is spacious with a decent sized garden and there are loads of those type of houses in Suffolk, hence the reason for finding a school first and a house second.

I highly recommend Woodbridge School.

Don't rule out Cambridgeshire schools from some parts of West Suffolk - Kings Ely is just over the border really, and the Cambridge schools could also be an option.

@Bamboobo. I will keep them in mind. The firm I work for has an office in Cambridge so transferring there is an option.

Does anyone have any experience of the independent Ipswich schools? Ipswich School; Ipswich High School; St Joseph’s?

I personally wouldn't recommend the RHS and would recommend Woodbridge School.

Orwell park school
Culford,
Woodbridge.
Ipswich high school
Ipswich girls school
RHS
St Felix.
St josephs.
I am sure their is more in northern suffolk as well.

Op I will on you about Ipswich school.

Pm you!

@Lightlysieved Thank you!

No worries!

@BunsyGirl i have a friend whose DD is there. She's very bright and they seem happy with it. Very rural though.

@SchrodingersUnicorn Thank you, that’s very helpful. Rural does suit us as we live rurally at the moment.

Ipswich has some good sporty schools. At Joseph’s v good at rugby. Ipswich like their hockey. These are both ‘urban’ independant schools. So Fram (and it’s wonderful prep) are a more rural equivalent. Therefore a bit of boarding. So think about where you will be. Ipswich serves are more more localised area. Fram has a bigger, more ‘country’ catchment. Culford not such a happy school as Fram. They push the elite sports hard but I do wonder if that makes up for the cracks elsewhere. Not so academic. Fram is middle ground for academics. The most academic school might be one county higher at The Norwich School (but that’s day only). There’s also Gresham’s in Norfolk which is very similar in many ways to Fram.
Woodbridge is nice but doesn’t feature in sport on the wider stage. Fram girls hockey for example in 2019/2020 got to the national finals or semi finals on at least one year group. You definitely need to go and see a few and see what appeals to your family. You soon get a good feeling I think.

Absolutely right about going to see a few. We looked at Woodbridge and Ipswich but weren't keen for various reasons. I think Ipswich felt quite 'corporate' at the time, and we all left the Woodbridge open day with an odd feeling we couldn't quite identify, but we knew we didn't like it and couldn't see DS there. But horses for courses...

My broher went to Ipswich and then went to cambridge uni.