Surrey Girls schools 11+ - Tormead, St Ts etc

[starlilly88]

I'm currently still deciding on schools for my DD and only a short time left to register. Would love any recent opinions on Tormead, SWPS, Manor House, Notre Dame, St Teresa's and Priorsfield. DD not up to St Cats or GHS academically and not right for her anyway. I know a bit about some of them but nothing about Manor House or Notre Dame

Hey @Guildfordgu4, I'm a parent of two at Tormead, you'll see I post frequently on TM and various other schools locally, one of which I am also a governor at.

As an honest response, I would like to reassure you that your concerns are misplaced. I saw the PP post above, whilst I was half way through writing my own, so have just started again to avoid repetition !

Although I don't agree that your message is "strange" like the PP, I do agree that you have nothing to worry about academic wise. TM has attracted a lot of applicants this year for September, so we've all heard, through our well connected parent whatsapp groups(haha!). I expect, as a result, they have been able to select a from a strong pool of girls that are both academically strong, but will also fit in with the Tormead culture. It is this culture that attracted us, our friends and what seems to be attracting other smart girls from other schools too. We are in the Junior School and we get messages of new joiners from other schools frequently.

It is very clear in his communications and actions that Mr Boyd wants to foster the reputation Tormead has, as a school that is academically very successful, but just as importantly, is a school where girls feel supported, nurtured and listened to. There is of course nothing 'woke' about this approach in my mind, especially in times when the mental health of our children has been tested to the max, supporting them emotionally as well as ensuring them are academically successful is key.

It might also be worth mentioning that an advert went out for a Deputy Head Academic last week, which given your academic concerns, might go even further towards reassuring you that the new head certainly has academic performance/investment clearly front and centre.

Best of luck in your choice and if you have any personal question s drop me a PM and i'll answer as much as I can or put you in contact with some other parents. Take care. Rob.

Yr 9 parent at Tormead. The school has a reputation in Guildford for being academic yet nurturing. I can't imagine the new head wants to change that, after all isn't a "happy girl with great exam results" the perfect combo. This balance seems to attract the applicants, so why change it? So honestly @Guildfordgu4 I wouldn't worry about academics. We've not noticed any change this year, if anything the online learning has been great and the teachers need gold medals.

Although we don't wiff even a slight scent of "woke" on the agenda, what we have noticed is a renewed sense of direction, there's an noticeable sense of confidence growing this year, and for the first time in the 7 years we've been at TM, the school seems to believe in itself, not afraid to shout about the fact that it is a top school. Not sure if that makes any sense to you! lol.

All three schools in Guildford are academically comparable, with GHS as an obvious front runner, so I highly recommend you see all three schools as soon as you can. When chatting to the admissions/sales people, make sure you also try and talk to the teachers/staff/parents/kids as they will be the ones to give you another perspective.

You mentioned "tradition" as a key driver for you, but I the concept very subjective and variable. Some traditional styles and schools will be wildly better or much worse than others. With 3 such brill schools in Guildford, for most parents, one must go "have a look", with it ultimately coming down to which one is "the right fit" for their DD.

@Guildfordgu4 welcome to Guildford! I was genuinely wondering what you mean by a "woke approach"? Could you give us some more information about what this means and what your exact concerns might be? Might help people address your question more accurately.

We're at St.cats and although the academics are undeniably great the school is taking a slapping at the moment for its handling of various pastoral issues, racism, unkind behaviour etc. Some may call the way it is being handled a 'traditional approach' - see another thread on MN. Although I honestly haven't seen any of this affect my DD directly , he chatter has increased and is saddening, its not what we bought into so many years ago. So what some might consider the 'old ways' of doing something, people like me might call it 'out of touch'.

Given theres not much in them academically, but st.cats ahead though, DH and I would probably welcome a little dose of "woke" Tormead "hugs, love and fluffy kittens" at St Cats right now.

Good luck school hunting. But please do enlighten us about your woke issues, it's a fascinating topic. Best.

Thanks to everyone and great news that Tormead does not seem to have compromised its high standards with the new Headmaster. We'll happily look at it for DD!

@Guildfordgu4 it's been a tricky year which will make benchmarking anything difficult, furthermore i'm sure the exam results for most independent schools this year will be on par with last year, at the very least!

On the Tormead front, my daughter is in year 11, and I can definitely say that this year has been a challenge for her and her entire cohort. Despite these challenges I find myself thanking my lucky stars that we are where we are, especially when I hear some of the stories from friends at a variety of schools locally.

Online learning has been good, the process of teacher assessed grades has been transparent, well communicated and although it is impossible to please everyone, the school have done a good job of making the whole process seem fair. My DD has had a full timetable of lessons and study time with teachers, with 1-on-1 meetings with teachers regarding her academic performance, her ongoing assessments with a view to helping her work on her weaker areas. The whole nightmare of teacher assessed grades has been handled very professionally and we now have our fingers crossed for the big day in August 12!

All in all, this year has been terrible for all kids, and no matter what my DD gets, I know it will be a fair reflection of her and I can sleep well knowing that she was well supported. Tormead might not be anywhere near GHS, St Pauls or Wycombe Abbey, but you can ask for more than than the way they've handled it and the support thats been put in place for the girls...... perhaps that is indeed where the "woke" stuff has come from?

Best of luck with your daughters school choices. All those you mentioned are great schools. Its been mentioned so many times before, but we are blessed for amazing prep and senior schools!

AlwaysInTheGarden mentioned pastoral issues at St Cats. I have posted about this before and our experience isn't bang up-to-date as our daughter left a few years ago, but whilst she was there we had grave concerns about the standards of pastoral care at St Cats, based on both our own experiences and those of friends with daughters at the school.

On racism at St Cats, I was very surprised a couple of months ago when DD described the school as 'a bit racist'. DD isn't white and is very thoughtful about these issues, so I don't think it's a comment she would have made without some foundation. I didn't probe, so I don't know whether she was referring to racism amongst the girls or a level of institutional racism. Certainly DD and her friends were critical of the school's old-fashioned, 'white saviour' approach to charitable giving and 'paint an orphanage' style expeditions.

There remains a lot to admire about St Cats and a lot may have changed in the last couple of years, so I would recommend that you do your own research on pastoral care, ethos and the school's response to allegations of racism and bullying (bullying by both girls and staff), before making a decision about it.

Hey all,

We got through the 11+ and with the high amounts of kids applying, my DD do not get a place, sad facts of demand vs supply I suppose.

We could stay where we are until 13 and hope for the best or go to Cobham Free school and tutor my DD, alongside her sen requirements.

The only disadvantage to her is that she is very sporty and I'm not sure how sporty the school really is, any tips on Cobham Free Senior?

Where did you apply @KB123? Did you get any wait list places? There is often movement after today as most of the schools in our area have now sent offers. Don't know CFS I'm afraid but there are schools with a 13+ intake if you decide to stay. Good luck!

Hi, can I please connect with you regarding St Teresa? Thinking of the senior school for my daughter. Thanks @Antoniette