Reddam House or Holme Grange? (Berkshire)

[Elenus]

Dear all, want your recent opinions please about Reddam House or Holme Grange schools. Twins are in Y7
DD passed 11+ but did not get a place in a grammar school , DS narrowly missed 11+; both were given places in awful local schools (separate above all)

I absolutely have no idea what to look for beyond results. Both schools look fine to me; Reddam looks a bit like it had Harry Potter at one point among pupils :) Apart from that - no idea. We can't visit schools due to my surgery and covid, will have a virtual tour - not sure what we can see there

Thanks very much in advance

I have visited Reddam and some friends send their kids there. It has an amazing site - it’s beautiful with a theatre, lake and masses of space. They have a very rigorous testing schedule, where they have internal exams in every subject very frequently, and there’s some ethos thing where all the classrooms are decorated the same - but I can’t remember why!

@Whattodo121 - thanks for you response, it is reassuring

Anyone else? Thanks !

Hi there. I am a current student at holme grange and would say that it’s great for sports, good GCSE results ( good academically but not too league type) Great for meeting people and lots of diversity. Teachers supportive and overall a happy school! Hope this helped, feel free to ask more questions :)

Hi @Elenus did you make a decision? I am also looking at Reddam vs Dolphin for DS for Y5. Also trying to get opinions from parents.

Hi @PipPip123, hope you are well,

After quite a lot of thinking we chose Holme Grange for Y7. Kids set their little hearts on Reddam as they liked the building&grounds, but Reddam House was much more expensive plus commute there was much longer for us. Also I noticed that Reddam had vacancies for 3 teachers at senior school - did not give me confidence

I'm terrified :) but let us see

Thank you for your reply @Elenus. Happy you made a decision and you have to listen to your instincts. Hope your children will be really happy at their new school, I have heard nothing but good things about it.

Good luck!

Thank you @PipPip123 for your kind words

hope you arrive to your decision soon too :)

Reddam House were offering a lot of scholarships a few years ago. Maybe it’s worth negotiating the fees with them?

Hullo! Have you thrown Luckley House into the mix? It's roughly in the middle of those two in terms of location- and would be my personal favourite of the three (but that is personal choice!). It's possibly more suitable for your kids too- without knowing them. I know they're sending kids to Oxbridge this year, but are equally good at supporting less able students, so look after the full range.

Hasn't Holme Grange only recently started taking students to GCSE level? That would be a worry for me- though, of course by the time your kids get there they'll have loads of experience. Also, Reddam House used to have a shocking reputation locally- but they have changed their name and ownership, so are presumably putting a lot of effort into changing it- which is probably really positive.

Not that helpful probably. They're all decent, and would all look after your children!

Very happy with Holme Grange. Very supportive teachers and loads of opportunities! Luckley House is very good though ( of what I have heard).

Luckley is a great school, has gone from strength to strength since going co ed. Holme Grange has a great reputation too.

I thought Dolphin only went up to Y8?

@Elenus would you mind me asking how you’ve found the first few weeks at Holme grange? I’m considering sending my DC there into the prep school.

Yes I'd like to bump this thread for Holme Grange opinions please

My 2 dc joined Holme grange earlier this year and it’s been a great decision. They are in the prep school and the staff have been amazing. Really wrapped care around them to help them settle in. It’s a very sporty school but in an inclusive way and I can already see improvements in handwriting, maths and general academics. Based on the first few months I’d highly recommend.

Luckley would be top of my choices, it's popular and all my friends whose kids go there/have gone there have nothing bad to say about it at all.

Hi, jumping on this thread as looking to relocate to Berkshire and been looking at schools that ‘go through’ to avoid the 11 and 13 year exams. Been to see LVS and Reddam house, and plan to see Holme Grange. Keen to have parent feedback on how they found these schools. Also, where do children go for A levels post Holme Grange?