Rye St. Antony in Oxford

[ChocolateCheeseCake35]

Could anyone with DD in this school (secondary) give me some feedback? I know it is not as academic as other Oxford secondary schools, but could you please tell me of your experiences there?

I would be interested also, hopefully someone might have some insight

Hi, My DD started this September.
She is loving it, she'll get back from a Weekend away today and I know she'd have had fun (Despite the tragic rainy weekend). It's week 5 for her and there was a busy start to the school. Plenty of clubs. (It's trying to get our DD to be organised after 1.5 years of Primary School in Lockdown conditions.) The school so far seems to be ticking our boxes.
We looked at the other private schools on offer, the more academic ones. The setting is so beautiful, resources and expertise aplenty. I collect her and she's happy, adjusting to the longer days and Secondary School procedures versus Primary school comforts.
We've had a Parents' evening, we've met plenty of staff and we are feeling that anyone/everyone is happy to help when we have made contact.
Comms. home are good, security is solid and lunches are cooked.
I feel if she will want to be academic in the future then it will be recognised and further encouraged at Rye. A class size of 15 will suit most girls who haven't be 'pushed' or self-driven in being recognised for their brains. She gets homework everyday, it takes longer than 30mins specified. I'm happy it does. I have time and I make time to sit with her to do it. It gets left at home some days but that's poor organisation from her. She's made friends and there is a friendly vibe at pick-up time.
A friend's daughter went to Rye, finished 6th Form last year and is studying Vet-Medicine at a top Uni. When I bump into her she's a level headed polite young lady. I know someone else who's DD was struggling (anxious but clever enough) at a more academic school. They told the parents to get whatever help she needed elsewhere as the school wasn't equipped to deal with her. Not verbatim. But then my good friend's dd is loving the academic environment in that same school.
In a world where mental-health is being stressed as paramount, I pick Rye over the schools where Academic excellence is stressed. That is based on my knowledge of my DD. Yes, I'd love for her to excel academically and if Rye is true to their mission then she will excel throughout life because the staff will inspire her to have a good learning ethic. I mean give her the skills/values to pursue doing her v. best all round. I believe.
Did your DDs look around,? Did they go to the Open Day? If they had a positive feeling each then that's a start. All through the Application Process all schools seem to say the right thing, you have to see past this and remember it's your daughter's formative years. They are experts at hooking you in, with their cream on display and state-of-the-art buildings.
(You need an insight into who your girls will be in 3-4 years time to recognise where they will fit and be happy. However, that's not poss.)
Sorry if this hasn't helped, any specific Q then I'll try to help.
It's tricky deciding, Best of Luck.

My dds attended RSA until Y11, they really enjoyed it and did fairly well in their GCSEs. Great pastorally, and lots of opportunities to get involved in activities and grow as a person and for these reasons it is worth the money. My dds grew up in their own time, in a safe, warm environment. Academically, however, they were not pushed and I felt the school could have been more proactive, some of the teachers were great and in those areas my dds thrived, in other subjects I felt the relationship between teacher and students was just too cosy and they were never challenged to be better and do better.
My dds did not want to stay for Sixth Form, they needed pushing a bit more of a challenge especially from their peers.
The old head was brilliant, although a bit quirky. There have been lots of teacher changes over the past 5 or so years and loads of my dd favourite teachers left, which also contributed to my dd leaving.
However, don’t discount RSA it is worth a look, and does have lots going for it and my dd have very fond memories of their school days at RSA.

@CarrieSue71 May I ask there did your DDs go for Sixth Form?

@CarrieSue71 ... Sorry, Where did your DDs go for Sixth Form?