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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Private schools near Epsom

63 replies

Blueskiessunshine · 08/06/2021 14:01

Hi all,
We are starting to think about schools for our 9 year old son. We live in Epsom. We should be in the catchment for Glyn but this isn't guaranteed. There aren't any other local state schools we are keen on. So we are also considering local private schools. Downsend School sounds great. I have read mixed reviews about Freemens. Does anyone have any insight into these, or any other local secondary schools?
Thank you! Smile

OP posts:
languagelover96 · 27/06/2021 11:25

This is my advice. Visit the schools in and around Epsom with and without your child in tow.

See what the school lessons are like, how the kids behave and assess quietly the quality of teaching provided. Read the published official school inspection reports too but remember not to depend wholly on those however. Ask other parents about the local secondary schools too at pick up time etc. Find out as much as possible in advance and make notes.

Trust your gut OP as well. If possible view some actual homework done and enquire about school events and school trips and so on. Do also remember to inquire about school clubs, exams and observe lessons quietly on a normal school day.

Have a list of schools to inspect and evaluate. Check out the website of the school in question in order to learn more. Read beyond the lines of communication, consider whether he would make progress and be happy there or not. Look beyond the glossy fancy exam results, in other words really dig deep for useful information on the school in consideration here. See if you can find out more about what happens day to day.

Get hold of articles about the school. Research to your heart's content.

Original poster
Blueskiessunshine · 27/06/2021 17:40

@languagelover96 yes that is great advice. I have tours booked and am well underway with my research. Exam results show one side of a school, but we want to find a school that is the right fit for our son and that he will be happy going to 😊

OP posts:
Enko · 27/06/2021 22:13

Some years ago now but DS went to Kingswood house and it was back then an amazing school. They were the first to support ds to achieve and he got a very good grounding. We moved area and left the school due to this.

I would visit and see what you think..

saltandpeppaa · 02/07/2021 14:31

On Freemen’s I have currently got children at various levels throughout the school and completely disagree with Epwell . Pastoral care certainly wouldn’t win any awards but there does seem to be a culture of pupil helping pupil and there is a school counsellor who is seemingly well liked and my children’s form tutors are wonderful. There are some staff who are disliked by the majority however the majority are lovely and have a passion for their subject. I must emphasise the difference between seniors and juniors is quite defined. My DD loves it and I can barely recall my anxious little mouse in the confident young woman I know today. Sports provision is spotty in some areas (fencing is brilliant and the teachers do try but a smallish school without sports scholarships will always struggle to perform) but at least in my recall neither gender is favoured, especially now the head of department is a hockey specialist with league experience. It is certainly a traditional school and fairly insular many people have relatives who were pupils or teachers and even a fair few teachers who were pupils. There’s also development in facilities and I can’t wait to get my children into main house again. Have a tour, all schools have people they work and don’t work for. But to concede one thing to Epwell there is a Freemen’s child and those who don’t fit that type may struggle.

Epwell · 02/07/2021 21:22

Thank you for demonstrating so clearly (although I am sure unintentionally) the sense of entitlement and arrogance that pervades the school, the children and the parents.
The Freemen's child is, in my experience, a bully and if you don't fit in then god help you, as the teachers and other children most certainly won't, the children out of fear of being bullied themselves, the teachers because they can't be arsed.

I can tell you with 100% certainty, as I did a statistical analysis of the sporting fixtures over a 2 year period, that in the junior school the boys play more fixtures than the girls and play more inclusive fixtures where they take all of the boys - the girls will play only the top teams or leave 2 or 3 girls behind on a regular basis. The boys use the pitches year round, the girls only get to use them in the summer.
I agree with you that it is a very insular community and if you are not part of that you will have issues. The parents in the know pay the staff for tutoring, thereby establishing direct and profitable relationships which the staff will not imperil by disciplining the child. They also arrange for tutoring for the entrance exams, sometimes even by the teachers who mark said exams.
Their safeguarding standards are woeful - medication goes missing on a regular basis, at least it did for us.
All in all a pretty dreadful place, but I'm sure that it suits you down to the ground.

SamMay12345 · 18/08/2021 11:32

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ClaryFairchild · 18/08/2021 11:41

The issue with girls and sports is not just down to the school, they have to have OTHER schools to play against. So it's impossible to run lots of teams if there is no competition for them. It was what has held some schools back from offering sorts that have not traditionally been for girls - no one to play against.

Epwell · 30/08/2021 09:54

Aaaaah, I didn't realise that there were fewer girls than boys in Surrey and surrounds. Who knew? Your position is unsustainable, there are plenty of girls' schools in Surrey and beyond who can play fixtures. When I looked at it, in some cases the boys played fixtures against mixed schools, or boys' schools with associated girls' schools, but the girls didn't play that school or the associated school at all. In my view, a toxic combination of laziness and an inherent sexist culture at the school meant the girls were treated as lesser sporting creatures. It calls itself co-educational, but it really isn't.

StiggyZardust · 15/09/2021 17:35

My DS went to Downsend and hated it. He left a few years ago now. He just didn't fit their mould.
He went on to St John's and thrived. We're not at all religious.

CraftyGin · 15/09/2021 17:39

I used to work at Epsom College.

I doubt that it is particularly hard to get in - they have the full range of academics.

It's a very full on school, though, so you'd have to buy into their boarding ethos (even as a day student).

Quarks69 · 18/09/2021 07:14

Wow @epwell you got issues.

What you have written Is libellous and downright nasty and shows how unhelpful it is to ask for advice on mumsnet. There’s always a parent with an axe to grind with no sense of perspective.

Op you have to go to the schools And ignore any flippant labels, they are not helpful.

Epwell · 18/09/2021 08:10

Yes I have issues with this school and the incalculable damage done to my DC there. Nothing I have written is libellous. The facts I have stated are true, eg about the inequity in the sporting provision, the poor safeguarding, the tutoring. I am not being flippant, I am deadly serious.

studentandparent · 09/12/2021 16:10

Another vote for Ewell Castle. My son goes there and I don't know anyone who would consider him a 'non-achiever'.

The great thing about the school that it is not full of children with judgemental and overbearing parents.

HermioneHere · 09/12/2021 21:04

Ewell Castle were lucky enough to bag Surbiton High's old headmaster, Silas Edmonds in 2019 and it was he who changed Surbiton High School Senior Girls into a very much in demand school from 2013 to 2018 - check him out on LinkedIn.

We have a DD at SHS and think it's a lovely carrying school with a focus on great teaching and fantastic pastoral support. If he does similar things to what happened at SHS, then I'd gladly send our DS there when the time comes.

I'd love to hear from more parents with children at Ewell Castle... really hope it's a nice school as it's now high on list of potential places to look at for DS.

Biscuits01 · 12/01/2023 22:48

we are thinking of Blenheim , please can you say why it’s not great ?

Biscuits01 · 12/01/2023 22:49

Please can anyone advise secondary school in Surrey with good Senco department and pastoral care.

RosesAndHellebores · 12/01/2023 22:57

We relocated from SW London when the DC were grown up. Far better state choices in Epsom than in SW London. I drive past the Blenheim children every day. They behave like Lords and Ladies compared even to some of the better state schools in SW London.

Could you rent out your current house and rent something closer to Glyn for 18 months?

RosesAndHellebores · 12/01/2023 22:58

@biscuits Felton Fleet but I might be out of date.

Epwell · 13/01/2023 07:46

Kingswood House.

Fullrecoveryispossible · 13/01/2023 08:14

Epsom College if your child is high-achieving, likes sports and is ambitious.
St John’s if your child is more rounded but not a high achiever.
Would avoid spending money on the others which are, at best, fairly mediocre in my opinion.

poppybuttons · 13/01/2023 08:19

@Fullrecoveryispossible , I don't think the most recent ISI report of Epsom college would meet @Biscuits01 request for pastoral care!

Fullrecoveryispossible · 13/01/2023 08:24

poppybuttons · 13/01/2023 08:19

@Fullrecoveryispossible , I don't think the most recent ISI report of Epsom college would meet @Biscuits01 request for pastoral care!

Unfortunately if you know about the history with ISI, I wouldn’t trust anything they come out with! Appreciate that’s the cynic in me!

swgeek · 13/01/2023 08:44

@poppybuttons their recent ISI report from Nov 2022 actually confirms what all parents feel - the pastoral care is excellent in all areas. It may not be up on the ISI website yet but ISI has confirmed in their Nov 2022 inspection that all standards are met. Who knows what happened in the last inspection which was in the midst of the covid pandemic when schools were extremely busy adjusting to new government guidance on a daily basis.

May09Bump · 13/01/2023 10:28

I also have friends that are happy at Freemen's and during external swim / other activities in the local area have met plenty of pleasant and kind children from this school. We did our research and have chosen to take a place at in the junior school, what I particularly liked is the girls at A level age were as confident as the boys in the classroom. This was not the case at quite a few other secondaries I visited. Also impressed with their Science and Maths teachers.

Downsend seems a nice school, however two of my childs former classmates moved there and intended to stay through to A Levels, have now decided to do 11 plus at St Johns, Freemens, RGS and Caterham.

I would do the open days with your child and some private tours - speak to the children and teachers, all the way through to A level age. You get different feedback in most schools - we had a truly horrific time with my eldest at Micklefield in Reigate and would never recommend it, yet some of our friends loved it.

StiggyZardust · 14/01/2023 17:58

My DS went to Downsend. It wasn't good for him. He was bullied and didn't fit their sporty alpha male mould. It was a while ago, so things may have changed.
He went on to St John's which was a great choice for him. We are not at all religious and neither were most of his friends.