St Helen and St Katharine/The Abbey/Kendrick/Pipers Corner

[SchoolThoughts2023]

Hi

My DD's primary school head thinks she has a good chance of getting into the Abbey and Pipers Corner and may have a chance at Kendrick.

Would she have a chance of getting into SHSK on that basis, and does anyone have any first hand information about any of the above schools. Her primary doesn't have a lot of kids going to any of the above and so there's nobody with first hand info in real life that we can talk to.

We have arranged (where possible!) to go for open days to see the schools.

We're a little North of Reading and part of me thinks the journey to SHSK would be easier than into Reading as there isn't the dreaded Caversham Bridge traffic to contend with, but i don't know whether it's a realistic option or what level they are looking for.

Are there any other options we should consider? We're out of catchment for the Buckinghamshire grammars so unlikely to have a successful application to any of those.

Thanks for any help!

Pipers Corner isn’t very selective at all and takes a lot of girls who don’t pass the Bucks 11+. Don’t judge it on that though - it’s a lovely warm and inviting school with a huge amount of extra curricular stuff on offer and their results are excellent considering they aren’t very selective. However, they don’t split their exam results by subject publicly - I asked for this breakdown twice and it was never provided, so I do wonder if their maths and English isn’t as strong as other subjects I.e. what are they hiding? I know several girls there and all are universally happy (as are their parents). Pipers also give preference to those girls registered the earliest so it’s a good idea to get her name down if you like it, even if you only want it as a backup school. North Reading to Pipers is a VERY long drive though.

Queen Anne’s (Caversham) is definitely worth a look. More academic than Pipers and their entrance exam is Common Entrance which means you will probably need to get some help to pass if you aren’t at a prep school now. Gets fantastic results. Feels a bit more traditional.

Depending on if you are happy commuting south, Heathfield might also be worth a look. They now have decent numbers of day girls. It’s a very very small school (which put us off) but their pastoral is fabulous and it’s great for girls into art and fashion design. I also really liked the Head - she was my favourite out of all three of these schools.

I have visited Pipers and Heathfield but not Queen Anne’s yet.

Oh, and Shiplake is going fully coed from Y7 2023. A really lovely school but I only know boys there…….

Our DD is at SHSK but as I don't know the level expected at the other schools you mention it's hard for me to make an inference as to whether being recommended for one of those means SHSK is an option.

But I strongly urge you to explore the SHSK option. We have a bus ride to it from another direction and the buses work well. It is an outstanding school with a great curriculum, amazing extra curricular provision and great set of kids. It isn't a hothouse - girls aren't accelerated into taking GCSEs early for example - but has good academic standards. It's also very strong on its theme that girls can do anything and should aim high. I'm getting a lot of empowerment talk from my daughter!! We were not sure at all if our DD was at the right level but has fitted right in fortunately. It's always worth a shot. PM me if you have specific questions.

Dear WhyAmIPayingFees, may I ask you a bit more about SHSK. I heard that girls do not always get enough attention and support from teachers if conflicts arise between girls, is this really, so from your point of view? What do you think, if there would a conflict, is there a possibility of teachers connecting, can parents find support there, if their HM is with love and understanding, does she relate to each girl, is she in contact with each parent? Well, in general, could you say something more about the school, please, if it's ok for you? possitive or negative, everithing will also be helpful,please. I'm interested in school for my daughter, and everything is important to me! Thanks in advance for any information and your time.

Ok so more than one question there. The main points of contact with parents are mostly the form tutor and head of the year group and they have helped out dealing with issues that are broadly pastoral. I know the head knows our daughter as on occasion the little darling has triggered an issue that went to the head. DD feels the school needs to modernise somewhat faster.

I’m not able to comment a lot on issues between girls. DD has now found a group of girls she gets on with that she shares her life with but aims to be friendly with everyone while keeping out the way of troublemakers. When she started in a much smaller class there were issue surrounding friendships and the school was supportive in sorting that out.

Dear WhyAmIPayingFees, thank you very much for your reply and thank you for your frankness. Now time to look for the next school for my DD, she is not a shy kid, but she is kind and polite to everyone at all the time, sometimes to the detriment of her own interests (so sometimes I have a full set of emotions at home) so attentiveness and interest from teachers are very important for me. So, am I right in assuming the head is open to talking to the parents about the problems?! Again, thank you very much!

I’d ask the admissions office for an appointment to have such a chat. My advice would be to ask to also see the head of the year group for your DD’s entry year as that teacher is more likely to have an immediate pastoral role with your DD on her arrival.

My DD is at Pipers Corner. She didn’t pass the 11+ (by a significant margin) but is set to spectacularly out perform her older siblings who all went to Dr Challoners Grammar School. She is on track for 10x8/9s. I have known a lot of friends older children go through the school and they have without exception done really well academically but more importantly they really encourage the girls to explore and then support their specific talents. Their GCSE results are on par with some of the local grammars which is an impressive achievement given the respective intakes - although there are about 20% girls who had passed the 11+ or could have but have chosen a private route so there is strong academic cohort to set the pace in the top sets.

But I do think it’s a huge journey from Reading.