Private school in Oxfordshire

[Mariamans]

Hi all
I would like some recommendations for the best private school in (Abingdon,Wallingford ,Oxford ) and surrounding areas for starting into year 7 please.TIA

Is it for girls, boys or mixed? Academic or not?

Sorry for to mention this for boy or mixed and i don't mind if it Academically or sporty.

OK sorry I can’t help (other than that Abingdon School is v well regarded and quite sporty)

We need more info OP. There are so many schools to choose from.
Abingdon,
Magdalen,
Cokethorpe (too far?)
Our Lady's,
Pangborne,
Bradfield,
Oratory,
Shiplake,
Radley (from y13 though)

What do you want from a school?

Day? Boarding? Rowing? Oxbridge? Traditional? Religious?

Are there any from the list that you have ruled out?
What does your current school suggest?

For boys the change of schools comes at Y9, so if you are working on Y7 entry you are looking for a prep school for now. It would be helpful to either have an idea of your preferred senior school or think about an 'all through' arrangement. You could look at Abingon, where the prep and senior schools are closely aligned, so entry into one will make entry to the other more straightforward. You don't say whether you are looking for day or boarding- MN can give better advice with that piece of information. Oxfordshire has a vast and impressive range of schools, but a top prep might want you to have taken steps to sort out your senior school ahead of Y7 as their destination schools tend to select early.

Thanks for your reply everyone.

We are looking for Private schools with enriches educationally experience and high standards of disciplines and respects between staff and pupil also with the Extracurriculars activities .

We were comparing between Abingdon school, Cranford house and Magdalen .
What we heard recently about Abingdon school not really impressive! Any idea why ? Or what's going on with the school?

Between those 3, You are looking at very different levels of academic entrance.

Cranford is very newly Co-ed, and traditionally is suitable for children who need a little more support than normal.
I would say Ab is more sporty than MCS. MCS quite pressured to achieve and maintain the high grades.

Travel consideration is not to be ruled out when considering Oxford schools.
What year is DS in now?

If he is smart enough for Ab or MCS, then I would def go for one of those. No brainer imo.

Darbishire27 that is only true of prep school boys (and increasingly girls too), The majority of schools listed (including Abingdon) have intakes at year 7 for those transferring from state primaries. They then vary in the size of the subsequent year 9 prep school intake

Cranford is smaller and perhaps considered more nurturing/less competetive but in no way is it exclusively for those 'needing support'

Thank you very much everyone for your reply really appreciate all of your feedback.
I heard a lot of things good things about Cranford that's why I put it on my list . I know it not the best as Ab or MCS but still GCSE grade are very impressive and yes I didn't hear either about it exclusively for those 'needing support' .

If you don’t need boarding and depending on where you end up living you could add Reading BlueCoats to your list. Often considered a good middle ground between the more academically selective and the others on the list

I have not heard that Abingdon School can provide support to students very much. And the exams this year are just rubbish. Abingdon is very different from other schools simply by their facilities, which local schools have a disadvantage. There is a very cold atmosphere, disrespect for children and parents, you are unlikely to find support for your child there. There really is a school is a business, first of all. Think of another school, and MCS is really academic, but rather pressure, someone might like it. Just think about what will be suited for your kids. if a kindness and friendly atmosphere, understanding and help are important to you, then you will definitely NOT find that in Abingdon.

Abingdon had one of the highest number of testimonies on the Everyone’s Invited site suggesting that their might be an arrogance and misogynistic element to the culture. Also they had some furore over a boy spouting some horrible racist slurs on social media. I believe a parent started a petition in support of the boy and against the head which might give some insight into the parent body?

the petition is something new, now I have to look. The cold atmosphere and disrespect gripped not only the boys, but also the teachers, it's a shame. The fish rots from the head down. Lack of professionalism is the worst thing that can happen when working with children, and it is simply unacceptable. Just be careful with the school! Love your children and be good parents!

Dear Placido, what is the pettion? I think this is very interesting for parents, for me it would be for sure. I can only find information about how the headmaster publicly expelled the boy, which angered all of my teachers, since no teacher would ever act so irresponsible towards children, crazy.

Hi @allforkids someone posted the link on mumsnet last week and then it was deleted so I am thinking it is quite contentious. Have you googled it?

Dear Placido, many thanks for your reply. no, I couldn't find anything, but I have to admit that I’m not surprised, because the headmaster’s behaviour is disgusting there, which is a shame for this school.

I don't have any personal stake in this debate, certainly no links to the school. But I have experience of leading institutions, and the need to provide clarity about what is or is not acceptable or compatible with organisational values. Having seen reports of the expelled pupil's actions I think the Headmaster's response was proportionate, both to safeguard the reputation of the school, but more importantly as taking a stance against hate and rape culture. Had the former pupil's behaviours been tolerated or excused as the 'joke' he claimed that could give tacit encouragement to others to do likewise. Young men coming out of schools like Abingdon have been educated to take leading roles in economy and society. What sort of people do you want Abingdon School to produce, with what boundaries and cultural norms? Expulsion of pupils cannot be done lightly, but on the basis of what I've read I'd like to think I would have taken the same decision as the HM.

Dear Vaughan32, I would agree with you, but in that case, there is one very important But, the most important thing is that the case about responsibility for the actions of an adult and a teenager. you have to agree with me that a mistake or a joke from an adult has more serious consequences. From my point of view, Abingdon School headmaster does not have professional knowledge about children, since he allowed himself to make such a mistake, in relation to that child, he publicly was completely irresponsible and illegally appropriated invented qualities to the child (just watch the human rights). I think, by his actions, the Headmaster of Abingdon School could cause much more damage in real life to the child than the same child joked about some people in online life. As a person who works with children, I was outraged by such an unprofessional act in relation to a child, and I am sure that such mistakes should not be made and such "teachers" should not be allowed to work with children, In my opinion, this is a bad НM who could not find another solution, how to publicly expel the child. And in general, in my opinion, a good HM would be embarrassed that he could even kick off any student from the school end never will never publicly discuss school problems and will not earn his own popularity on the problems of the school, by the way, thereby putting his school at the very bottom, I am sure that the rating of the school is soo low is due to his mistake. So sorry, I got carried away, but just for me, the children guarding is the case of my life, not a reason for a career!

sorry Mariamans, as you are asking for help about schools, but maybe this is your key to your question what's going on with the school?

Well, in general, I just wanted to share with Mariamans my opinion, that I know that Abingdon school has really nice facilities, but is not very attentive to children, and MSC is the best local with the highest academic results, but children need to work really hard, it is true. But the best is if you can visit the school and feel if there are teachers there who will support your child with all their heart

@Vaughan32 schools like Abingdon create leaders like our current political leaders with all the racism, misogyny and class superiority that they are exhibiting - and often the ineptitude too.

@Placido
Well that's the potential although strong values-driven leadership can mean that's not inevitable. And presumably that's what the HM was seeking to achieve by publicly repudiating racist and misogynistic behaviour from this pupil. The point isn't so much about proportionality to harms suffered by the recipients as setting a culture where those attitudes and behaviours are understood to be unacceptable, so you don't have these young men emerging from such schools and conforming to your stereotype.

I really hope that there are many other schools, not like Abingdon, where they primarily strive to create a better atmosphere for students so that they can fulfil their ambitions.