Good 6th form with great pastoral care and academic strength

[MerryMumOfWindsor]

Hi. Anyone could recommend a great independent senior school in Berkshire or Surrey for my 16 yr old girl to move to after GCSEs? She suffers from anxiety and current school's care isn't great. She's highly academic but can't cope with the pressure of the academic private school that she's in. Teachers just seem overwhelmed and don't pay attention to individuals. Happy to consider boarding.
Thank you.

Not what you asked, but I'm not sure I'd be happy with the idea of my anxious DD boarding. You are leaving a lot of trust to spot and manage issues in the hands of others.

Are you sure a slightly less academic school state or private might not be preferable? Has she done GCSEs yet? Assuming you are looking a year ahead?

She might be better suited to a state sixth form college. The vibe is very different to school life, and you are treated a lot more like a grown up. It can be a refreshing change of approach for many students.

I also think it’s always better to be towards the top of a more mixed ability class than at the bottom of a highly academic school.

I would also take a look at Queenswood- their pastoral is brilliant and a large number of girls weekly board in the sixth form. Based on your user name it’s about 50 mins away. It’s not a particularly selective school but given the wide range of abilities there, their results are superb. They have a dedicated centre for supporting girls both academically and mentally, be it they are academic scholars attending enrichment classes or a girl with dyslexia needing extra help. They are also refurbishing their sixth form centre over the summer and offer a 50% academic scholarship.

@MerryMumOfWindsor

Hi. Anyone could recommend a great independent senior school in Berkshire or Surrey for my 16 yr old girl to move to after GCSEs? She suffers from anxiety and current school's care isn't great. She's highly academic but can't cope with the pressure of the academic private school that she's in. Teachers just seem overwhelmed and don't pay attention to individuals. Happy to consider boarding. Thank you.

Where is she at the moment? Berkshire sixth form for girls - The Abbey in Reading is good, as is Queen Anne's Caversham.

Have you looked at St George's in Windsor? Very nurturing and increasingly popular, boarding not sure they have day girls, they are starting to see lots of girls applying from West London.

Have a look at boarding at Thornton College, just outside Milton Keynes. Small, all girls school. Very supportive without neglecting the academics.