Secondary school dilemma! Really need help/opinions please!

[Spicenflavour]

Hi,
I have been reading past threads on this forum and doing my own research and thinking but I feel I could use some experienced opinions and advice. Please help with whatever you all may feel is relevant.
We live in Woking. DS is in year 4 at a state primary school. He is very bright and very sporty too. Our situation is like this - we are a middle class family so can either send DS to an independent school OR spend the money on a house and move for a state secondary school. Hubby travels to East croydon for work so that is one consideration too. My main questions are as follows -

1. Our preferred independent schools are Reeds and RGS Guildford. Realistically how easy or difficult is it to get into them? Are there any specific things that I should be aware of with regards to admission into these schools?
2. Based on the commute to East croydon which are the state secondary schools that are very good and offer good sports activities?
3. I believe the independent school exams are usually taken in the January after the start of year 6 so does that mean that if DS does not get offered a place in the independent schools then our only option will be a local secondary and nothing else?

Any advice or opinions are welcome. Am finding this whole process quite overwhelming and going a bit bonkers

11+ can vary in timings. Many now do exams in November/December/beginning January , interview in January and offer mid February just before state offers come out in March. Occasionally there may be a second round of assessments in March but these are discretionary. Have you considered Whitgift/Trinity in Croydon or Gordons in Woking?

Just a quick note to say have you noted the fees jump in year 9 at Reeds? Reeds, Epsom college and St. John's leatherhead have a different fees structure to the other secondary schools. You also have the option of St George's in weybridge.
Your best bet is to get your ds assessed by local tutor who can advise re the amount of tuition needed to prepare for the entrance exams that now start in Nov of year 6 so tutoring for year 5.
The offers for the private secondary schools come out in Feb of year 6 and have a closing date for acceptance a couple of days after the secondary state schools places are released in early March so you don't need to make a decision without knowing your state school option.
Re East Croydon, I don't know all the details but you might be in catchment for a Sutton grammar school place, look at
Elevenplusexams.co.uk Surrey section for more details on the 3 grammar options for ds.

Unless you move to Croydon you would have no hope of getting a state secondary place here, but there are grammars either side that may work (not sure how distance criteria comes in).

Schools mainly take on distance alone now (some do have feeders, Harris and Coombe Wood school) so unless your child goes to a feeder, it's a Faith school and you meet Faith criteria or you live in catchment you would need v v unlikely to get a place. Not enough school places here as it is for those resident in the Borough . ..

RGS Guildford is highly academic in comparison to Reeds etc. are you specifically after single sex?

Hello, your post resonated with me. If I can offer some reassurance. We're from Woking too and my children attend/attended state primary. The process is, generally, a bit bonkers :) My eldest is now at RGS, we sat the exam assuming that it would be an impossible feat but wanted to try anyway. He is a bright boy but not 'crazy professor' bright and the only tutoring support he had was us. We did small amounts of extra work with him for about a year. My sense of this crazy system is that although it feels madly competitive, everyone who wants a place at a private school, in most cases, gets one. Both RGS and Reeds are known for being somewhat more difficult to get into, however if he's bright, top few in the class, then he's likely to be in with a good chance. I would advise you to add perhaps one more school - that is slightly less competitive - to ensure that you cover yourself if you don't want to accept your state secondary place. Hope this helps.

@LIZS

11+ can vary in timings. Many now do exams in November/December/beginning January , interview in January and offer mid February just before state offers come out in March. Occasionally there may be a second round of assessments in March but these are discretionary. Have you considered Whitgift/Trinity in Croydon or Gordons in Woking?

Hi LIZS, Even if the 11+ results come out then it doesn't help as I believe we have to be in the catchment of a state school before year 6 begins. Whitgift/Trinity also seem to be good but a bit far and don't have school transport to and fro from Woking. Gordons catchment is very small so difficult to get into. Plus if nothing works and we have to opt for Woking high we are currently in the catchment for it but if we move for Gordons we might not be. To answer your other question no we are not fussed about co-ed or single sex as long as the school appeals to us and has what we are looking for.

@sunshineclouds24

Just a quick note to say have you noted the fees jump in year 9 at Reeds? Reeds, Epsom college and St. John's leatherhead have a different fees structure to the other secondary schools. You also have the option of St George's in weybridge. Your best bet is to get your ds assessed by local tutor who can advise re the amount of tuition needed to prepare for the entrance exams that now start in Nov of year 6 so tutoring for year 5. The offers for the private secondary schools come out in Feb of year 6 and have a closing date for acceptance a couple of days after the secondary state schools places are released in early March so you don't need to make a decision without knowing your state school option. Re East Croydon, I don't know all the details but you might be in catchment for a Sutton grammar school place, look at Elevenplusexams.co.uk Surrey section for more details on the 3 grammar options for ds.

sunshineclouds24, after you mentioned I had a quick look and goodness it is nearly a £2K jump in fees in year 9!! Well I guess if we are not able to cope we might just need to remortgage the house to afford it Is St Georges a faith school? Because we are not catholic. Thank you for suggesting the idea of getting assessed by a tutor. I never thought of that. But we were planning on starting him on tuitions in year 5 to be ready in time for the exams in year 6. I am not keen on a grammar school as I think that most of them are pretty academic and will push the students to maintain their results. Although DS is bright he is not someone who will like the pressure of studying so might be put off by the grammar school atmosphere. That's why I am thinking independent or probably an outstanding state school will be best for him.

Unless Croydon has done a 180 in term of quality of education, I wouldn't touch there state schools with a barge pole - I had a terrible education as did my family at various schools, my cousins still live there and none of their kid's completed sixth form, 2 didn't take GCSEs even

@LefttoherownDevizes

Unless you move to Croydon you would have no hope of getting a state secondary place here, but there are grammars either side that may work (not sure how distance criteria comes in).

Schools mainly take on distance alone now (some do have feeders, Harris and Coombe Wood school) so unless your child goes to a feeder, it's a Faith school and you meet Faith criteria or you live in catchment you would need v v unlikely to get a place. Not enough school places here as it is for those resident in the Borough . ..

LefttoherownDevizes, I was not thinking of moving to Croydon but anywhere from where hubby can travel easily and in the catchment of an outstanding state school. I am not keen on grammars as although DS is bright he is also very sports oriented and wont like a totally academic oriented atmosphere.

That makes sense, I matter your first post and thought you were hoping to get a Croydon state place living in Woking!

I would look at Trinity (private) in Croydon as really really good for sports/arts, is academic but nowhere near the level of some others

@Lonestar123

Hello, your post resonated with me. If I can offer some reassurance. We're from Woking too and my children attend/attended state primary. The process is, generally, a bit bonkers :) My eldest is now at RGS, we sat the exam assuming that it would be an impossible feat but wanted to try anyway. He is a bright boy but not 'crazy professor' bright and the only tutoring support he had was us. We did small amounts of extra work with him for about a year. My sense of this crazy system is that although it feels madly competitive, everyone who wants a place at a private school, in most cases, gets one. Both RGS and Reeds are known for being somewhat more difficult to get into, however if he's bright, top few in the class, then he's likely to be in with a good chance. I would advise you to add perhaps one more school - that is slightly less competitive - to ensure that you cover yourself if you don't want to accept your state secondary place. Hope this helps.

Lonestar123, Thank you for that message and the reassurance. Its nice to know that others have been in the same position and things worked out . I think my main worry is that we don't have a favourite fall back option if he doesn't get into an independent school. DS sounds similar to your eldest...he is bright but not exactly 'geeky' either. I have been reading how tough it is to get into RGS/Reeds and wondering if I am being far too optimistic and also naive for not having a back up plan! How does your son travel to RGS? I don't think they have any school buses do they? And is there another school that you can recommend to keep as our 3rd option?

@gogohm

Unless Croydon has done a 180 in term of quality of education, I wouldn't touch there state schools with a barge pole - I had a terrible education as did my family at various schools, my cousins still live there and none of their kid's completed sixth form, 2 didn't take GCSEs even

gogohm, Oh really? thanks for your input. I was not considering that option and now certainly won't.

I meant the 11+ for the independent schools, you don't need to be in any catchment for those.

@LefttoherownDevizes

That makes sense, I matter your first post and thought you were hoping to get a Croydon state place living in Woking!

I would look at Trinity (private) in Croydon as really really good for sports/arts, is academic but nowhere near the level of some others

LefttoherownDevizes, I will look at Trinity although it is far for us and they do not have a school bus to/near Woking. For independent schools do they check where you live and does that affect their decision to offer a place?

@LIZS

I meant the 11+ for the independent schools, you don't need to be in any catchment for those.

LIZS, Yes true but what I meant is that if we have to move to be in the catchment of a state school we have to do it before DS starts year 6 so since the state school offers come in March we would be too late to move outside Woking and just accept a place given to us.

@Spicenflavour , I think your first post was slightly misleading as some posters thought you were considering moving to Croydon but as you are staying in Woking then the Sutton grammar schools and Trinity are too far.

You should consider and visit St George's weybridge (it's catholic but you dont need to be catholic or religious to attend). Then also somewhere further into Surrey like churchers college.

If you have a tutor lined up for year 5 then you are already on your way through the process.

Alternatively look for a prep school for year 7/8 and somewhere like Wellington at 13+ entry, although check timing of their pretest. £££ too.

@Spicenflavour, most kids get the train. It actually works really well, very social and great for their independence. In terms of a third option - it's very personal - but i'm a big fan of Halliford, in Shepperton. Saying that, I also really liked Woking High - unfortunately, we just weren't quite in the catchment area.

@sunshineclouds24, thank you for that information. I will look at St Georges and pay a visit too and see if it is right for us.
Is there a limit to the number of independent schools one can apply for?

@LIZS, yes that could be an option, thank you for that suggestion.

@Lonestar123 thats good to know. I just quickly checked Halliford and it does seem nice. They also have transport to woking!! Might look into it a bit more and keep that as an option. Thank you for the suggestion.

[quote Spicenflavour]@sunshineclouds24, thank you for that information. I will look at St Georges and pay a visit too and see if it is right for us.
Is there a limit to the number of independent schools one can apply for?[/quote]
No but realistically so many exams and interviews take their toll and may clash. Also bear in mind some schools (RGS may well be one) do not reconsider an applicant who was not offered a place at 11+ for 13+ and some offer deferred 13+ places, with exam taken in year 6 or pretest.

@LIZS, thats true. I will keep it limited then in terms of number of schools and hope for the best! One more question - if DS gets into one of the independent schools then does it just progress as normal so year 7,8,9 and so on or does he need to again give a test or something else for 13+ in the same school?

Once admitted few schools retest unless they don't meet expectations.

Oh, come on! There are some of very good state secondaries in Croydon and nearby! Yes, you have to be in a catchment area (Woking is a bit, well a lot, too far) plus working hard (as in any other state or private school) and everything is achievable. Just in case the list of good secondaries: Riddlesdown Collegiate, Woodcote, Coombe wood, Warlingham High, Archbishop Tennison.... it's just few of them