RGS Guildford or Churchers?

[Avidgardner]

Help! DS has been fortunate to have offers from both RGS and Churchers for Yr7, but we are agonising over the decision. He is very academic, maths & science in particular, (excited at prospect of engineering-related afterschool clubs). He loves drama and is enthusiastic about sport but generally is in the bottom teams which causes him significant angst at his current all-boys prep school. Co-ed feels like a better fit for him, as he is quite sensitive, but no idea if Churchers will offer him the same academic stretch and opportunities as RGS? Any advise or experience of these two schools would be hugely appreciated!

Hi - congrats on both your offers, must be really pleased.

Please can I just check when you heard re RGS Guildford - we are also hoping for y7 entry but hadn’t expect to hear until next week but sounds like you have already heard? Thank you

I thought RGS offers were only coming out on 11th Feb?

I know nothing about Churchers, but specifically asked RGS about sport for the less sporty boys at an open day, as my DS is similar. Unlike some other schools (GHS, for example) they claim to be very inclusive with sports teams, and still do, for example, whole year group matches against other schools and make sure even the lower teams get good coaches. I was quite encouraged by this.

For the record, my DS seems unbothered by being in the lower teams at his prep.

@MumOfBoys1980 DS was invited to sit for RGS scholarship so we heard a while back about his place. Not sure when the final outcomes are being communicated.

@11Plus2022 Good to hear that. They all do claim to be inclusive on sports, but trying to get a feel for whether the A-team sporty-types "rule the roost" so to say, as this already seems to impact DS confidence at the moment, so bit of a consideration for us unfortunately.

@Avidgardner, that isn’t the impression I get of the school. In fact, relative to others in the area (St Johns, Reeds, Hamptons) it doesn’t have a reputation for being particularly strong sports wise, so my impression is that those for whom great sport is a priority are more likely to go elsewhere.

I suspect the ability range academically at Churchers will be wider than at RGS. If your DS is very bright (as I’m assuming he is given his academic scholarship invite) then he may well stand out academically more at Churchers than at RGS. Whether this is a good thing or not will depend on your DS.

@Avidgardner - congrats on your scholarship- that makes sense why you’ve heard already! I don’t know Churchers sorry but good luck with your choice

Academically - RGS
Prestige - RGS
Co-ed - Churchers
Fees - RGS given a scholarship.

Another consideration is how your DS would get to either school. You might be happy to drive in Y7, but not so later on. I imagine there are school buses, but how do these work with after school activities, etc.?

Thanks @craftygin - we are planning to move out of London based on what schools so location not a big decider. Churchers is significantly cheaper. Another puzzle piece to add to our confusion mix, but agree we probably have to plot the pros and cons!

Anybody have a DC at Churchers?

We are at RGS. Their sport is actually much better than I thought, they do have a lot of good sportsmen but they absolutely do include everyone in their teams. My DS hadn’t played rugby(state), was in the social team and gradually moved up to the 1st. My other DS does sport and is encouraged to join in but isn’t that bothered.
In terms of academics there is no competition as RGS is clearly highly selective. Your DS (even if a scholar) will not stand out IYKWIM, there will be many like him.
The difference is Co-Ed or not, which was my concern about the school. The boys mix with the GHS girls a lot, they catch certain trains to be with each other. They do mix in 6th form, which is a good thing.
Location of both schools is lovely, so it is really how you view the academic opportunities and your feelings about Co-Ed. A nice choice for you to have.

Interesting thread. We're waiting on hearing from RGS, having already had the offer from Churchers. We're assuming the offers go in the post on the 11th Feb. Curious to know if the "no's" were already sent last weekend (which, according to an older thread on here, would typically be the case).
There are other factors to consider comparing the two: RGS is in a busy town centre, Churchers is self-contained on the edge of town. Churcher's has a pool and on-site sports pitches.

@jimbobfruitbat

Interesting thread. We're waiting on hearing from RGS, having already had the offer from Churchers. We're assuming the offers go in the post on the 11th Feb. Curious to know if the "no's" were already sent last weekend (which, according to an older thread on here, would typically be the case). There are other factors to consider comparing the two: RGS is in a busy town centre, Churchers is self-contained on the edge of town. Churcher's has a pool and on-site sports pitches.

@jimbobfruitbat congrats on your DS Churchers offer and fingers crossed for Feb 11th. The bigger space and on-site facilities is a big plus to us for Churchers (plus co-ed, which is another big factor to us). Central Guildford traffic scares me a bit, but these might all be very peripheral considerations if RGS would mean significantly better future academic and other opportunities. Still a conundrum, would love to hear from anyone who might have chosen CC in a similar scenario.

Hi all, sorry to piggyback, but can anyone speak to the presence of any "whole child" nurturing at Churcher's? DS has a place for Sept, but he isn't at all sporty, adamant he doesn't want to play either rugby or cricket, is a sensitive soul and more of a science/ eng geek ;) Will he be judged for that by the sporty types? I know the school talks a lot about exam results, what about pastoral/ co-curric?

Update to this thread. After getting offers from both Churcher's and RGS, we chose Churcher's. Overall, we preferred a co-ed school, with a well rounded education experience. Three months in, it's all going well. Good feedback academically, great for music, sport and drama too.