Woldingham School: please help

[GYgirl]

Hi - my DD has been offered a place at Woldingham School and has her heart set on going there. She would have to commute from Clapham Junction. The commute is doable and she could also flexi board one or two nights at week so I'm not too worried about the commute but I am worried about whether she'll have any friends that she'll be able to hang out with at weekends and that don't live too far away.
Is anyone else thinking of commuting from Clapham Junction for Year 7 2022 entry or have daughters that do it at the moment?

Hi @GYgirl. My daughter is a sixth former at Woldingham. She gets to school via one of their minibus routes. There will be a substantial number of girls in your DD's year taking the train from Clapham Junction as it is so straight forward - my DD estimates it is easily a third of the intake in some years, so she will not be alone. The school has heavily marketed itself in recent years to attract 'London girls', and has even compromised some of the longstanding school traditions (such as changing timings of the House Festival that starts off the academic year) to adapt to the increasingly London centric mix. For girls that have been in the school a long time these changes have not been welcomed, but they will make life more convenient for you.

My son gets the train from CJ to Caterham school, and I drop him off at CJ in the mornings. There are lots of Woldingham girls getting the same train - I'd think your DD would not be on her own by any means.

Lots of girls commute, and lots of the boarders spend weekends in London. It’s a nice school, I’m sure she’ll enjoy it.

Thanks for all the helpful comments. It does seem like a lovely school and my DD is very keen.

Very exciting for her to have found a school she loves. Best of luck to her!

Hello, in a similar position this year. Did you choose Woldingham and how happy are you and your daughter?

We did choose Woldingham and my daughter is really happy there. Lots of girls get the train from Clapham Junction and she seems to quite enjoy the train journey. She also flexi-boards one night a week, which she loves.

@GYgirl Thanks so much for posting. We have an offer from Woldingham and are seriously considering - can I ask you what time does your DD get back to CJ in the evening? I know that they are taken to the station via minibuses but also appreciate that, due to numbers, they might have to wait...

The school day finishes at 4pm and so if she doesn’t have any clubs she gets the 4.29 from Woldingham and is at CJ for just before 5pm. She hasn’t had any problems with getting that train

@GYgirl , thanks so much. Really useful to know.
It is the 7.29 from CJ in the morning, isn't it?

Thank you so much, my daughter is so excited about Woldingham, it's just such a big decision.

@QuiteAJourney yes it’s the 7.27am from CJ.

Many thanks 🙏

Sorry to revisit an old thread but I have a friend's daughter starting in Y9 in September. She is keen to know about after school clubs; what kind of options they have and how long they go on for. She is considering flexi-boarding if they are late depending on what they are. She has only just accepted the offer so hasn't had any pack yet, which might give more of a fixed list of clubs?