Greycoat Hospital - what is it really like??

[tigerbear]

Hi all,
Much to our complete shock, our DD has been offered a place at GCH.
Never in a million years thought she’d get it, and like everyone else who applied, we didn’t get the opportunity to do a tour of the school or meet any of the teachers, so we have no real idea what to expect.

DD is very upset at the thought of going because of fear of the unknown, because her close friends aren’t going, because it’s quite a distance from where we live and so on.
(She’s aware that she’s incredibly lucky to have been offered a place, and feeling guilty that she’s not happy about it)

Any advice and info on what the school is REALLY like from those whose DD’s are there (or attended recently) would be massively appreciated.
Ie, where do most of the students live (I know it’s very diverse and scattered, but just wondering if a lot live very near, or the majority live on the outskirts? We’re SE London, so worried about the commuting time. Not sure if we should consider a move closer into town (but our budget wouldn’t go far)

• what are the start and finish times of the school day, length of lunchtime/breaks?
• is it very strict?
• what are the facilities like?

It all seems like such an unknown entity/mystery - any proper insight would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

@BlackLambAndGreyFalcon Great news! Good luck!

If anyone who has a daughter starting in Sept 2024 I’d love to hear from you!

My daughter is currently at GCH in the Lower School and like @tigerbear I wouldn't necessarily choose it again.

DD is highly academic and high achieving, and we turned down hothouse indies for GCH, in the hope that it would be the best of both worlds - able to stretch her but caring and diverse.

This academic year the school has raised the ante on what were already very strict rules. All perceived infractions incur a 30minute detention - no warnings, no second chances. Recent reasons for detention include: writing on both sides of the page; having a calculator on which a button is broken; underlining when you should not underline; not having the right book just once. We had understood 'strict' to mean 'orderly' but in practice it seems to just mean 'punitive'.

DD has not actually received a detention, and instead, like many girls in her class, lives in a state of very high anxiety about getting something wrong. Many of the high-achieving girls report hating school, feeling down, and not wanting to go. Individual teachers are excellent and caring, but the overall corporate approach is fairly brutal. Communication with parents is patchy. So while I am sure it will suit many girls, I no longer think it is akin to winning the school place lottery - do think carefully before accepting a place.

@HonestViewer my DD starts in September and is incredibly excited! Happy to connect. I taught at the school for a long time myself and honestly it's an absolutely wonderful place to be.

@Wimblmum Really interesting to hear your views as a teacher - were you teaching there recently? There is a lot of disquiet among parents Y7-9 and rumblings that the school is no longer what it was.

My dd is in year 7 and disappointed the nice teachers are leaving!

Yes, until relatively recently (I won't name the year so as not to completely out myself!) I wonder whether there's been a real change in the culture at lower school, or something more individual. It would surprise me if the former as anybody who knows Ms. Young knows that consistency in standards (with nurturing environment being one of the most central) is something she has basically hand crafted and single handedly preserved for years. Staff look up to and respond to her pretty much as wholesale as the girls do. Do you get the impression the changes are top-down @TheOpalCat?

The other option is more individual. So every year there are girls who find the standards around organisation something to behold - and I'd agree, that can be to the point of some of them either getting frequent detentions or avoiding them but feeling nervous about getting into trouble. In my experience though this will be for non delivery of homework/ lateness type stuff - not for a broken button on a calculator level mishaps! That latter example must surely be a matter of tweenaged chinese whisper gone mad?!

Forgot to add - the lovely teachers leaving. Are we talking new teachers or the old guard? Certainly one of the things that creates such a family feel and sense of security at the school is the fact that so many teachers spend great chunks (if not entirety of their) careers there.

Thank you @wimblmum
We decided it wasn't for us, it was our 4th choice, no idea how we got in. We successfully appealed and got our first choice, and one the same day our second choice called and offered her a place.
To a family recently moved from Hampshire the London system is very fluid
Good luck to your daughter 😊

My youngest is going and my eldest is about to start year 9 (so we clearly like it)! My eldest has an hour commute and knew no one but she loves it! She is really happy. They are very different children but I am confident my youngest will be fine. The commute is long but as a result my eldest is so confident on public transport - and will take herself off all over the place now! I can really recommend this school!

I’m just here to say, it’s been incredibly useful to read all these comments.

the secondary school preparation has given me many sleepness nights!

we are due to go to open evening on the 3rd October for GCH.

I think my worry was the strictness on lateness? If my DD gets in it’s a straight bus but around an hour door to door

@IAmMum85 they are hot on punctuality but I guess most schools are. My dd gets the tube and has been late once when the line was down (and school was fine with that). Otherwise she leaves home 15 mins earlier than she needs to as she doesn’t want a late detention! They do say on induction leave plenty of time to get in

I agree on lateness. If the lines go down and there is a known issue or a significant one off then that is understandable but they are pretty strict otherwise and we leave in plenty of time (you can get into the building from 0745). Takes my daughter just under an hour on the tube so she leaves home at 7.15!

My dd has just started Year 7 and is absolutely loving every moment! She has quite a long commute (45 mins to hour dependent) but, as others have said, just leaves plenty of time for wriggle room/ delays and enjoys going in nice and early, and grabbing a bit of breakfast and chat with her new friends (the doors being open from 7.45 but 'lateness' only happening from 8.30 there really is a nice window of opportunity to play with). Finally reiterate what others have said - reason is applied - if it really is beyond a girl's control on a certain day the school does understand.

@emilyant what time does school start?

@Wimblmum oh lovely…that’s very reassuring to know.

School starts at 8.30. We aim for 8.15!

Just hopping on here to say that I have two daughters at GCH, in years 8 and 10. Yes, it's strict, but we and they are very happy there. The teachers are young and smart, full of enthusiasm, and both girls settled in quickly, getting used to the journey to school and making friends within a term or two of starting. It took me longer to adjust to secondary school to be honest! The girls take responsibility for their own homework and much of the school comms which I love, both because they are learning life skills and also because it means less for me to worry about. 😀

I have a daughter in Y9, and she absolutely loves GCH! She just helped out on the open days and tours, so probably met you @IAmMum85

My DD likes rules and a rigid structure, and is flourishing within this environment.

@tigerbear as this is your old thread - I'm so pleased to see that things worked out for you and your dd all those years later!

Ha, @SkattieCat , thank you! I only realised after I’d posted that this was indeed my old thread 🤪

Glad to hear it is going well.

Do most people get in on church places? I.e. without five years attendance is it impossible to get in (accept for the language places that is?)

THANKS

@IrisOlympia I’m pretty certain that admission is only via church attendance and the very limited number of language places.

Thank you, we have a few more years until we need to apply but it sounds like a great school so will certainly go for the language test :)

What an amazing thread on GCH! So many different opinions and first hand experiences from old students and teachers , very grateful for those conflicting views as always better to have a wider picture. @tigerbear your story particularly is an interesting one and wondering what made you change your mind? Or rather what happen so that your daughter and yourself felt better about the school? I appreciate ups and downs are part of life, but choosing GCH versus a local state school will almost have a life changing impact on my daughter so really very careful before taking this decision. My daughter is in Y5 now and I went to the open day in October and Mrs Young did say one thing which made me think : ‘why would anyone pay for private education when they can go to Grey Coat’. Is this really the case?

I would guess that Mrs Young means 'we get the same results' – which is absolutely true, indeed GCH often do better.

GCH is a very, very strict school and you need to be very confident that your child will cope. This is particularly true if you have a high-achieving striver. If this is you/you're planning on getting a languages place, I'd urge you to try and get feedback from parents IRL with children currently in the lower school to assess whether it's the right school for you.