Tonbridge or Sevenoaks?

[thesootherfairy]

DS has unconditional offers for both. DS wants Tonbridge. Both offers are for day not boarding.

Both are great but quite different.

I've had lots of advice already but just looking for different views I guess. DH did Highers in Scotland and I did Baccalaureate in an EU country. I found the Baccalaureate really valuable and supposed I was hoping DS would choose this.

Insights gratefully received.

Following! We are also considering this. My DD went to Sevenoaks and found the IB very challenging but valuable. My DS is more science/ mathsy so wondering if A-levels would be better for him. I also like the pastoral care/ day houses at Tonbridge. My DS prefers Tonbridge, we like Sevenoaks...

Tonbridge for me. I guess it also depends if you prefer mixed or boys only. I also prefer A Levels to IB as my DS is more into Maths/Science. DS will be joining Tonbridge this Sept and we really do love the school so far, he had a Novi visit in March where the boys spent 2 days at the school and he really loved it, the house system is great as well as the academic and co-curicular depth and breadth, really hoping younger DS will follow. My friend who has a son in Year 9 said the days can be quite long and they finish around 6pm sometimes, there is also Saturday school till midday and fixtures afterwards, not sure if it is the same at Sevenoaks.
I guess they're both great schools, just depends which you think will be a better fit for your DS.

Interesting, thank you @iamthankful, will your son board? What house will he be going into?

I had one in each. Both fabulous schools. For me personally I prefer Tonbridge due to the long traditions and the house system and the sports are of a higher standard. And I love the fact everyone has to do everything so I feel students do beg to experience the extracurriculars on offer.

However both DS loved their schools and the Sevenoaks DS chose to stay in sevenoaks for sixth form even though he would have preferred AL over IB. Sevenoaks school is very international and has very few traditions. And you have to be a self starter as no one encourages you to participate in any of the 200 extracurriculars on offer.

That's interesting @chopc, I was wondering how they get them involved in clubs etc. I think my DS would love the eco club and science clubs but he can be shy so might need a prod.

Do you know what happens with phones at Tonbridge? I was alarmed how many of the kids were glaring at their phones in the year 7 common room when we visited Sevenoaks.

@HandyGirl76 that I am not sure about

Thank you. DS loves maths and science. I think he's probably more suited to a levels. His preference is Tonbridge so we are accepting the offer. DS is very excited. I'm very happy for him.
I went to an international school which is why I liked Sevenoaks so much. However it is DS who is going and not me so Tonbridge it is. 😁

@HandyGirl76 regarding your question on phone policy. I find it very liberal...a little too liberal. Effectively many of the boys go from no phones at school to excessive use esp in Yr1. I think this could be alot better managed. They will say the boarders dont have access after 9:30/10pm but during the day very little is managed - its a free for all. It is down to individual house master to manage the time or lack thereof - so usually boys all have their phones with some unusual instances. I contrast this to some schools where day pupils hand there phones in at the beginning of the day and receive them back at the end of the day (or when going home for day pupils). Some schools do this for forms 3-5 (up to GCSE). Sixth form have detox days. I don't believe it is well managed - and it wouldn't be difficult to implement.

Same dilemma for us at the moment; we need to make up our minds by Friday. Did you go for Tonbridge or Sevenoaks eventually? And what's the experience after the first year?

@DiRad we have the same deadline and have gone for Sevenoaks

Thank you @sevensister For us it's the same as @HandyGirl76 and @thesootherfairy Our son prefers Tonbridge, we kind of like more Sevenoaks because of the IB and co-ed, also more progressive. Very interesting insight from @chopc about participation in clubs encouraged at Tonbridge vs being more self-driven at Sevenoaks ... Phew such a difficult choice ...

@DiRad it depends heavily on IB vs A levels I think. DS likes to study multiple subjects broadly and wouldn’t like to go deep into sciences or maths or classics. I don’t see him studying maths or a science at university so I feel IB suits him better for practical life skills. Luckily he also feels the same way. How about your DS?

@sevensister I agree IB vs A-levels is key and for me this is the main advantage of Sevenoaks; my son is an all rounder still, but also goes deep into a topic, which captures his interest - History, IT, Physics and Geography are his favourite. He is also trilingual and good at languages - which seems to be better supported at Sevenoaks? .
Any feedback on the level of modern languages taught at Tonbridge?