Independent schools - Cheltenham/Gloucester/Cirencester

[Sablepooties]

Hello all,
I am looking for some advice.
My DD (9 ys - yr 4) is currently at an independent prep school in Cheltenham. It is a fantastic school and we have absolutely no complaints, indeed my older son has bloomed there. The school is widely regarded as a 'Grammar Crammer' and has done exactly what it said on the tin for our son. However, despite how happy we are with the school there is no denying that the high academic pace of life is having an adverse impact on DD. She is struggling and starting to really lose confidence, despite heroic interventions by the school. They have really been fantastic and I couldn't recommend them enough for the right child, but sadly it just isn't her.

We just want her to be happy and confident and so have decided that she needs a bit of nurturing and the pressure being taken off her. Therefore, we are now looking at an independent prep/secondary school to possibly join at year 5.

We have been recommended Kings School Gloucester and Rendcomb College and are looking to book tours/taster days for both. We were attracted to Rendcomb as it has a good reputation for SEN and pastoral care and my daughter is very outdoorsy, has a pony etc. However, I have seen reports that it isn't academically strong and that Kings would be a better choice. Kings would be quite the journey into Gloucester everyday, but for the right school we would make it work.

Our current headmaster has been wonderful in discussing this with us and has suggested against the ultra competitive CLC or CC or even Dean Close may not be suitable for her, and so we are looking at the alternatives.

She is a bright girl, enjoys science, art and music, is very mildly dyslexic but manages well with little support if given time to process information. I think in the right environment she would regain her confidence and blossom, and so I am trying to find a balance between pastoral care and academic achievement .

I would be very grateful for any advice or experiences that anyone may have.

Any experiences good or bad welcome x

How far are you willing to look?

Ideally the Cheltenham/Gloucester/Cirencester area or wider Cotswolds. We are quite central. Do you know of somewhere?

I'm guessing your DD is at Richard Pate. I honestly would try for CC prep. Compared to RP its not as crammy. They crank it up in senior when most kids are ready. The Saturday school spreads the load a little. We found Dean Close more academic than CC. Alternatively Rendcomb is a good shout.

Just to add, we recently had a similar search but DD got a space in a dyslexia school in London which we couldn't pass up so the sale in Cheltenham fell through. We did an extensive search as DD has an EHCP for dyslexia so probably more severe than your DD. It's only because of the way funding works in our borough though, she shouldn't really have it. She is in y9 so a bit older but hopefully this helps. This was our list in order of how we felt the school was. Our priority was support plus high academic standards. Sometimes those two don't go hand in hand and we didn't want that.

1. Wootton House Gloucester I think she would've gone here. We loved it. At first I thought it was too quirky but i was won over on second visit. 2)Rendcomb
2. Kings Gloucester
3. Wycliffe last only because it was quite far. We looked at Acorn but that was too much for us. CC was good but they promised far more than I know a school can provide so that was a big no.

Rendcomb is an outstanding school! My kids are achieving so well there and getting really high grades x

We nearly placed DD at Bredon School near Tewkesbury, it's an amazing place. I deeply regret that we didn't as she ended up coming out of mainstream education as a result.

www.bredonschool.org/ it's rural, and they excel in dyslexia.

Thank you all for your responses. You’ve all been so helpful.
Meadowbreeze - interesting re. CC maybe we should reconsider. We are also looking at Wycliffe. No she doesn’t have a EHCP - she doesn’t needs a slightly slower pace to absorb but would be fine in mainstream.
Thank you Ladyoftheprom - I agree, we did really like Rendcomb especially the fantastic SEN support, I have just been put off by some posts on here stating that it’s not all that academic. I agree though that there are so many parents that think it is a very special school for the family orientated approach.
Badger1970 - we did look at Bredon . I agree it is a lovely school and fantastic ethos. However when we viewed we looked at some of the work of the current year 6’s and it is work my daughter is doing now (and managing) so we didn’t think it would give her the academic side that she also needs.
Its a tricky one isn’t it? She is absolutely bright enough to work to a good standard, her dyslexia isn’t severe enough to warrant a huge amount of support, but she just needs a slower pace to get there.
x

Don’t discount CC Prep. It caters for a wide range of academic abilities and has a fantastic educational/emotional support dept.

I’d also visit DC as I’ve known of a couple of children needing extra support and they’ve been very happy there.

If you’ve got a specific requirement of a school, you really should go and get a feel of the place and hear the relevant staff speak about what they can offer and compare. It makes the decision so much easier.

Thank you. I’m hearing lots of suggestions for CC. We only initially discounted it on our headmasters recommendation on perhaps not being the best fit for her, but we will revisit this.
Yes we have tours and initial meetings booked for most so hopefully we will get a feel for the best school.

A friend of mine has children at Hereford Cathedral School - not sure if that's too far but she really rates it.

Exit results for Cheltenham College are very similar to those of the best performing stare comprehensive locally - which would suggest, on the face of it, that it is not highly academically competitive.

My children were at Rendcomb, one still there. I’ve got one son about to graduate with a first and the other got no lower than an A grade at GCSE. Wouldn’t worry about academic excellence! They loved it and continue to love it!

CC is definitely not an academic hothouse. Something to think about is that it’s a predominantly a boarding school though so school, even for day pupils, is pretty much 7 days a week most weeks

Have you looked at St Edwards? Always been strong in pastoral care but seem to be ‘meh’ but the new head teacher has an amazing reputation and everyone seems to be v impressed

Everyone I know who has kids at Kings loves it! I think it’s a good all rounder type school. Music / drama are strengths

Rendcombe ….mmmm….it’s doesn’t have a very academic reputation. Seems to have a lot go on to the Ag college. Bit of a niche one I think

Kings Gloucester had a terrible reputation for any sort of pastoral care I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole

My children go to Rendcomb and yes one pupil from Rendcomb went to the Ag College a couple of years ago as far as I remember, so I wouldn’t say that they all go to the Ag College. I am amazed that comments on here say Rendcomb isn’t academic! It is an holistic, happy, outdoor school with adventurous children, who go to top universities. I chose it instead of the grammar schools for my children. Worth looking at the last few years results too! Grade percentages are on a par with Crypt Grammar!

I have to weigh in that in my experience King's has excellent pastoral care. It's what set it apart from the others, as well as the no-boarding element. A lot of the other schools we looked at do boarding, which we felt could create a 2-tier element where day pupils are out of a big part of school life, and we felt there may be a risk that they would be treated differently by the boarding kids.

Some subjective impressions, boarding considerations aside:

Dean Close impressed, but was a bigger school (and IIRC bigger class sizes, but don't quote me).

Cheltenham College felt too competitive (for kids and parents) and showy.

Rendcomb was a nice place with lovely grounds, felt safe, but we felt was unconvincing academically.

Teddy's (St Edwards, Cheltenham) seemed a little chaotic with slightly stressed teachers. Nice grounds though. Haven't heard great things.

King's Gloucester has small class sizes in the junior school (15/16-ish kids) so good for individual attention to suit a child's needs, good for sport, good academically, and happy, confident kids -- which was a standout reason for us. Our ds actually looks forward to going to school (said unprompted), and it's for the lessons, he says, not just for the break times or sport!

Seriously, this might seem like overly simple advice but I'd go with your gut instinct on which school to choose. I'm a secondary teacher so have a fair understanding of the Gloucestershire schools. I think a child with a supportive and engaged family where education is valued will do well in whichever school they are placed in. Just out of interest have you completely ruled out state schools?

My two children are very different and although one of them gained a place at the school that is considered nationally as a 'holy grail' establishment in Gloucestershire they just didn't like the feel of it and we thought it might not suit their personality so we stuck with our gut and honestly it was absolutely the correct decision.