St James Boys | Mumsnet

FromIndia · 2022-07-06T17:21:04+00:00

Hi! I have an extremely sporty (cricket and athletics) boy who is also has mild dyslexia and is not the most academic of boys. He’s super friendly and social child and loves nothing more than being part of a team. I’m looking at St James Boys for him and he’ll be joining in Year 7. Any parents here with boys who go there? Would you recommend it?

greenfingers2020 · 01/02/2023 10:21

Hi, which St. James are you asking about? Has your son been offered a place?

Original poster

FromIndia · 01/02/2023 15:49

@greenfingers2020 St James Senior Boys in Ashford (Surrey). Yes, my son goes there

OP posts:

greenfingers2020 · 28/02/2023 14:06

Hi, DS has been offered a place at St James for 2023, what has been your experience so far?

Rai28 · 28/02/2023 18:14

Hi ,it’s absolutely wonderful experience since my boy joined it he is very happy there
school have very relaxed kind of atmosphere

Original poster

FromIndia · 28/02/2023 18:32

@greenfingers2020 it's a very happy and relaxed school. A significant portion of children need some sort of learning support and school is absolutely able to rise to that need. Boys are sporty and thoughtful.

OP posts:

greenfingers2020 · 28/02/2023 18:46

Thank you. My son is more academic and plays tennis but not very sporty otherwise. Would you say there is more focus on sports rather than academics? Tomorrow is national offers day and he did very well in the Slough grammar school exams , we are finding it very difficult to make up our mind between Grammar schools or St. James.

Original poster

FromIndia · 01/03/2023 08:00

@greenfingers2020 St James is very good about including everyone in all sport and there is a real belief (which works well for my son) that sport is a crucial part of the curriculum but if your son is not into sport in general and is quite academic then probably not a good fit for him.

OP posts:

blanketblank · 16/03/2023 19:12

My son is at St J and isn't sporty at all - he's more into drama and music. The compulsory sport has been good for him but he's never done any after school sport and it hasn't been a problem. I don't think you have to be sporty to go there.

Archana2906 · 04/04/2024 19:34

blanketblank · 16/03/2023 19:12

My son is at St J and isn't sporty at all - he's more into drama and music. The compulsory sport has been good for him but he's never done any after school sport and it hasn't been a problem. I don't think you have to be sporty to go there.

@blanketblank can you share some latest feedback about the school culture and education system. Is it worth sending child there if haven't got any scholarships? Plz advise.

blanketblank · 04/04/2024 19:40

@Archana2906 what do you mean by the school culture and education system? Do you mean is it worth it over local state schools or it worth it over other independent schools? The education system is the normal one, they start GCSEs in y9 and do 9 or sometimes 10 (if they do further maths or Greek I think, my son doesn’t do those). It’s not highly selective so there is a mix of standards. I believe the results are published somewhere. The mindfulness is good, sports are good afaik. There have been some good residential trips which cost extra.

Dreams29 · 04/04/2024 19:56

blanketblank · 04/04/2024 19:40

@Archana2906 what do you mean by the school culture and education system? Do you mean is it worth it over local state schools or it worth it over other independent schools? The education system is the normal one, they start GCSEs in y9 and do 9 or sometimes 10 (if they do further maths or Greek I think, my son doesn’t do those). It’s not highly selective so there is a mix of standards. I believe the results are published somewhere. The mindfulness is good, sports are good afaik. There have been some good residential trips which cost extra.

Education system over state school. My son is academic and sporty. As I read so many parents talking, school is more into sports and not into academic is that true? They haven't published A+ results on the site.

blanketblank · 05/04/2024 09:25

@Archana2906 st james is not highly selective so it’s hard to compare their results with somewhere like Hampton/Tiffin etc where they only take the top academic kids. When we joined they had a good value added score which meant that they were good at improving the academics as the boys went through. There are some very academic boys in my son’s year, for example the ones on academic scholarships and they will get good results.

blanketblank · 05/04/2024 09:29

The subjects we have been really impressed with the teaching in particular are history, drama, dt, physics, English if that helps. My son is in set 2 for maths so I can’t comment on the high maths sets. The pastoral care has also been good and the site is lovely.

Dreams29 · 17/04/2024 19:40

blanketblank · 05/04/2024 09:29

The subjects we have been really impressed with the teaching in particular are history, drama, dt, physics, English if that helps. My son is in set 2 for maths so I can’t comment on the high maths sets. The pastoral care has also been good and the site is lovely.

Thanks for your reply, can you also help me with the class strength. I mean how many sections in any year group and how many average kids in a class?

blanketblank · 19/04/2024 07:43

There are three forms in year 7 and at least one more from year 9 I think.

Dreams29 · 19/04/2024 08:23

blanketblank · 19/04/2024 07:43

There are three forms in year 7 and at least one more from year 9 I think.

Thanks, can you also help me know how many approximate kids are in a single form/class/section?

blanketblank · 19/04/2024 13:58

I’m not totally sure as my son is older and it varies more by subject now- maybe 20ish? You’d be best to ask the school for up to date y7 info