Whitgift v St Dunstan's

[Edim]

Hello all,
any thoughts on this? I am so against in principle to boys only schools, but Whitgift is my son's favourite. He said commute (45-60 min) is not a problem, while I think it will tire him out eventually. I know many kids have long commutes to secondaries...and they love being on their phones or chat....
Unfortunately DS didn't pass our local co-ed school (Alleyn's) which has no other entry points before A levels...
Any experience about commuting Dulwich>Croydon is appreciated!

We are looking at the same choice should offers come in.

Pretty much the same area too as we are West Norwood, so Whitgift is slightly closer than Dunstan's which I'd imagine the opposite be true for you. There is a direct bus 468 that goes near us all the way to W, but Dunstan's would be a train then bus.

There is a school bus that runs via Dulwich, through WN, to W that takes about 30 mins, but that's 1k+ extra a term if you want am and pm.

Interestingly we did not get Alleyn's either (the exam clash with W meant we sat the reserve date), neither did a my DS's classmate who I thought was exactly what Alleyn's were after.

Same here! Dates clashed and my DS chose to sit his favourite first! When I called Alleyn's re the clash they said, please make sure your child sits his favourite school's exam on the official date because they know the performance decreases when they sit the reserve date... oh well!
The 468 goes through our street but door to door is 59 minutes for us! While the school bus would pick him up Herne Hill station at 7:15. Gosh, it would be so early! But I think the first year I would feel more comfortable with that. I have heard many boys take only on the return journey as apparently they have been 'approached' around Croydon stations. Don't know any details but I can see how early in the morning most of the wird characters are probably still sleeping!

Yes, it does seem very early compared to now, where we live 5 mins from the Primary and it starts at 9!

We weren't even asked to do the preferred school exam date first. They just asked if the new date worked and told to come then. Ah well, their loss (sort of... because we liked Alleyn's!). Now just have to wait to see what schools give us an offer.

We still have Dulwich next Monday and that's it.

I have heard many boys take only on the return journey as apparently they have been 'approached' around Croydon stations.

Oh I love Mumsnet! 😂

Namechanged so I don't out myself, but I live in South Croydon, close to Whitgift, one can't move for boys roaming around the streets at hometime. The only approaches I've seen at South Croydon are the local middle classed people asking them to get out of the way blocking the pavements as they converge. Seen kids from the Prep never mind the senior school. Many boys take the train back to north of the river to Victoria , many are local. I don't see hardly any boys waiting for buses.

If you think leafy South Croydon is dodgy, don't send your son to St Dunstans for god sake!

Whitgift is a better, more prestigious school than St Dunstans, your son will have done very well to win a place at either.

But make sure you have a back up plan, Whitgift attracts such a high volume of very bright boys , from all over the world, London families love the generous scholarships and bursaries and general deep deep pockets of the Whitgift Foundation. Unless I've read your post wrong and you're holding offers already.

Sorry meant Juniors rather than prep.

Though I have the unfortunate "privilege" of knowing two young men relatively recently ex of Whitgift and I'm not impressed, right bullies. I have an ex boyfriend who attended there um many years ago and they were gentlemen then, manners impressed upon them. It's a big school, make sure you know what you are looking at. No child wants to travel an hour each way

Thank you smokeandfire, the incident happened around West Croydon station as the boys were changing trains/bus. I also thought South Croydon was nice and quiet!
I much prefer it to Catford! We do have a back up plan, the North Charter which is an excellent school. Lots of local wealthy self called ‘liberals’ that are against private education send their kids there. I think it is probably a lot less diverse than Whitgift to be honest so would not be terribly keen if it wasn’t right behind our house…
To make the choice even worse, my DS plays and loves fencing and said (it’s early I know) he would like to get an IB! Offered in very few schools….

I lived in Croydon for several years, with stints near each one one of the 3 stations. South and East stations always felt very safe. I remember seeing a lot of W boys, some carrying instruments or sport equipment, around South Croydon station - all polite and looking happy. Often travelling as a group - I wonder if the school facilitate connections between boys from a same area.

West Croydon is admittedly a 'rougher' area. I never experienced or witnessed any problems myself but, now as a parent, probably wouldn't feel confident having any of my children travel there in a school blazer.

In the early years, I agree W's school bus would be the best option for your son - and it's a great way to make friends too. But yes, it would mean a particularly early start. And although children adapt to the routine, it must be draining. Think also about after-school clubs, weekend sport fixtures, etc. Personally, if I had an excellent comp on my doorstep, I'd go for that and complement with outside activities if need be. I completely understand why your son has been wowed by W tough!

I do not have any knowledge to share about St Dunstan's I'm afraid. Good luck with your choice!

Just to add, we turned down Whitgift for mainly money reasons as we could not afford private school and were earning too much for financial assistance and also slightly down the list we had travel / safety reasons, which I regret as they spooked us. I wish now we had done whatever we could to get my child in.

I now travel to Whitgift reasonably often. I like all the houses around the school. I don't find the walk to the train station an issue. I would agree that you don't see whitgift boys all that much on tfl buses but you do see them on trains. Boys have been approached at east Croydon.
.. but it is a dream of a school with outstanding staff and facilities. It really is exceptional and no match for St Dunstans. The boys seem so busy but in a good way. At weekends there always seems to be coaches and boys going to so many sporting fixtures or training.

The facilities are outstanding, the staff are amazing.

I have an issue with private schools generally but not Whitgift - the sporting and academics are outstanding. The Head seems excellent.

I also would not suggest any really long commute but for Whitgift I would make an exception. Boys travel long distances because it really does have something special about it.

That is my view anyhow.

Many boys take school coach at first and as they get older and more independent they find their own way there, but there are also lots of very expensive cars that do drop off and pick up.

You may want to take a closer look at St Dunstan's despite the slightly disparaging comments above. It's not perfect of course, but as parents, our feeling is that the school has been thriving under the current head, reflected in excellent university destinations and winning the Times Educational Supplement Co-Ed School of the Year award last year. They seem to be recruiting excellent teaching staff and numbers of applicants are going up speedily. Very different from Whitgift is my impression, but if you would like a very progressive and quite relaxed co-ed independent school with rising standards, an interesting curriculum and an extensive and lively co-curricular offering, it's worth a look. Depends also whether you prefer inner London or suburban - our impression is that makes quite a lot of difference to the parent body and atmosphere. It has suited our son, who is not particulary conformist and whose strengths are academic and musical and definitely not sporting, very well and I don't think he would have liked a boys' school in a suburban area all that much - but I'm sure others would find Whitgift suits much better.
I do think travelling far as a teenager is quite a big burden (though of course some say they don't mind) - after-school activities, evening events, hanging around with friends all become more complicated, and school life can be demanding enough especially when you get to the exam years without a big journey. We had that option at 11 and are very glad now not to have taken it.

Thank you shopziew and isa2 definitely food for thought! it will be a difficult choice if we get an offer from both.

i am not even sure how one can compare Whitgift to St Dunstans?! we pulled out of the process at St Dunstans after the open day as much as we paid for the application. was nothing standing out and kids' behaviour helping with the tours put us off entirely. yes, there is visible investment, yes it is progressive - although that's fairly subjective and people understand that in many different ways - but these things don;t help the comparison in any way with Whitgift. W is just in a different league. Also such a stark contrast to Whitgift where everything looked and felt right from the start, like someone else commented, 'the dream of a school'!
and if you think South Croydon is not safe enough i would think twice before using the nearest station to St Dunstans!

Ds now got an offer from both. We have no doubts Whitgift is the best option for him. We will try the commute for a year and see how it goes. We are renting so we are somewhat flexible as I work from home. St Dunstan’s is not behind the corner heaving to change 2 busses or 2 trains so it is 30-40 min compared to 45-55 and the difference is nothing compared to what they have on offer. Thank you everyone. DS is overjoyed while Dad still thinks comprehensive 5 min away is better! Oh well… it is a life choice after all. We ( my son and I) are not in for the connections or uni opportunities (which he could get to from any school really) but for the most enjoyable ride. And in any case nothing is set in stone. There is a lot of movement at 13 so if he really wants to he could transfer then. We have moved from state to prep in year 6 against all odds! Best decision ever as he had a nice group of kids sharing the ordeal of the 11+!

Congratulations to your big for securing two offers.

Whitgift has a massive breadth of opportunities on offer. I truly wish we could have afforded it.

I also think that lots of boys travel to Whitgift so your boy won't be alone. Also if you rent then it is a no brainier. The commute at first may seem a challenge but remember by the end of the first year your boy will probably be an old band at dealing with travel. Also I understand they have various coaches and put on courtesy shuttles to South Croydon.
Anyhow congratulations again!