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Secondary education

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Original poster

Is anyone else waiting for 11+ results from Guildford High School (GHS)?

83 replies

EducationComesFirst · 27/01/2023 11:56

The school said they would post them today. The wait is unbearable )))

OP posts:
Neverenoughflowers · 01/02/2025 19:02

I've got a niece there a family friend there at present - so two in total. I've known a number who have gone through and left too.

The 2 current ones are getting on well and seem to like it - my niece has definitely changed since being there though - she's definitely more up-herself.... for want of a better phrase! :-P I have to reassure her from time to time that the world doesn't centre itself around GHS. But good for her for the confidence! 😅

That said, apparently she is getting decent grades and seems to enjoy sport too. She's a bright girl, so I'm sure will do well.

We have a DD too, she's not at GHS, we've been in the area for nearly 30 years and I can say for certain that GHS wasn't for my daughter - she just wouldn't fit the mould. Despite certainly being bright enough to get in, should we have pushed her. And that's not to say the GHS mould is a bad one, not at all, it just doesn't fit every child and there are excellent schools for everyone - in fact in the area, we are certainly very blessed.

Good luck and well done to those getting in - its a hard and competitive process!

driedapricots101 · 10/02/2025 17:27

AndreaKnowsBest · 23/01/2025 19:35

That's great and I'm pleased you've had a good experience. But I'm sure we all know people with differing views on GHS, and one can't ignore that, especially given that everyone knows everyone within the surrey bubble.

Far from supportive happiness, I personally know multiple families and girls with first hand or friend experience of hot house environmentals.

Tests, where if one does badly, they go under rhe radar and pretend that it never happened. Peer pressure to success and a general feeling, especially as girls get older that weakness and bad marks makes one weak.

There's plenty more examples too, and these are not fabricated examples either, but very real and very representative. I feel it important every year to remind prospective parents that they are signing up to a 'brand name', where the brand alone simply fuels obsessional parents who want their girls to achieve, highly, at whatever cost.

The pressure to aspire to Oxbridge comes from a culture and self fullfilling peer pressure to get there or simply fail.

Edited

Could you possibly DM me to elaborate further on this side of things?

SchoolDilemma17 · 10/02/2025 18:53

AndreaKnowsBest · 23/01/2025 19:35

That's great and I'm pleased you've had a good experience. But I'm sure we all know people with differing views on GHS, and one can't ignore that, especially given that everyone knows everyone within the surrey bubble.

Far from supportive happiness, I personally know multiple families and girls with first hand or friend experience of hot house environmentals.

Tests, where if one does badly, they go under rhe radar and pretend that it never happened. Peer pressure to success and a general feeling, especially as girls get older that weakness and bad marks makes one weak.

There's plenty more examples too, and these are not fabricated examples either, but very real and very representative. I feel it important every year to remind prospective parents that they are signing up to a 'brand name', where the brand alone simply fuels obsessional parents who want their girls to achieve, highly, at whatever cost.

The pressure to aspire to Oxbridge comes from a culture and self fullfilling peer pressure to get there or simply fail.

Edited

I know three girls at GHS and one teacher. Nobody has ever reported about anything like that. The oldest girl is doing A Levels next year and is super grounded and confident. No pressure from anyone to even apply tto Oxbridge and for her subject Oxbridge is not even the best option.

driedapricots101 · 12/02/2025 22:11

Neverenoughflowers · 01/02/2025 19:02

I've got a niece there a family friend there at present - so two in total. I've known a number who have gone through and left too.

The 2 current ones are getting on well and seem to like it - my niece has definitely changed since being there though - she's definitely more up-herself.... for want of a better phrase! :-P I have to reassure her from time to time that the world doesn't centre itself around GHS. But good for her for the confidence! 😅

That said, apparently she is getting decent grades and seems to enjoy sport too. She's a bright girl, so I'm sure will do well.

We have a DD too, she's not at GHS, we've been in the area for nearly 30 years and I can say for certain that GHS wasn't for my daughter - she just wouldn't fit the mould. Despite certainly being bright enough to get in, should we have pushed her. And that's not to say the GHS mould is a bad one, not at all, it just doesn't fit every child and there are excellent schools for everyone - in fact in the area, we are certainly very blessed.

Good luck and well done to those getting in - its a hard and competitive process!

What is the mould?

Userno1 · 13/02/2025 12:06

There is no ‘mould’ - people’s opinions in this respect tend to be influenced by their experiences of one child or a few (out of more than 100 per year group) who attend where, as in any school, outside influences far outweigh any school influence. I have yet to meet anyone critical of the school or the girls where their daughters are pupils or past pupils. My daughter’s year group is diverse, with girls with a huge range of interests, skills and personalities. GHS aims to ensure that all girls have opportunity to be themselves through their learning and through the very wide range of extracurricular opportunities. To say there is a mould sits in judgement of the range lovely girls I have encountered across the school. That said, as with any school, some children and parents love the energy and buzz of the school, others prefer something different, which is down to choice. I don’t feel the need to pigeonhole children at any other schools based on their choices, and we have friends across lots of local schools whose kids seem just like mine, so find it bizarre that people do so with GHS.

Dontknowmuchanymore · 13/02/2025 22:41

Userno1 · 13/02/2025 12:06

There is no ‘mould’ - people’s opinions in this respect tend to be influenced by their experiences of one child or a few (out of more than 100 per year group) who attend where, as in any school, outside influences far outweigh any school influence. I have yet to meet anyone critical of the school or the girls where their daughters are pupils or past pupils. My daughter’s year group is diverse, with girls with a huge range of interests, skills and personalities. GHS aims to ensure that all girls have opportunity to be themselves through their learning and through the very wide range of extracurricular opportunities. To say there is a mould sits in judgement of the range lovely girls I have encountered across the school. That said, as with any school, some children and parents love the energy and buzz of the school, others prefer something different, which is down to choice. I don’t feel the need to pigeonhole children at any other schools based on their choices, and we have friends across lots of local schools whose kids seem just like mine, so find it bizarre that people do so with GHS.

Completely agree with this. I think any high achieving girls’ school invites aspersions from people who don’t have children there. Once in you realise all schools have a spectrum of personalities. My daughter went from being a shy child to finding her voice in such a school. Some may have perceive this as being over confident but i’m proud she has learnt to speak up for herself at last!

SchoolDilemma17 · 14/02/2025 07:06

I feel it’s slightly misogynistic to describe young women/teenagers as overconfident. Isn’t that what we want - to raise strong, confident, young women who believe they can achieve anything they want and who stand up for themselves?
I only know a small number of girls from GHS (but hoping mine can join next year), and they are all lovely: polite, confident, intelligent, can make conversations with adults.

Kaviya · 04/10/2025 15:59

MariaMangali · 05/12/2024 20:34

@Userno1 Hi , my DD has written stage 1 of GHS and she is invited for stage 2. My DD will start sept 2025, hoping it goes well. This is our first time with independent schools. Do you have any advice on the informal interview based on your experience. We visited the school last week. My DD liked the school . Any information will be really helpful ! Thanks

@MariaMangali

Hi My daughter do the test for GHS this November
Can you please advise me. We don't know about the test and Interviews. Some people said, CEM test it's very hard and comprehension is very difficult. Last year in the exam something about Spanish? It's true

Thanks in advance

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