Reed’s or St John’s Leatherhead

[saty1]

Hi!

My son has been fortunate enough to receive offers from both Reed’s and St John’s and we are struggling to choose. While I know he’d be very happy at both, I had a feeling that Reed’s was a bit more progressive, modern, innovative and careers oriented, and the students were more driven than at St John’s, but the sense I am getting from some other people (albeit a small sample size) is that St John’s may be considered more academic / coveted / prestigious.

I’d really appreciate thoughts as to whether the idea that St John’s may be preferable (for whatever reason) is just reflective of outdated views on academic attainment at Reed’s (GCSE and A level results look pretty indistinguishable to me) or if there are other factors I am missing - co-ed vs boys is not a dealbreaker for me as I see pros and cons of each.

Thank you!

We have an offer from Reeds (likely to be declining in favour of another school) but didn't do St John's. My perception was Reeds was slight ahead academically but not much in it (for context if helpful, R no. 90 in Sunday times league and St J No. 98). Both lovely schools with great facilities - preference may come down to journey and preference for co-Ed / boys only..

I’d say there’s not much in it between them, maybe Reeds slightly ahead academically but these are both good schools and kids prob snd up in the same universities. Perhaps look at logistics, length of school day, sport, what’s important for your son. We have an offer for St. John’s and waitlisted for Reeds. One is much closer to us and I put ease of getting to school at the top of my list! Driving to fixtures on Saturdays etc

Sorry to jump on this thread, but I wondered if anybody wouldn’t mind messaging about your experience with the Reeds 11+ process? We will be applying for our son in September 2024 Entry for Year 7!

Hi @Couldtherebe4 - we applied to and got an offer from Reeds this year (we accepted a different offer). The 11 plus process was rather distant - first there was the ISEB test which can be done in many venues (and some can do at their own school). We did it at a different school we applied to. Then there was an online interview - all applicants were interviewed. It lasted about 5 minutes. I was listening (as it was virtual) - I really do not think it went very well but my son got an offer - which makes me think they are all about the exam results. I must say I found it very impersonal as we didn't get to go to the school for any part of the process, and so felt disengaged from it - despite really liking it when we viewed it. Hope that helps - they may change the process next year of course....

Thank you @Dallasdays , that’s really helpful. Shame to hear it wasn’t more personal. Best of luck with your son’s next school!

100% agreed with @Dallasdays about Reed's process feeling a bit impersonal. The scholarship application is where we saw more of their human side :) as it took place in person at the school.

Not sure if this helps, but don’t pay too much heed to the application process. Eg when we did the 11+, by far the friendliest school was Hampton. After we rejected it, they dropped us like a rock (didn’t send one of their nice emails to wish son well, etc, as you might have thought based on their super niceness before). Friends son went, hated it until year 9. Suffered low self esteem, awful. Not at all what you’d have thought based on their marketing.

Yes I’ve experienced this from Dulwich many years ago…wrote them a really lovely email to say thanks for the scholarship offer etc but we’re accepting another school and I never heard back from them!! 🤷🏻‍♀️ However my son did go to Hampton and he’s loving it so it really is key getting the right school for your child.

Same - we had accepted the 10plus and been to all sorts of welcome stuff. We decided ( after a lot of thought) at 11plus to go elsewhere and wrote a nice email etc. Never even received an acknowledgement- assume they received it as we were never asked for any fees!

That is really helpful insight @Doodaadoo and @Tolacar . So much to consider isn’t there! Thank you both 🙏🏻

And @veryverybored - thank you!

I would prefer St.Johns over the other based on my niece's experience. She hated in Reed’s.

My eldest got offers from Reeds , Epsom and St Johns - as did my younger son .Reeds is an excellent school. My eldest chose Reeds as he liked it the best . My eldest just left and moved to uni getting his first choice uni as did all his friends .My younger son is in middle school . I have a daughter who is 12 and I very much hope she will go to Reeds 6 th form .
A level results this year were extremely high at Reeds despite the grade boundaries changing. They all did extremely well . There is a perception that you have to be very sporty to do well . You can do well if you are not sporty at all . There is something for everyone . You need to go to an open morning or two to get a feel of the school and the head master Mr Hoskins.
It’s nurturing and supportive and the teachers really care for the boys.
They know how to look after teenage boys and get them through difficult phases of growing up .
Girls join in 6 th form .
We feel very lucky that our sons got places at Reeds it’s been fantastic . We haven’t looked back and my eldest son had the best time -has a great cohort of friends that he hopes he will always remain close to. That to us speaks volumes .

My brothers son was at Reeds and left after a year, and started at St John’s purely done to home relocation.
Reeds priorities are the sports, a lot take place during normal lessons. My nephew struggled with the catch up. St John’s offer a wide range of sports too but the priority is firmly the lessons. They come first. This worked much better for him even though he is talented at hockey and rugby. His GCSEs were a string of top grades, not bad for a boy who was pretty average.

Speaking as a parent of a current child and one that left last year so know first hand -re Sport some opt out of rugby and other sports and that’s fine . Grade wise my son got 9 for GCSE s and A levels 3x A*. I wouldn’t call him an elite sportsman he played sport for the camaraderie and being part of a team. It never interfered with grades or lessons .

We are just making the same decision for DS2 as have received offers from Reeds and St John's (also applied for a boarding school but fees are just too far beyond us now).

As mentioned above, we felt we saw less of Reeds, whereas at the St John's open day it felt like we saw everything.

Balanced against that, teachers at his current school have lots of good things to say about Reeds, though they seem to know less about St John's.

Reeds recent league table results seemed lower than St John's - not sure of I'm reading them correctly though - and all schools have different year groups with different profiles.

Would be grateful for input from current parents on the academic standards, @StAntongirl4ever and @saty1 if you are still reading!