Stowe school

[Bedsmum66]

Hi all, we really liked Stowe for day option. Loved it looking around. We have three bright sporty kids. However, I have read so much negativity here that it has left serious doubts in my mind. I can’t reconcile the reputation with the type of kids that I know are going locally who include lots of hard working bright kids. Guess I’m looking for a bit of reassurance that the kids work hard and my money won’t be wasted!!

Not my experience. Grammar school feeds the state school stats at the end of the day.

Contextualisation is a lot broader than just state/indie divide. Many top universities focus on a mix of contextual considerations and a grammar school DC from an affluent background is going to be pretty much in the same boat as the DC from a selective independent school.

No. State is state and Oxbridge love grammars. However if dd isn’t bothered about that it’s not important. You will get somewhere, even usa.

No @TizerorFizz . This is the kind of rhetoric spouted by independent school parents whose DC fail to secure Oxbridge places as it helps to believe that the odds are all stacked against them. Yes state school representation has increased in recent years at Oxbridge but it is more a function of the success of widening participation efforts and more clever state school DC applying than anything else. If what you say is true then schools like Westminster wouldn't be getting any Oxbridge places and if you look at the numbers they are still really quite healthy. I find such assertions really insulting to state DC who are more than worthy of their places at high ranking universities.

Ok. But Westminster is not Stowe. Plus many grammars are in leafy areas and have healthy Oxbridge numbers. Bucks grammars never had loads. In my day - none or one! Has anyone looked at grammar numbers to top unis?Anecdotally holding up I think. Happy to see stats clearly demonstrating their demise. However Stowe isn’t a big hitter for Oxbridge and most there won’t be applying. Other first class unis are available.

There's a lot of talk about Stowe historically not being academic, but it is a fact that currently, unlike the majority of similar schools, they spend 3 years doing English Language GCSE instead of 2 (the course is designed to be completed in 2 years). I would not want a bright DC at a school with such a slow pace of learning.

but many parents there are rich so DC don’t all need elite careers.

This quote from @TizerorFizz sums it up pretty well for me and echos my own experience of it (although I did not attend Stowe myself I am very close to both friends and family who did).

It's all well and good for the children who never need to worry about financial security, but if your DS isn't from this sort of background then this is a really risky environment for him to be exposed to imo. The toxic combination of loads of money, without the respect for hard work and pressure to succeed that you get in high achieving public schools, might rub off on him. I would prefer a more down to earth grammar school option myself.

Although I take your point that if the child in question is a day student then there is greater opportunity for their parents to mitigate the impact from their peers.

@MisschiefMaker Its not fair to say better off Dc do not work. DD2 attended another school MN parents would not look at. Many DDs didn’t need to work in a career, but they did actually work at school. Their results were pretty good and they often went to very decent universities. I found the DDs pleasant and fun. They were not hugely academic, like my own DD, but they worked. My own DD worked very hard at her A levels to get high grades.

What some then don’t need to do is compete in the jobs market. They have family jobs lined up or do a bit of low level PR, event management or pursue their career in art or fashion because parents can get them noticed! We found many parents had very high flying careers and took the pressure off their DCs.

At schools like Stowe this is not a majority and, as it has day pupils, it’s a different mix. I’ve yet to see an expensive boarding school where every pupil gets an outstanding job. Some simply do other things because they can. It doesn’t mean they don’t work at school or are a nuisance. They are often really nice young people and they don’t affect what other DC decide to do. It’s not catching!

Here is your answer re. Schools and Oxbridge.

If you scroll down, it gives the mixed picture of state and independent.

https://www.keystonetutors.com/news/oxbridge-which-schools-get-the-most-offers#

24 of the state schools on the list are definitely selective. So no demise at all. (I think I’m correct!) Some, like the Hampshire 6th form colleges are giants. This just proves what I thought. The grammars do well. It’s not as if everyone can get into Oxbridge so does it matter?Plus many of those schools are day schools. If you don’t live within reach that's it. Or have catchments if Bucks. My DD got a place at Aylesbury High. On the list but so what? It was not for us.

Who spoke about the demise of grammars apart from you @TizerorFizz ? The table shows that the independents are still doing just fine with their Oxbridge stats, contrary to the beliefs of some on here.

Do you know what? I simply don’t care. Hopefully the OP doesn’t either. Who goes where nationwide is irrelevant and we were talking about Stowe. Nowhere else other than a Bucks grammar.

You don't have to care but neither do you have to make glib statements like "No state is state and Oxbridge loves grammars" without any foundation other than dated anecdata.

Well @marmite2023 helpfully posted a link which proved the point.

Of course the top independents are still doing well, but are they taking the numbers they were 30 years ago - no.

Ironically, I’m coming at this from the opposite position to your assumption.

Quite. Not sure what the point of bringing up Oxbridge on a thread about Stowe is.

@Mirabai it's not ironic. It's just different perspectives. IMO thankfully Oxbridge are not taking the numbers they were thirty years ago from independents, largely because a much higher number of clever DC are now applying from state schools due to the success of WP initiatives. The independent DC now have much more competition. That is very different from your assertion that it is much easier to get into a good university from a state school. Maybe you should be asking TizerorFizz what the point of bringing up Oxbridge was as 'Oxbridge loves grammars' was her throwaway comment and I don't think anyone had mentioned Oxbridge before that point.

The grounds at Stowe are amazing (my son's county team were based there).

It may be unfair but Stowe has historically had a bit of a reputation for being unacademic with a larger drugs problem than most of its peers. That came from a friend who's a head in the independent sector and another friend who's always worked in private schools.

Things may have moved on so rumours should probably be treated with a punch of salt.

*pinch

It is ironic when the assumption you have made about a perspective is contrary to the case.

@TizerorFizz made a throwaway comment about Oxbridge, you’re the one wanging on about it ad nauseam. No-one else cares.

My daughter started at Stowe this year. So far, I am thrilled with every single aspect. The lessons, the pastoral care, the extracurricular activities.

What has struck me so far, is how happy all the existing students seem and how welcoming they’ve been.

It’s early days, but I couldn’t be happier at the moment. My daughter is absolutely loving it.

@Nps1976 Thats exactly what most parents want, isn’t it?

Stories about drugs with no controlled data are just that, stories. We know many schools have Dc taking drugs recreationally and, guess what, so do the parents!!! I do think co Ed boarders in out of the way places can have fun in other ways but Stowe is not alone in this either.

@Mirabai it is not contrary to the case at all .There is more balance in the figures now, yes. However, our perspectives are different as I think this is a good thing and you see it as independents losing ground, despite the figures still being very healthy. If you make stupid 'off the cuff' comments like it is easier to get into a good university from a state school, implying that it is not about the quality of the DC, expect people to care. It is insulting and I don't care if you are nauseated.

You certainly deserve some kind of award for not getting it.

However, our perspectives are different as I think this is a good thing and you see it as independents losing ground, despite the figures still being very healthy.

Is precisely contrary to my perspective. And I have never said or implied “it is not about the quality of the dc” that’s simply your invention.

Try to stick to the text rather than your imagination.

@Mirabai not getting what? That you flippantly said it is easier to get into a good university from a (highly regarded grammar) state school than Stowe. This shows zero understanding of how universities consider applications. Of course it is not black and white, state or independent. Only a % of lower performing state schools will qualify for contextual considerations and almost certainly not grammars. Also, if a DC's grades from the grammar are considered in context, they will certainly need higher grades than from a more academically inclusive school like Stowe. I don't know if you can grasp this but I tried.

@Mirabai Id just give up! We were discussing Stowe. I’d leave it there.