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!!

Yeah that’s right I’ve only worked in one.

Yeah you’re right.

I had already have given up. The phrase playing chess with pigeons comes to mind with both of you.

Says the weirdly aggressive pigeon.

Just a low tolerance for posters like you peddling rubbish. It is not easier to get into a good university from a grammar school. Full stop. If you work in a school then I hope you are far away from influencing university applications.

Don’t listen to this lemon. It’s a well known fact that the privately educated are discriminated against. (https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/23/britain-new-persecuted-minority-privately-educated-schools-oxbridge)

Let’s not forget forget when the head of STOWE referred to this discrimination as similar to that the the Jews faced during the holocaust!! (https://amp.theguardian.com/education/2019/may/12/private-school-students-treated-like-jews-under-nazis-stowe-headmaster)

I get the impression there is someone constantly attacking Stowe online, what they are saying never seems quite right!

Hi,

I know this is way past the date, but some of these comments 🤦🏻‍♀️. I’m only adding a comment in case someone else has the same questions and wants an answer from a parent who’s child is at the school.

My daughter is in a day house. Her exam results were exceptional. The pastoral team are without a doubt amazing. My daughter gets involved in various clubs and sports and the move from another independent school has really worked in her favour. She worked hard for her grades (8-9’s) when she wanted help, she got it. Has she rinsed all opportunities, no, but that is just her personality.

My youngest is coming from a feeder school, she moved there especially to move up as a group and it was a great decision by her. She will get more from the school than my eldest, purely as they are two very different children, so the experiences will be different.

Im state school educated and the stories pale in comparison to my own experience, it’s laughable. All schools have a couple of spicy pupils. It’s a fact. There is no more there than the next school.

The personal negatives come from local older children attending and not really fitting in with the ethos of the school I’m sorry to say. Where attitude runs high, manners are a bit short and kindness is forgotten but again, it’s an exceptional few and not the norm. There’s an element of surprise with wealth if like us you aren’t from that background, but we say “we pay the same, so who cares what others have” and it passes fairly quickly, all the parents I’ve met are wonderful and so much nicer than my daughters previous school, who are the epitome of “keeping up with the jones”, honestly no one cares at Stowe.

To read “oh my god awful” followed by “a friend of a friend of a friend said” or “pupils are thick” it’s unreliable and damaging. People love to hate sadly. Like I mentioned, my daughter got exceptional grades, her current work she’s been told is better than uni standards. Some days she thrives and some days she survives, that’s life, but she wouldn’t change it.

I just wanted to share a positive experience.

@Tiredmoeder Im always surprised dc leave RLS for Stowe. I guess some do but never understand why. When DD2 chose an alternative 6th form it wasn’t easy to make friends and break into established groups . I said pages ago that people really love to complain about Stowe but don’t live in the area or know anything about it. You will always find wealth at boarding schools but surely parents and dc know that? It’s inevitable. We made sure our DDs understood they were just as good even if the school desperately wanted money from the rich parents!

I find it hilarious that you are quoting an article that is so scathing about fee paying parents feeling hard done by because there is a (too) slight swing of the pendulum away from purchased privilege. If you read it properly, it hardly supports your view that the privately educated are hard done by.

The Jewish analogy is quite shocking and crass.

DS joined Stowe last year and is absolutely loving it! He is academically bright but didn't want to be in an academic hot house as he loves his sports a lot. The school has excellent teachers and house parents and frankly i've seen better behaved teens here then at the so called top listed academic schools and even grammar schools. DS is thriving and finds the culture very inclusive and global as kids come from across the world. Yes a lot of kids are from very rich families but we shouldn't hold it against them, should we?! All in all we are very happy with the school and would heartily recommend

Good to hear Zac what year was your DS in when they joined?

A good friend's son joined the 6th form this year and is having a rough ride with low level bullying. Stowe have moved him to another house rather than tackle the boys causing the problems.

I agree and had a child that went there. Hard pass on that school and the terrible headmaster.

My son and daughter went to Stowe and loved it.
With my son, they brought out the best of him and he is now studying Engineering at Exeter on track for a first, my daughter got into Cambridge. My experience is that it's a school where both academic and non-academic kids can thrive. My children and I loved it was not an academic hot house but as mentioned my daughter had the best support for her successful Cambridge entry. It is one of the most stunning schools and this is truly unique since to this day my kids comment on what a privilege it is to wake up every morning and live among such beauty, it does something to your soul. Their friends from school are friendly, fun, and kind and have all gone to do very different things, so a school that will not push you down one path but help kids find their own, in or outside university.

I hope it helps!

Hi , I want to send my child who has lived in Barbados their entire life to a English boarding school . We applied to Espom college and Stowe and he got into both . He is a well rounded child who likes his sports and is also good academically . What school out of the two would you all think is a better fit for a kid coming from Barbados who has never experienced boarding school or living in England before ?

Hmm! Have you visited them? You really should. Stowe is remote. In the middle of nowhere. Epsom less so. Much nearer London but you MUST visit!

My son is at Stowe, and generally there’s no more bullying than you will get anywhere with a load of teen boys. Any bullying that there is dealt with quickly as soon as the system becomes aware.
I would certainly not say that it’s a school where they are suffering at all.

What suffering has had. I have heard the stories

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