Epsom College

[Catmommy1]

Hello,

I just wondered if anyone can help a little more regarding the extent of Epsom’s regular school timetable, as we are considering applying here for our DC soon.

On the website, it appears that the school day is until 6pm every day including Friday, plus Saturday school (appreciate from Y9 in full and sports only for Y7 and 8), however, I am interested to know:

(a) is it compulsory to stay until 6pm every day, i.e. some schools you can leave earlier if there is no specific activity chosen; and

(b) is the homework/prep of about 1.5 hours every day on top of staying until 6pm (so for the evening once home), as well as weekend home work as a result of Saturday school?

If anyone can clarify the level of homework outside of these regular school hours + Saturday school from recent experience, I would be much appreciative.

Also, our DC does have a SEN and not very sporty, however, is stronger on the academics. The keen hobbies are chess (enters tournaments etc) as well as coding etc. I did not see much chess, for example, on the website so wondered how big traditional sports are over these sorts of activities/hobbies.

Thank you in advance for any insight.

@Catmommy1 , I'm not a parent but my ds got an offer a few years ago to start age 11. From what I remember the home work took place before the buses depart and you don't have to stay until 6pm if your dc lives locally. As you can see from the extensive coach network dc travel for miles and get home quite late.

Also Saturday school doesn't take place on the weekend that are exeats so it's not every Saturday - you can see this from the school calendar.
Personally I think Epsom is extremely expensive and the fees are going to keep attracting very affluent parents.
Finally are you considering other schools that may be better suited for your dc if he isn't sporty? As your probably know Hampton recently won the national schools chess competition.

@tennissquare many thanks for your reply.

That's useful to know the children can leave before 6pm if local. This is the plan for us in fact.

Hampton looks an incredible school, but distance is a factor.

We are looking primarily Epsom, ashtead etc

I have a few other schools in the area to compare against, but did mostly wonder if the full on Epsom schedule and (what seems to be) sporty culture there, would suit our DC. He can always join local chess clubs ultimately. I agree also that the fees are high too and I guess it's more akin to a boarding school and that experience.

Thanks again

Yes I agree the parents / pupils I know there are totally immersed in school life during the week and weekends and don't mind the full on schedule.
I would have thought City of Freemans in Ashtead may be a better bet for your dc.

Many thanks indeed, and yes that's another school on our radar.

There does at least seem many good schools in the area so it's finding the ones that fit our DC best first, and also then, entrance exams/process hurdles, second.

hi there. They have to do clubs every day in the lower school which run till 5. They can then leave. Many stay for prep from 5-6pm so no homework after (and no homework on weekends). This is for the lower school. I believe from y9 there are two periods of clubs so they may have to stay till 6 (and do homework after) but we are not there yet so I am not 100% sure about that. I don't think chess is strong but coding / robotics /linguistics etc are quite strong and there are plenty of clubs for that. Drama is also strong. The sporty children are potentially in the majority but there are usually A-E or A-F teams so I guess the less sporty ones find each other quickly.

Thanks very much for your reply. It's very helpful to have the insight. It certainly seems an amazing school, however, I am a bit doubtful it will suit our particular dc.

Hello. Epsom college parent here.

I’ve two children at Epsom currently. Both are sporty but very different in personality and academic ability.

The children can leave early, as mentioned earlier.

The days seem long but Saturday school isn’t every weekend (exeat) and lessons only begin in year 10.

Both my children love it as all homework is done at school with nothing outside of those hours other than a little revision for exams. All clubs are done on the school grounds or organised away fixtures. They are very well known for their coding program

It really comes down to personal preference for the parents. The children at Epsom are very diverse with a house system used to mix the boys/girls up a number of times a year.

We’ve not noticed any bullying or harassment in the four years we’ve been there and I’m not denying it happens, but what I can say for certain is that I do know children who have moved from over private schools to epsom to escape bullying and they are loving it.

I only have experience from one secondary school and I’m positive there are many others in your area which have very happy parents. St John’s is a great example.

see what your child likes and decide between single sex or co-Ed and take it from there.

good luck. X x

Hello, did anyone apply for Epsom College this year? Would love to know how your DC found the process?