Aylesbury High School vs Sir Henry Floyd

[SchoolLemon]

We are in the happy position of being able to choose between AHS and SHF for DD. We live more or less equidistant. I was hoping to get some input from current parents on either school.

My observations are: on paper, AHS seems the better school - slightly higher results and a wider range of GCSEs offered. Trips seem better too.

But wandering around the school, children seemed a little more socially adept at SHF and the atmosphere seemed a bit less hot-housed. It also seemed more ethnically diverse, whereas AHS seemed predominately Asian (no problem with this - other than it means it could lack diversity. For reference, approximately 15% of our local population is Asian, whereas the school appeared 60%+ Asian)

AHS seemed to go BIG on trans visibility, which is a concern from a social contagion point of view, and I could see several individuals presenting as non-binary. Again, no huge problem with this, but wonder if it's more prevalent at girls' schools. And as far as I know, SHF may be the same and I just missed it.

DD's strengths are English, Art, History, Music. She enjoys sport but has limited aptitude (takes after me!). She likes performing arts but is probably a behind-the-scenes person rather than a star performer.

I would be keen to hear from any parents with any views on either school.

Second hand, but via my volunteering I've probably known about 15 girls who've been through the two schools over the past 10 years. In general the HF girls seemed happier, wound less tightly, more confident in their abilities (In the days of old grades I had one AHS girl tell me 'I got a B in a test and the teacher said I'd failed'. Of course, kids have their own interpretations but she was 16 at the time, not 11...)

Thank you, that's helpful.

There has been an interesting trend - which the OP observed - of single sex education being preferred by ethnic minorities (particularly South Asians) as it is perceived to be more traditional/academic - and coed being preferred by white people (particularly middle classes) as it is perceived to be more progressive. This is why in places with real choices like Aylesbury - where the grammar schools are all close to each other and in the town centre - the single sex grammars do now feel less white than the coed Grammar, by quite a margin.

I personally prefer AHS over SHF, I don’t think that there is more transgenderism at either (though there is in my view too much at both). I think AHS has significantly higher academic expectations (shown in results).

Interesting. I was wondering with the imbalance of South Asian pupils if it was academic rigour that attracted ambitious parents, or cultural aversion to their daughters mixing with boys (less keen on this as a reason - the idea that girls must be kept modest).

Either way, the ethnic mix is of minor significance. Totally aware AHS is more academically rigorous based on results. I wondered if it might be a pressure cooker.

The Floyd every time.
It's high achieving but not up itself.

I think we're leaning towards the Floyd.

I work with this age group in a MH capacity and the students I’ve been involved with at SHF seem generally more rounded if I’m honest. AHS is great academically but high pressure and their pastoral isn’t as supportive in my experience.

The pastoral care at AHS is non existent!
It’s all talk no action, just about keeping those academic numbers up. It’s all fine if your dd is doing well, but if things go awry it’s useless. Yes the opportunities are good, but in terms of teaching they do rely on the girls being bright and keen!

So if you had a bright (but not gifted) and high achieving, fairly quiet DD with no previous issues with mental health (appreciate this could change at any time of course), who was more arty than sciencey and more books than sports... would you still send them to SHF?

Only you and your dd can decide where she should go.

Well, yes... But the decision-making process includes gathering data.

Better results at AHS may not be solely down to pressure but intake. If a child fails the 12+ initially and goes for appeal, if successful they only ever get offered a place at SHF never AHS or AGS suggesting the pass mark is higher for the latter two. Also if parents put AHS as first choice they may get offered SHF but never the other way around. Obviously its only a tiny difference and the tests are a blunt tool anyway, but better results may not be simply down to hot housing.

That may be anecdotally true but cannot be accurate as if you pass at selection review you are treated as if you passed (before places are allocated). Then it would be just due to normal admissions criteria.

It may be that "near" passes choose SHF because they feel it's less hot-housed for their borderline child, but there is absolutely no attention paid to marks scores in Bucks, other than 121 or below.

Sorry, just saw you said at 12+, my mistake. That's interesting. I wonder if there's more movement at SHF, and if so, why.

I cannot disagree with @Littlemissprosecco
more!

My DD is in y9 at AHS and had a time where she felt suicidal, the care they showed was second to none, if she ever felt overwhelmed she was allowed to go to a support place there. All her teachers knew about it and she was always excused.

I had the same dilemma over schools. My D's went to AGS and I think he'd have been better at the Floyd, but DD loves AHS. Girls tend to do better at single se, opposite is true for boys.

I also don't agree that the pressure is too much, it is pressured, but they do have sets, so they are placed with those of a similar standard to themselves.

DD is also shy and being around more confident girls has brought her out of herself.

That said, the Floyd is still a good school and I'd have been happy for her to go there too.

It's great to be in a situation where you're choosing between two great schools,vfar better than choosing between the least worst secondary.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I had single sex education and really enjoyed it so thought if we were ever in the happy position to choose, that's what we'd go for.

I was just a bit thrown about how much I liked the vibe of the Floyd. DD prefers it too, and I'd like her to start secondary enthusiastic about where she's going, so I think we've decided on the Floyd.

Thanks everyone for your opinions.

@triggeringnometry
Im glad to hear things have changed!! We ended up having to make a formal complaint, which was upheld.

@SchoolLemon I am also local to both schools. Have been here all
mh life. I think you might have a point about diversity at AHS but who goes to which school tends to have other aspects to it.

We live in a village with plenty of high achieving children and ambitious parents. When DD passed 11 plus, (28 did in her year group) not a single DD opted for Floyd. I was a governor of a primary school in a challenged area of Aylesbury. Of the few who ever got to a grammar, none
opted for AGS or AHS. They were “not for the likes” of them. They felt comfortable with the Floyd. At our own school, one DS went to the Floyd. Times have changed but there’s still a difference based on first choices. Floyd got fewer. So it’s more likely to take out of county. As Aylesbury grows this has diminished.

Therefore people who consider themselves “less up themselves” choose The Floyd. Nothing wrong with that at all. It’s also historic as it was the old Technical School and wasn’t a grammar after the 1944 Education Act. It’s always been smaller and coed. So I do think parental ambition plays a part. Easy going neighbours chose the Floyd for boys. AHS for girls! Both are great schools.

As well as these considerations, do look at what GCSEs are offered by each school. It's hard to know now what your DD will want to choose in 3yrs time but you can see the range.
Can you glean any information about teacher shortages at either school. This is likely to become an increasing problem in future years and, whilst the Bucks grammars tend to be attractive places to work, one may appeal more to potential staff than another.

My daughter has just finished A levels at AHS. It is a diverse and inclusive school, which I can only say is a good thing in our modern world. The girls who leave at 18 are mature and confident. That said, it is not for everyone. The work is fast paced so if your child has been tutored to within an inch of their lives to get through the 11+ it may be a struggle.
We had a few years of a pretty absent head, but the current head is amazing. My daughter described her as interested and caring, and from communication you can tell that she is.
I have heard mixed reviews about the floyd. Some behavioural issues (but what school doesn’t have these), but overall people I know are happy with it. Good SEN provision. Very good if you are into music/drama and just a bit more fluffy that AHS or AGS.
Both good school and if the child is capable will get good results so go with your gut. I liked both when we went to see but my daughter wanted to go to AHS.

Oh, same year as me!

@SchoolLemon Hi! We're in exactly the same predicament! Appreciate very old thread, but interested to know where your DD ended up, and if she's happy?

She ended up at SHF. There was a steep curve at the start from no longer being the smartest in the class but she has found her feet and immersed herself in performing arts in Y8.

She had friends who are happy at AHS but those friends are without exception of Asian heritage. She has no white friends who go to AHS.

The ethnic make up of SHF is about in line with the general local population but I will say that in her class (possibly a blip) that there are no girls of colour (there are a handful of Black and Asian boys) so her friendship group is not as diverse as we had hoped.

One of the reasons we sent her co-ed is at primary school she had lots of male friends; at secondary she has 0 male friends and avoids them like the plague, so from that perspective we may as well have chosen single sex!

SHF now benefits from a 2 week October half term which AHS doesn’t. They also seem to get stacks of disaggregated inset days.

AHS is not just full of Asian heritage dc though. Most village schools have few from this background but still value AHS.

I don’t think many girls mix with the boys at grammar schools by y7. It’s a primary thing and sports and interests start to diverge. Therefore single sex is just as good.

I have nothing against single sex at all - I was educated single sex myself and loved it. I think if DD's strengths were very strongly towards STEM subjects, AHS would have been the best school for her (no such thing as a boys' subject etc. etc.), but as drama is her favourite, SHF is the clear winner - their performing arts department is fab. I heard as well that AHS have just cut dance from the syllabus, whereas it's a weekly timetabled subject for boys and girls at SHF.

A friend whose child went to AHS from age 11 has moved schools for the 6th form, as she found there was an issue with cliqueiness - not intentional of course - with Asian girls forming their own groups, and white kids being lumped together. There were only 6 white kids in her form, and it was hard - though not impossible to find people to hang out with. She also had an issue when she did find friends that often girls weren't allowed to go into town, cinema etc. after school because of differing cultural norms.

None of this is bad per se - and AHS is a far better school on paper. It gets fabulous results and offers more subjects at A-level. It just wasn't the right school for us - which surprised me at the time as I thought it would be where we would opt for, given the choice.