Sutton Grammar Vs Independent Schools ( Hampton / Trinity / Dulwich college)

[mrDoubt]

Hi
my DS has just got Pass emails from Sutton Grammar and Wallington. Has anyone compared these schools to an equivalent independent school. We are also preparing our Son for a few independent schools because thenational offer day can be full of surprises.

1. What independent schools compare to SGS - Equivalent or Better
2. Say I had a choice between Trinity and SGS,- which one would one pick if Money was not a constraint ( we are ready to stretch ourselves to give our DS the best support and education)
3. How does SGS / Wallington compare to Hamptons, RGS , Kington grammar / KCS orr DUlwich college If we get an offer from one of the above schools and say we get SGS / Wallington On national offer day - what would be a good pick?

Sincere advice needed.

It depends what you are after! Do you want co-ed or single sex, lots of facilities/enrichment, rugby/hockey/football? Or just straight up academic success? What sort of child do you have? Will they suit a small school, a big school, a strict school, a more gentle school? And mostly importantly, where do you live? Hampton and Dulwich really aren’t that close to each other.

PS we loved Trinity, but didn’t love the journey through Croydon

Spend some time on elevenplusexams.co.uk forum Surrey section, there are endless threads along these lines.
Also agree re geography, Hampton is a long way from the other schools (unless you live in Wimbledon). Don't forget if they are in a sports team sometimes have to drop off early on a Saturday morning etc.

for private schools you pay for facilities and teachers salaries. Headteachers at private schools in London command £200-£300k salaries, while teaching assistants get £30k-£40k. Teachers range from £50k-£150k. Disclaimer: Not all schools.

Put in context of London with house prices and cost of living pressures.

How those things are translated into your perception of education quality is dependent on your son's experience.

At the risk of repeating every other thread on this topic - it’s not which school is “best”. Best is a really subjective measure. Even exam results reflect selectivity on entry. It’s which school is best FOR YOUR CHILD.

I am willing to relocate close to the school. I am currently renting. . So ignore commute and location.

if SGS or Wallington - Will be close to the school
If Hampton - Will live in teddington or strawberry hill or richmond

Again my question above is based on Academics, ethos, Pastororal care, middle class parents of kids, . My son is not very sporty ( has never played Rugby or foot ball). he plays tennis, does ice skating Stage 4, Swimming -Stage 7 . So ignore sports at schools ( he will be forced to pay Foot ball in A teams ( lowest) which is fine) . he will not mind it.

Yes completely Agree. Its a fall back option if Grammars dont click on National offer day. So preparing for the worst !

Fair enough! BTW usually A team is the best team. My son muddles along in the D teams :)

of the private schools I would think Trinity ha the broadest demographic due to the high number of bursaries offered. At KGS you can get away playing no football or rugby at all if you don’t want to and just play hockey instead, and tennis/cricket in the summer. Have you visited them all?

May I ask if your DS is in any of the above schools to get your perspective?

Yes, my son is at KGS. He had offers from other schools too including one on your list.

@mrDoubt , I would really wait until next Spring to drill down on these questions. Make sure you are in the right catchment / out of catchment criteria for the grammar offers and then wait and see. You may end up on Wait Lists for the private schools and in that case the situation of receiving an offer can drag into end of April.

The private schools all give you another opportunity to visit if you get an offer in mid Feb. Often you have visited the schools so many times by end of February that it's fairly easy to make a decision by 1st March.

if you consider private as fall back option then do as many private entrance exams as your son is willing to do (and as your budget for test fee allows).

No harm in have as many fallback as possible. Hope you'll get your preferred grammar option.

Thank you. Has anyone moved to independent school after receiving offer from Sutton.
we are going to write a few independent.
also not entirely sure on living in Sutton area. We had a drive and looked at the schools from outside and drove around.

@mrDoubt , a good % of those receiving offers from the 3 private schools you listed will also get grammar offers on 1st March and then decide. There is a whole subset of applicants to the private sector who are very gifted and seeking scholarships, the private schools know to enrol some prospective pupils they will have to offer a good scholarship to counter balance the free grammar place. It's a very drawn out process which goes on for months, best of luck to your ds with his exams.

Thank you @tennissquare
My query is - Has anyone been in a situation choosing between Sutton Grammar and an independent on offer day and chosen independent

SGS does not give any more open days for parents to visit the school. So I really dont know how the school feels like.
People say its a small school and a good community,

Also for sports and music, are opportunities given to all or just the top performers. Here indies def win by getting everyone involved. My DS is not too much into sport., but i dont want him to be completely left behind in sports also.
SGS has a pool which is a good attraction for my son.

@mrDoubt , I recognise your name from the other thread. So your ds has the Hampton place via 10 plus and has also passed the Sutton test and you will move (with a sibling) to the area where your ds decides to go?
Is your ds taking the Hampton exam again in November to see if he can get a scholarship?
I am a parent at Hampton and yes there are ds who had grammar school offers too when they joined aged 11 but not many and it was mainly Tiffin they had turned down and they accepted Hampton along with a scholarship. I didn't come across many dc who had accepted a full fees Hampton place and turned down a grammar place.
Lots of ds at Hampton don't apply to grammar schools and lots apply to the other private schools you mentioned and get offers too.

Yes, SGS has a reputation for being a very good school, not only for academics but also inclusive sports and music, and a lot of clubs/societies.(WCGS is great too. My son has friends there and they're happy.) But yes, some families decide to stretch themselves financially for the right indie rather than take up an offer from a highly desirable state grammar. Every year, the 3 boys' grammars in Sutton over-offer and also usually offer a significant number of places from waitlist.People turn down grammar places for various reasons, one of them being a preference for the private route. As an example, my son has a Y7 friend (from a state primary) who passed all 3 Sutton grammars last year and was offered the top choice on his CAF. He originally accepted the grammar place but later decided to opt for KCS instead, despite the more distant location.

@tennissquare That's interesting. I've always wondered about the extent of cross-overs between grammars and indies.

Thankyou Everyone

My son was offered a place at one of Sutton grammars and we turned it down for a smaller gentler indie with a scholarship. It was considered a little strange to do so as grammar places are so hard fought for but ultimately it was what was best for our son who needed a smaller supportive environment and we haven’t regretted it so far.

My son is at Sutton Grammar. He loves it. There is a strong sense of community and the behaviour in class and around the school is extremely good. My son is not sporty but is very academic and it has been the perfect fit for him.

The teachers are amazing. They care so much about the boys and give so much of their own time running clubs etc. Plus compared to my daughter’s school they seem to really teach beyond the curriculum, if the boys are interested.

I have friends with kids in Sutton Grammar and my neighbour works there. I never heard a bad word about the school. Everyone mention the culture of kindness despite of being a very academic/competitive school.
I visited in October and, although I found sports and languages’ provision poor, I think science and computer science were impressive.