Caterham School on Saturdays?

[Lotkat]

Can you help me understand what the deal is with Caterham School on Saturdays?

Their website used to say that they don’t have any compulsory Saturday school, so that children can have family time. But I can’t see that on their site anymore, and at their open day the children who showed me round said that Saturday matches are compulsory for everyone each Saturday morning.

Basically DS is not keen on team sports and I don’t like the sound of driving him around at 8am each Saturday either… Is Saturday stuff optional or perhaps just for the top teams? 🙏 Or does everyone have to attend?

Can't speak for caterham but dd played competitive sport and her school was in a private school league, matches were Saturday pms and they had lessons sat am! She boarded.

Ds never had to play sport on Saturdays, dd may have done once or twice, but that was several years ago. You should be able to download the termly calendar which gives priority to certain activities if there is a clash. Drama and music often rehearse at weekends, for example and scholars for those are expected to participate in a minimum number of performances.

@Lotkat Sorry - I’ve only just seen your post. I have spoken to various parents with children at Caterham and it is an expectation that all Year 7s & 8s attend Saturday fixtures. I believe there is a way around this, ie if the student has another Saturday commitment, but parents are expected to make full explanation to school. It is not quite as simple as not turning up.

I have heard that it may not be every single weekend unless your child is in the A, B or C teams. Also, that it is gradually beginning to change on the rugby front - a few parents are now saying that they don’t want their child to do rugby because of potential concussion.

I believe once they get to Year 9 they are no longer expected to attend on Saturdays unless they are in one of the higher teams.

I would expect all private schools in the local area have sports on Saturdays as others have said. Whilst it can't be compulsory, there is an expectation that certainly in lower years they will turn out when chosen unless you write in explaining why.

@Bellie99 we have checked this out several times with Reigate Grammar, as it is a strong contender for us for Senior School. They have consistently told us that Saturday fixtures are not compulsory at any stage of a student’s schooling there.

But then again, I think RGS are larger than Caterham, so they would struggle for every student to play a match.

It would depend on how many teams they play each week. Most u12 and U13 have an A, B and C team. As they get further up the school there is often only an A and B team.
As I say it's not compulsory at any school, but there is an expectation unless you decline with an explanation.