Epsom College, CLFS or St John's Leatherhead?

[Surreysorry]

My daughter is applying to these three schools, and while my son has got into St John's already, she's favoured Epsom so far.

However I'm still very uncertain as to which one would be best for her. My understanding was that Epsom works them the hardest, does Saturday school and is an all rounder school for pupils who want to be busy and stretched. St Johns is good and for all rounders but a little gentler, and that CLFS is a little more academic, but also smaller and a closer community.

However, Epsom will have a new head next year, who seems to be coming from a much gentler school that focuses on 'adventure' (Dauntsey). That's not what either she or I want, and I won't have the chance to see what he does because she's moving next year. He may simply be good at delivering what the board of governors wants but it has still unnerved me.

She's academically very capable, more on the English side than the Maths, and very sporty, although not always in the top teams. She's very sociable, but can become anxious or unsettled by the shifting politics of friend groups and so on. St John's seems a safe bet for a few reasons, but I suspect she's interested in the idea of a different school to her brother, who is very different from her. That might suggest CLFS, but it initially seemed a little too cosy for her. Then I saw another thread where some people had had very bad bullying experiences there (none in the last year or so), and now I don't know what to think. I thought their open day explanation of their pastoral approach was by far the best of the three schools, but I half worry they won't push her enough and half that they will push her too much!

Does anyone have any views or insight into any or all of these schools, and in particular what to make of the new head joining Epsom?

Don’t know the new head but I would say on the whole you are talking quite immaterial differences between the two schools. Both are great, value sports, similar academic. I really do think life is easier we both your children in the same school. You will get behind and invest in one school which I think makes a difference. With respect I think it would unusual to pick such similar co Ed schools for each child.

I can see the importance of a younger child wanting to pick though

Epsom is on the up academically in general and the arrival of the new head wouldn't go backwards on that as they have invested in some really good staff (seems that they have expanded their staff as they have expanded pupil numbers over recent years).

I really don't think the other two come close academically

@obladeeobladah this is really positive to hear about Epsom. Do you know what kind of CATS are required for Epsom?

I have two kids at Epsom - one sporty and one academic - both are challenged in different ways and love it. Teaching and staff - on the whole - are very strong.

From Year 9 the kids go into a house system which is very nurturing with a House Mistress, Matron and an academic tutor looking after them.

Lower school - year 7and 8 - can seem full on if you are coming in at that year group .. but they adapt.

New head seems like a good fit. I know parents at his present school who are very sad to seem him go.

Good luck in your search.

That's encouraging, thank you. I know I may be dithering over nothing, but it's probably because the logical thing would be to have them at the same school, and I want to give the others a fair chance!

I'm interested that you think the new head is a good match, @cheese10. Is that because Epsom is not quite so driven as I had understood, or because Dauntsey is not quite as unacademic as its website full of adventure suggests?

@obladeeobladah I had shared your views on academics, but I saw that CLFS came 57th vs Epsom's 75th recently? That made me rethink, although of course I could be understanding it wrong or it could be an odd year.

We are looking at the exact same schools at you OP, but probably a year or 2 behind you.

Are those the Times Parent Power rankings from last year? Or are there more up to date stats for this year? I think the Times only publish their tables in December.

We loved both St John's and Epsom, and it might not be a choice, but rather where we get in. Our only negative feeling about St John's was it didn't feel as culturally diverse as we would like. Otherwise we didn't feel there was much in it.

Epsom and CLFS v similar academic outcomes - 84% 7-9s at GCSE, 63 vs 67% for 8-9 grades. St John’s 75%.

86/87% for A* - B grades at email for Epsom/CLFS and 80% for St John’s.

All of these differences fairly marginal tbh. I’d say Epsom is the sportiest of the three, CLFS does have a stronger community with lots of the families having been together since 7+ or earlier with local feeder. I’d agree with your observations of St John’s lacking diversity, of all types, seems to attract a wealthier cohort - may be skewed by one of the people I know there being a footballer.

I think they are all good choices! You’ll find good and bad reviews of all of them too.

Also consider where you live and journeys etc. practicality matters too.

@DoThePropeller @Carmenbeeeater Every league table website I now look at cuts the results differently from the last, but in 2022, CLFS seems to come out noticeably above others (with St John's having an oddly bad A level performance but good GCSE). That's from the mytopschools website but a couple of others are similar. You're probably right that they're all pretty similar and it varies on the specific cohort.

It may come down to which school accepts her, of course, although the CLFS exams have already been, so they may expect an answer before we know about the others.

In terms of logistics, I'm actually likely to move house prior to the start of the new academic year, which is one of the reasons it's been on my mind. With my son starting at St John's, I've been considering South Leatherhead, Ashtead and Fetcham, and trying to work out whether I can wait until we pin down the schools first before finding a house. So logistics might not be the key factor (except for the convenience of having them both at one school).

Sorry only just seen your reply now, OP.

Not sure about those results you mentioned- i did see that epsom were saying they got most improved school in The Times the other day though. Obviously they have been through turbulent times but I'm so impressed with how they seem to be surfing the waves rather than drowning in them! I haven't yet formed an opinion on the Dauncy's
head myself but I have heard good things about him on the grapevine. My impression though is that the school is focusing on academics right now , but if the new head will be able to balance that with a bit more pastoral then that is also a good thing

I don't think it's true that if the head is coming from a less academic school, they will bring that to the new school. Ultimately the head has to accept the school's target market/catchment area, and Dauntsey's has never been particularly academic.

Thanks, I don't really know enough about how schools are run to know how much the head affects it, but it is unsettling, certainly! I'm looking a lot at where to live at the moment, and the logistics are enough to make me want to have the kids at one school, but I'll at least wait to see which schools accept my daughter.

DS joined CLFS and I have to say it has exceeded our expectations on every level. It is academically challenging, refreshingly diverse (for a Surrey school) and friendly children. They really do uphold their motto; kind, honest, fun. All the subject teachers and form tutors are invested and genuinely enthusiastic. Sports and co curricular is very well organised with so much on offer. I had to make the choice between CLFS, Epsom and St John’s and I’m so happy with our choice. It’s a great fit for DS. Also, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the rumours. We haven’t experienced this at all, and parents at the school have very familiar experiences to our own. Happy children in a thriving environment. The school has got the balance right between academic excellence and student well being. Good luck with your choice, at the end of the day we went with our gut feeling and as many parents have previously stated; it really is the best indicator.

It's good to hear a positive review! I thought CLFS really nailed the pastoral side of things on an open day recently, so it was unsettling to see number of complaints.