Taunton independent

[busykeys]

My cousin is moving from France and looking at Taunton school or Queens College senior school. They are sporty and musical, please give me some advices. Not looking to board, just day schools.

My son left Taunton School in 2016 and the head has changed since then but I think the School is fundamentally the same. One of its strengths is that it caters for a wide range of interests and abilities. It is strong on sport particularly rugby and cricket but not obsessively so. Private music lessons are available in school time. The school is well regarded in the town and has a good balance of day and boarding.
Queen's went through a bad patch a few years ago when the head left under a cloud but I don't know what it is like now. Taunton School has better facilities and more recent investment. We looked at both and just felt Taunton was more suited to our son's interests. They offer quite a few scholarships too.

That's fantastic. Thank you. Is there school on Saturdays, too? If there are any other independent schools worth looking into, please let me know.

Another one I would recommend is King' College. Heard excellent reviews about it

They certainly always used to have Saturday school and matches in the afternoon. The website is worth a look www.tauntonschool.co.uk/senior-sixth-form/
It gives links to independent reports on the school.
King's is also well rated but is more boarding focused and that is why we ruled it out. I'd suggest your friend looks at all the schools if possible as school choice is so personal. They are all within about a mile.of one another so easy to do all 3 in a day. We are very lucky to have such a good choice.

There's also Wellington School which is commutable and Millfield which is a bit further away and even Blundells down in. Tiverton. Most of the schools run an extensive bus service.

You could also look at Wellington School in Wellington, or Blundell's in Tiverton.

I wouldn’t go near Taunton school. There are massive issues look at GlassDoor website reviews from former staff. We were treated terribly after a decade when my son was diagnosed with 2E very high learning potential Aspergers. A lot goes on behind closed doors there. There is no kindness nor support and issues with off-rolling SEN children.

I would also throw in a recommendation they look at Blundells if they don't mind travelling a bit further.

I have friends with a DC with SEN and she is very happy at Queens, but I would say it is not a sporty school. In both my DDs and DSs school years they are generally beaten by most other schools at most sports.

Kings College Taunton and Taunton School are both very sporty. Interesting the comments in here about Taunton. I was speaking to the headmaster of a prep in the area who was extremely negative about Taunton School, but I am sure the experience of each person is different.

I would be cautious about Wellington School too. I have friends with kids there who seem happy, but I don't think the facilities live up to any of the other schools (from what I have seen anyway) and it is not known as a sporty school.

I cannot comment on music at any of these schools.

I wouldn’t touch Wellington school with a bargepile. My daughters did the prep school and actually the local state primary offers more. The prep school is run by women of a certain age who have no clue or desire to change. Think feedback met with passive aggressiveness