Westonbirt or Stonar for Year 8?

[Movingdownsouth]

Hi all, long time lurker here. We are moving down south from Lancashire before summer and we will be based around Corsham. We want to send our daughter to a private school in the area which is non-selective and known to be a friendly and welcoming environment, especially for newcomers. She is average academically and is mostly hoping for a friendly environment where she can be the sporty, arty and slightly quirky child that she is, she just wants to be accepted. Does anyone have any recent experience of these two schools? Looking for a nurturing environment with low instances of taunting and bullying. We are planning a trip down after easter so will book to see both schools, but any insights would be much appreciated.

A close member of family sent her DD to Westonbirt and ended up taking her out in Y9 as it was so bad, they weren’t the only ones to leave either! Her DD was working at an alarmingly low level for her age at Westonbirt due to a complete lack of teaching, once she got to the new school she blossomed academically, did incredibly well in her GCSEs + A levels and is now studying at a very competitive top 10 uni.

Sounds awful but as a family they got the feeling that Westonbirt was very much a school which prepared young ladies for a life of aristocracy, not to go out and earn themselves a successful and prosperous career.

I’m not sure about quality but my DD was at university with a couple of girls from St Mary’s Calne. That’s quite close to you. I’ve met people on holiday with girls at Royal High Bath. So I would look at these. You will find parents who don’t anticipate their DDs will need to work in many girls’ schools. Its background and schools are not necessarily gearing up DDs to have a sparkling career.

If a school has a space, I do not think you can judge if it’s welcoming or not. All cohorts are different. I think you need to visit on a working day to see what you think.

I'd second the suggestion about St Mary's Calne. A close friend's DD is flourishing there. I'd say it's more academic than S and W, @Movingdownsouth but much less so than the Downe House and Wycombe Abbey powerhouses so you are likely to get girls who are looking for something less driven and competitive- I think Westonbirt and Stonar are the opposite and might not get the best from your DD (who sounds like a great catch for any school that's not a hothouse).
If you are open to co-ed (which I guess you are, with Stonar on the list) and not particularly set on a fashionable, big name school, there are a couple of very decent, under-the-radar options near you in the shape of Dauntsey's and Warminster, that might be worth a look. Both of these and St Mary's have good military links, if that's a consideration.

If your family member is at Uni now I guess she was at Westonbirt about 6 years ago? The school has had a huge over haul and investment in that time. It is now Co-ed and they won Co-ed Independent School of the year last year.