Help! Which senior school to choose?

[ByTheBarestOfAllMargins]

First of all, I know we are in a very fortunate position to have a choice but this is feeling like a toss of a coin decision at the moment unless anyone can help me untangle my thoughts!

DC has 2 offers from independent senior schools. Both schools are about the same distance from home and same cost. We like both of them, so does DC (although maybe prefers School B slightly)

Which should we accept?!

School A
Pros - initial favourite and recommended by Prep head. Never heard a bad word against it. More friends likely to go there and we know other families higher up in the school. Cosy reputation. Gets decent GCSE results - 99% 9-6, over 50% 9-7
Cons - doesn’t do DC’s favourite sport as one of major sports. Not as academic as other option. Has not been quite as proactive in making DC and us feel this is the school for us

School B
Pros - have really made an effort to entice and get to know DC. DC likes teachers, options for sports. Gets better GCSE results than School A - 65% 9-7, 48% 9-8. Those we have spoken to says it great pastorally.
Cons - has a reputation as being a bit marmite - more pressured than School A. Bigger and we won’t know as many kids or families joining.

Any advice?!

B

Is he passionate about the sport? I can only refer to my husband who was sent to a school that didn’t do his favourite sport. He was passionate about it and couldn’t do it at school at all. He talks about it even now. Even his parents say they wish they’d made a different decision. So I’d say it depends on how important it is to your son to do the sport he loves.

Speaking from experience, I would be fairly cynical about the entice and engage tactics that schools employ to attract pupils. Beneath the surface of the glossy marketing, spiel and buttering up, the reality can be quite disappointing. Alarm bells ring with 'marmite'.
I would put much more store in a school having a consistently good reputation.
Either way, you never really know until to get there. But it is gutting and very difficult when you find yourself in a position where things are not as they should be, and you then either have to suck it up, or further disrupt your child's well-being and education.

I'd go B!
Better exams and he likes the sport.
Plus making you feel welcome.

If you like it I'd go for it 😃 I'd be going for option B 👍

Maybe ‘marmite’ is a bit strong. Perhaps a 90% approval rating rather than 100%! But of course it’s all anecdotal and dependent on who you speak to anyway. I suppose I was a bit disappointed with the School A admissions experience compared with what I had expected, and vice versa with School B. I went into the process being fairly set on A but have been swayed towards B, and now I’m completely stuck in the middle. Maybe the experience is different once you accept and join there though.

The sport is available as a club, but not one of the 3 major sports they focus on each term. Does it outside school anyway so might just have to put up with it not being part of the timetable and having to something less enjoyable for a few hours a week, one term a year!

Is there any difference in location and commute? I just saw someone on another thread bemoan the hours they spent driving their child to school - and a friend of mine committed to 14 years of driving her two DC a PITA 6-mile/30 minute drive across our city twice a day. So she spent two hours in the car each day! wow!
So if one is walkable - winner

Very tricky. A is presumably Reed's and it's a great school. There is apparently lots of opportunity for boys to play football although it's not one of the more formal options.

Location-wise they are much of a muchness. c.10 min drive. One road a bit more windy and bumpy I suppose! Is that a good enough reason to choose the other one?! 🤪

Hi x I think school A is better. Even if it doesn’t have your child’s favourite sport they could grow to like others and if you’ve heard it’s great! Try it out x

Does your prep head have a strong opinion about School B for your DC?

Prep head says A is a better fit and gets the best out of kids without unnecessary pressure, and hinted that B has been going on a charm offensive which disappears once you join!

Maybe if you name the schools we can help further…