Croydon high school vs Sydenham high school - OPINIONS PLEASE

[bursaryint]

Hello

Pls I kindly need your help in deciding a school

My DD has gotten a scholarship offer and fully funded bursary from both Croydon high school and Sydenham high school

To be honest , my first option was Sydenham high as it is closest to us and the environment just felt lovely and homely on the open day

Croydon high, which is not too far from us though , was a back up option as I never even visited on the open day .

Now we got the scholarship from CHS first and I was hoping that if we do not get the bursary from SHS, it will be a sign to go to CHS .

Now I’m lost on what to do. Everywhere I have checked, Croydon seems more academic than Sydenham high ( GCSE results, people’s opinionsetc), but SHS is better with A level results .

But my daughter really wants to go to Sydenham high and so do I. She has been begging .

Long story short, is there really a strong academic difference between both pls ?

My daughter is not really a sporty person , just knows how to swim and still learning

Thanks a lot

I don’t know which is stronger but dd went to shs, was very happy and is doing very well professionally now.
Would dd have to travel through Croydon? That would put me off.

Realised I made it sound as if everything but work is awful for my dd. She has a lovely cohort of friends from school and is well rounded and happy 10 years on. She didn’t shine academically, was probably one of the laziest weakest but graduated with 2:1 from Russell Group and has a well paid policy writing research job.

@Lamelie thanks very much for your reply. Yes she will have to take 2 buses even though we live in North Croydon, it's not a straight forward route while Sydenham, she will just take one bus .

But we are willing to move as the secondary school she gets was one of the reasons that would determine us moving to another house .

Sorry to not be of help but well done to your dd, 2 x full scholarship bursary offers is amazing! Personally I would go with the easiest journey as she has already proved she will do well with challenges given to her.

Everywhere I have checked, Croydon seems more academic than Sydenham high ( GCSE results, people’s opinionsetc), but SHS is better with A level results .

It seems like everything is in favour of SHS except GCSE results?

Unless there is a massive gap academically - and it doesn’t seem like there is - I would definitely choose SHS. She will find the journey easier and less tiring and it sounds like she will be happier there. Happier, less tired children do better academically.

Congratulations on two such great offers. I would definitely take SHS in your shoes.

Echo @tennissquare that’s an amazing achievement!

Thank you very much 😊

Thank you ☺️ this was my line of thought as well

Looking at the letter again ,SHS is also offering 15% off for the academic scholarship, which means if my income goes up and I have to pay fees in future , the fees will still be discounted by 15% which is still a good offer

Can't seem to find any discounts for scholarships with CHS , though this is not the deciding factor . Just an added bonus

We are in pretty much the same situation as yourself, holding good offers from both schools.

We loved both schools. Croydon does get better GCSE results but Sydenham will still have a lot of very bright kids.

I agree that SH had a very warm atmosphere but we got similar vibes from CH.

Where CH is stronger is the sports provision. Everything is on site and they definitely take sport seriously. The grounds are extensive and there’s a lot of space in contrast to SH, which is very compact.

Like yourselves SH is closer whereas CH is a perhaps 15-20mins further.

My advice would be to go and visit CH before you need to make a decision next month. They’ll be very happy to accommodate you. Plus they’ve got a number of online virtual meet ups this month.

The problem with CHS A levels is probably tied to the fact that so many girls leave to go to 6th forms elsewhere. My DD left in 2020 to go to a different 6th form along with many of her co-hort. This had been the pattern in previous years. I don't know if the new head has managed to find a solution.

I think it is common to girls schools, although may be at lower levels. They get fed up with an-all girls environment. Also, when some girls have been at the same school since they were 3, or even 5, they are ready for a change and have more control over decisions by the time they reach 6th form.

OP, Having read you comment on comparison of A Level results, CHS’s results are actually significantly better than SHS’s.

Thank you . This is what I intend to do. Sign up for the virtual events and have a visit before making a decision

@PalaceDad oh really? what I saw researching was that CHS was better with GCSEs but SHS was significantly better with A levels?

OP have another look at the stats as from what I’ve seen, CHS outperforms SHS at A level. I know a teacher at SHS and they said the school took a long time to release this year’s A level results as they’re not that strong. I could be wrong though

Oh wow

Thanks for this

Still debating but leaning towards SHS

My friend went to SHS on a scholarship and absolutely loved it.
She says it gave her, life skills and resilience.

@bursaryint , the A Level results across all schools in the uk were unexpected in Aug 2023 due to the post pandemic correction in marking by exam boards.
I don't think anyone receiving an LEH offer today will be swayed into declining by the unexpected LEH A level results in August 23. Most parents at the point the OP is in generally make a decision based on length of journey to school and sports offered.

Thank you that's very reassuring 😊

Thank you 😊

Yes my daughter is not sporty at all and that's one of the reasons I'm looking to choose SHS as it's less sporty than CHS and I don't want her feeling left out

She is more academic than sporty and distance is like 20mins from home .

That’s a really good point, hadn’t occurred to me that A levels were likely to be skewy across all schools