Secondary Schools (private or state) in/around Surbiton, Esher or Weybridge

[SarahDubai]

Hi All, we are a British expat family moving back to the UK this Summer. We will be living in either Surbiton, Esher or Weybridge.

We have 2DS. Looking for secondary schools for them for Year 9 and Year 10 in September 2024. Both are kind & polite boys. Academically both achieving decent grades. My Year 9 is v good at football, the other one is not as sporty!

I’ve looked at State School options which we can only apply to once we have settled in Surrey. More importantly, all the good schools are oversubscribed (eg Hinchley Wood, Esher High, Heathside School and Cobham Free).

We have applied to St George’s College and Claremont Fan School.
However, both are currently full. Considering applying to Hampton Court House School as it seems friendly and my boys like the idea of no uniform! Any feedback on this school? Or Radnor/Kneller House?

Also considering ACS in Egham, I know it’s IB and not in Surrey! I visited the ACS in Esher but found the classrooms and labs were pretty old/dark considering the high fees! Also, not sure if the IB diploma is currently recognised by the majority of UK Universities. I’m sure in time it will become more popular.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks in Advance.
Sarah :)

Any school with an 13plus admissions process as CLF does will be full already for year 9 Sept 24. All academic schools are reluctant to take year 10 students without the dc passing a tough exam (if there is a space) because otherwise the dc may need too much catch up to get decent gcse results.
There are many schools that take dc moving to the area into years 9 and 10 as listed on this thread but whether HCH should be top of that list depends on many factors.

@SarahDubai I have DM'd you, but both mine went to HCH. I would recommend it as a secondary, it has a very different vibe to the rest of the schools discussed here, but the academics and teachers were very good. Because of the bilingual aspect the school actually feels very "international" although they offer A levels. It's a happy school - although this is going back a couple of years.

A friend of ours who originally came to the UK as a US expat moved their children from ACS to a less international private school; they felt the churn of students (as parents moved back to home countries or on to new countries) wasn't ideal - so you may want to bear that in mind if you're moving back to the UK for the long-term.

Personally, Hampton court house isn’t like marine, the ethos is just for show.- it sadly is no longer there.

The school has a high turnover of staff and struggles with some fundamental basic school requirements. - not only with academics. There are issues in class groups across the years.

half a class left in the last academic year, along with, again, a half full of teachers.