Tiffin Girls vs indies

[meuntilmarch2025]

DD has been doing well so far and DH and I are trying to make up our minds as we go through the second stages next week.

We have Guildford, St Pauls, G&L and LU in the list for indies (kind of have a list of preference already) and DD has been in a selective prep since reception. No experience of state education, but there is a level of fearmongering amongst some parents I know (ironically most of them had DCs go to state primaries) about state schooling. Some of DD current school parents acknowledge TGS is good and hard to get in etc but then they didn’t consider grammar schools either.

What is Tiffin Girls like? What kind of schools do the girls come from - anyone has intel on the breakdown of state vs private?
I found the school better than I imagined, to be honest I thought it would be run down, cramped but it was nothing like that. But is the teaching actually good? Or am I asking too much from a free school.

I am ready to pay for additional tuition where required and for extra curricular activities but then should we just consider an independent school that provides those already? DD still did do a lot of things outside of school during prep such as sports and music but I did like the opportunities her school provided too. To be honest I love her current prep and firmly believe the enriched curriculum and pastoral care really benefited her, but as she is now a little older, she can have a little more room to become independent and sort of ‘out in the more realistic world’ - I know Tiffin would nothing be like that exactly but as children probably get less attention than the indies and she’ll need to fight her way.

Any words from parents who chose Tiffin Girls after private education would be really appreciated.

If your child is incredibly and amazingly bright , top of her class and she will get to top private schools you listed, and you can afford it without a huge sacrifice then I would not hesitate and stick to private.

There are very bright girls at Tiffin Girls but at the end of the day it is a state grammar school that is underfunded. Grammar schools receive less money per pupil than comprehensive schools. Most of the girls at Tiffin come from state schools in Kingston ( Inner Circle catchment) and some within wider Designated Area that is Sutton, Richmond and other surrounding boroughs.

In top private schools you also have selected cohort sieved through the competitive exams but also the school has money for educational tools, projects. Often there is a pool, there is excellent canteen and many other advantages. Affluent parents additionally fund various initiatives. e.g a very good private school nearby is doing a project with a very well known care maker. They gradually design a car at DT with 3D, frequent visits to factory- awesome.

You cannot make up your mind until you have the offers, they are all incredibly difficult schools to get places at and you may end up on a waiting list for 1 of them anyway.

The Vat on fees will make Tiffin even harder to achieve a place at. No private school has set the September 2025 fees yet, they are going to be very high to take into account the NI/minimum wage/loss of business rates discount etc. These costs are the costs you will paying for in fees, not music teachers/ swimming pools etc.

To add in the state sector the NI/minimum wage increase to school budgets will be met by the tax payer so it won't impact the services provided so much.

We will be equally happy to not get a Tiffin place and avoid the headache of having to choose, and I am prepared for that outcome too. I am fairly sure DD will get at least one of the indies though. Which is why in the case of getting a Tiffin place I am worried that we might need to make a rushed decision.
I just would like to know what the experience has been like for the parents and children who moved from private education to a selective state option, did they feel it was okay after all, or did they regret it. All personal opinions but happy to hear it out.

Teaching will probably be about the same at a school like Tiffin and top independent schools. It’s the class size, facilities and extracurriculars that will differ most.

If you can afford one of the private girls' schools go for that and leave the Tiffin place (if it is offered) for someone who cannot afford private education. This is what we did when DD2 won places at another grammar school and also Lady Eleanor Hollis.

Tiffin Girls is a great choice and it is free. There will be increased fees and cost-cutting at the Private schools you mention over the time that you spend there, no question.

SPGS has already told parents to expect increased class sizes from next year. My DN is at SPGS and the only added value is that she is in class with DC who value their learning. This is what differentiates a secondary school experience in my view, and you don't have to pay for that - there are some excellent state schools where this is the case. She is hoping to move to Harris Westminster for 6th form.

Re: co-curricular offerings - a couple of points here. SPS has a swimming pool but no swim team (just because they have the resource does not mean that your child will access it - sometimes it is used to generate income being rented to outside clubs). Other schools may be deliberately improving there facilities in one area to attract pupils who want to apply to US universities e.g rowing. If your child doesn't row, you are paying for very expensive equipment through your fees, and your child is not getting any benefit from these facilities.

I work in education and have 3 children who have gone through the system at independent and state schools. In my view, you are better to curate your own co-curricular provision with your money, rather than expect an independent school to provide. In addition there are many super curricular / extracurricular courses that are only available to state school children.

I have a daughter at one of the schools you mention who also had a place at Tiffin (we came from a state primary though). Two main things swung it for us.

1. Curriculum. Just so much more choice, especially in languages and creative stuff.
2. Having experienced SATs in the state sector, I was keen to get away from feeling like my daughter was just a cog in a machine to demonstrate progress being achieved. It's hard to explain just what an awful joyless experience it was.

Mine wasn't interested in sports so that didn't bother us.

I think you have to decide exactly what you are buying:
—better academics? Tiffin will be on a par with the private schools you have mentioned. Classes may be larger but that is less important when you have a group of very bright, highly motivated students.
-extra curricular: Privates will be better resourced but will your DD actually want to access most of what is offered? If she does v high level music or sport for example she will be better off in specialist/ outside school settings. These are easily accessible if you live in London.
-peer group: private schools will be much less socio economically diverse, though probably ethnically quite diverse.
-privileged access to top Universities? No longer the case for private school students.

Once you have decided what you are buying ask yourself is it worth north of £200000? Can you easily afford this? Can you also fund University/house deposits etc?

I think the all round experience at the privates is probably better - but maybe not £200000 worth better.

I would not say that teachers with the much better salaries in top private schools are the same as in grammar schools with limited funding even for teaching tools

There are also additional costs that you need to budget for e.g at independent schools, parents are charged for the examination entry fees (around 600 for 10 GCSEs), DOE expeditions are close to 1000 for the Gold award and at some schools parents pay for tickets to watch their children perform in music or drama.

At state schools, theses costs do not arise...

Agree about the lack of diversity of socio-economic backgrounds, although a lot of independent schools are increasing their bursary programmes to improve this. The issue is that some schools are not very thorough with their process and the bursary fund is used to support families who couldn't be considered disadvantaged.

The diversity of socio-economic backgrounds within a school is so important for character education. This does vary depending on the cohort, but it is wearing when a trend develops for using £3000 designer handbags as school bags.

The cohort is super hard-working and basically ace all tests (which are relentless). Little feedback for parents. Behaviour very good.
DD says the girls are more "normal" economically and less chat about expensive holidays etc than when she was at prep. I suspect all have pushy parents that (that's probably me too), but anyway homework demands are high.
Sports teams for the top talents only, and far far more emphasis on academics anyway. She does chilled sport at weekends/eve instead.
Music pretty good, from the concerts I've seen.

Sorry, and: The teachers seem very good, from what I hear from her. Not too many supplies. Tend to be aged in 30s. Head is liked

This is so interesting to hear - I have always wondered how things would have been if we had jumped the other way. Some things sound very similar and some completely different.

Have girls in both private (London but not as top as some mentioned) and TGS. I think the leadership is pretty impressive at Tiffin. Girls also more down to earth and studious. What it lacks are facilities and some subject choices. If these are important to you, go private.

Hi, my daughter is in TGS, year 7, has just finished her first term and so far so good, she is very happy. Last year we had offers from some independents but we decided to go for Tiffin and not regretting it. The cohort is very hard working and motivated. The school leadership - as somebody said - very impressive! Teachers are demanding but nice and approachable at the same time. Subjects? It would be nice if the school could introduce more language options? My daughter was keen to study German, Tiffin does not offer that but never mind, we cannot have everything and we can always do that outside of school. Extra curriculars (full list can be viewed on the website) probably not as impressive as in some private schools but there is more than enough for us. At the beginning of y7, the girls were encouraged to get involved in as many as possible but now my daughter dropped a couple of clubs as it was too much, especially that she also has a couple of external ones. Music department - fantastic!!! Generally - daughter is very happy there.

Thanks everyone! Where do the girls generally come from? I know there's the inner catchment of 60 girls and many would come from the local state schools but there's also 120 coming from a larger area and wondering if there would be many girls coming from private too. What is the breakdown like?
Asking because my friend DD that went the opposite direction struggled in the first few terms making friends as she was the only one from her school and other 'prep' girls were already grouped together.

Hi. My girls went to TGS, one has SEN and we found them to be very supportive. It's a great school academically and they have lots of sports and music on offer (not that mine were interested). Their friends came from a mix of state primary and independent prep. I found staff, in particular the Head and SLT, to be very approachable. The girls do tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed but the school had a policy of no hw to be set during holidays which I really liked although this may have changed by now.

No, this has not changed. No homework policy during school holidays is still here. The girls work very hard during the term but no homework is set for holidays. I am not sure about higher years but nothing in year 7.

I might be mistaken, but I don't thiink there are many groups of girls from same prep/primary school. All seem to be a random mix. DD recognised a handful of girls, all from different schools / activity connections. The geographical spread seems v wide. Only one of her good friends is from inner area (as far as we can tell - the girls themselves don't care or talk about that stuff) . So not great if readymade friends from junior school is a definite requirement for your child

@SleepyRooster good to know - thanks. I'm rather worried there will be groups already formed coming from same local schools. It is the experience my friend's DD went through a few years ago when she was the only one coming from her state school in her secondary private. She struggled a bit because other girls all seemed to know someone and formed friendship groups naturally. I don't think DD's prep sends many to TGS due to the location.
Also it doesn't look like there are many girls coming from private education and wondered how different the experience would be like.. can it be so different to an extent I need to manage DD and DH (and my own) expectations?

@meuntilmarch2025 , it's really tricky to get a place at Tiffin girls without going on the WL and paying the deposit for a private secondary anyway. More would come from prep schools if they could get in. Several try from the junior schools like LEH, Surbtion etc each year but in the case of surbiton they will also try and keep prep school girls by offering scholarships to substantially reduce the fees. This will of course change this year with vat as the fees reduction will be smaller. It's harder to achieve a place in March at Tiffin girls than almost any other school, a bit of time spent on the elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum Surrey page bears this out.

Pre made friendship groups is only an issue at schools that give offers based on catchment. At the selective schools it’s rare for kids to know more than 2 other kids out of the 100 kids accepted.

I wouldn’t fret too much just yet. Go through the process for all and see where you end up at offer day.

Also I’d reconsider LU as they’ve ditched GCSEs. It’s only worthwhile if you absolutely know you’ll stay until end of 6th form as that’s the only useful qualification given by that school.

Based on DD's experience of doing it the other way round and going to a private secondary knowing nobody, I felt like the school was aware of this and deliberately mixed form groups and teaching groups up so they weren't dominated by people who already knew each other. I think all schools are so much hotter on pastoral care than they used to be and will have considered this type of thing.

No, I don't think the experience between private secondary and TGS is THAT different. This is London after all. The car park is full of Teslas. The school is the tops academically and they know it - so do the girls. There's no pool or wood panelled school hall (as at LEH for instance) but places are like hen's teeth. If your daughter is studious and ambitious - and the commute isn't too bad - she'll love it