Tiffin/Hampton/Westminister school

[yyhhll]

Hi, My son has been lucky and secured the offer from Tiffin, Hampton and Westminster in his 11+. While Tiffin is close to home around 20 minute walking distance and free, Westminster school is far (around 1 hour one way) and need pay high tuition fee. But the offer from Westminster seems beyond my expectation. Is there anyone with experience with WUS/WS? Saturday morning lesson? Happy boys? My son is from state school, happy, quite academic, love sports (but just playing it), not knowing any music instruments from modest family. Will this kind the profile likely fit in WS? I heard that Tiffin boy would have many students after GCSE. Are those contribute to most tiffin oxbridge offer? Thanks

@yyhhll , congratulations to your ds, I think he is more than "quite academic"!
He has gained entry to 3 very competitive and fantastic schools. The financial commitment for the private schools is immense though compared to Tiffin. Where would he like to go?

Do you mean do lots of dc join Tiffin 6th form and do they contribute to the Oxbridge offers? It's the same for Westminster who take girls into the 6th form to increase the potential for Oxbridge offers. Hampton has 23 Oxbridge offers this year from a 6th form that has virtually no one join for 6th form, ie they all joined at 11 or 13.

Westminster is a great school and there wouldn't be an issue with background. It's just that commute is a bit too much. There are always kids at the under school coming from far but it does seem to take a toll. You won't have Saturday school for another 2 years.

If you are planning to switch to boarding in 2 years or moving at some point then maybe, but I would recommend something closer to home.

Homework wise we see local peers doing it in cafes so maybe the commute could be used for the same.

@tennissquare Thank you for your reply. My son is a little afraid of the long commute to WS. His first choice was Tiffin. But after hearing Tiffin may kick quite a few people out after GCSE, he hesitates.

@yyhhll , your ds has done very well, he isn't going to be kicked out of Tiffin! Tiffin takes new dc including girls into the 6th form. Choose Tiffin and he will have a walk to school, no Saturday school and you will save up to £250,000 over 7 years, this is A-LOT of money!!

They are not admitted because they don't attain the grades at GCSE - all boys who attain the grades required at GCSE are automatically allowed to stay at Tiffin. This is the same at all sixth forms - every Greycourt and TKA the local state schools in area do exactly the same for sixth form entry.

And to be honest I have never heard of anyone being kicked out! This year they had over 50 Oxbridge offers which is amazing by any standard.

@elij Thanks for your reply. The long commute plus the safety in London (if later on he travels alone) is indeed a problem. I am not sure how safe these days to ask a boy at these age travel by himself to central London.

I would definitely choose Tiffin boys. They had 56 Oxbridge offers up from 41 last year and climbing every year. Private school admissions to Oxbridge and I'm sure Russell Group soon is just going down. Private school kids are being disadvantaged against now. All schools kick out after GCSE's if the child has done badly. I know my state school did!

Different schools have different GCSE requirements to be allowed to study a subject a A Level. I can only assume that Tiffin Boys' requirements are on the higher end of the range.

Different school but, on a recent thread, a poster who claims to be a recent graduate of Queen Elizabeth's Barnet stated:

Many people leave because they didn’t get an offer to study a subject they wanted to.

to give you a sense of what this looks like, I’d estimate about a third of my year group left for sixth form.

I think a short commute to school should not be underestimated - my nephew is at tiffin and seems very happy. Lots of opportunities and free! Enjoy the extra money!

Yes that’s true. I understand with Tiffin boys they take girls however, girls struggle to get accepted onto the STEM subjects as they give priority to the boys who come up from year 11, as is the case with most sixth forms. Priority goes to internal students, but obviously they have to attain the entry requirements.

The point I was making is you don’t get “kicked out” in the sense the op suggested.

I wouldn't give it a second thought, 100% Tiffin! Especially as now there is a lot of positive discrimination, so I would say he is better off in a grammar than a private school.. well done to him.

@yyhhll Congratulations to your DS! Its immense success.
My DS has cleared Tiffin Stage 1 and about to appear for Stage 2. Appreciate any guidance.

Congratulation for passing Tiffin stage 1 test. I have limited experience to offer. As most of boys who passed stage 1 Tiffin also participated at Sutton tests, very likely most of the boys would be offered one school. So don't worry. Very best of luck!

WS school will be best than Tiffin if you want to choose -Sure your son will be in best place .

If money were no object at all, the closeness of Tiffin would still make it the best option in most cases.

Yes, W is amazing and does offer something else. BUT who wants to pay vast fees and travel miles rather than travel locally, when an already amazing school which is top notch is available? Honestly, unless you are rolling in money and won’t notice the difference and plan to move close to W, I’d take Tiffin.

These are all fabulous options. Anyine is lucky to have 1 never mind 3. You can’t go wrong with any of them. But some cost lots and the travel is a killer. If you lived close to W, it would still be hard to turn Tiffin down due avoiding the fees.

Going to school where you can walk and have some very local friends has more benefits than people imagine. The hours kids spend on school buses or navigating public transport is vast and really not pleasant in depths of winter and prevents them fully joining in extra curriculars. Yes, W has a huge prestige….and I guess it’s hard to turn down once you’ve gone through the process and got the offer. But is it really 7 x the yearly fees better and better enough to write off that terrible journey? The gains and difference woukd need to be vast vast vast to cure the cost of fees and the burden of the journey. If you faced a sink Comp as the alternative..fair enough…but you have Tiffin!

Contrary to what many say, distance isn't the dealbreaker for an 11yo. A 45-60 minute commute provides vital buffer time for them to decompress after school and a chance to interact with the real world; it's not all wasted time.
The real issue is the fit. If your ds doesn't play instruments or do sports, he will struggle to fit into the social fabric of a place like Westminster. Most kids there are either musical prodigies, elite athletes, or academic geniuses. If he is just academically strong without those extras, he might feel like a bit of an outsider.
For a modest family, it is a massive financial stretch for very little return. Tiffin is a much better fit for his profile and your pocket. No point paying for a world he won't truly belong to.

External boys struggle just as hard to get accepted on STEM courses!

That’s true I would argue they are actually less likely to take external boys on STEM courses. As they prioritise the internal boys and rightly so, as all schools are obliged to take internal candidates first if they meet the entry requirements.

Yes this as true as they actively want and need girls at that stage. Extra boys not so much!