Schools in/around Bristol, Wilts, Somerset

[Singaporeslings]

We’re moving back to the UK after living abroad for 10 years. We want to be in or around Bristol (up to 30/45mins out). And we’re not tied to an area for work or family so it’s a bit like sticking a pin in the map!

Our top priority is finding the right school for our DD currently in Y9 who has SEN (and is not happy about the move). She always been in mainstream school but is not very academic so we’re also thinking she may benefit from repeating a year.

We’re open to a non-selective private school but ideally would like to find a really nice state school that would be able to support her.
We’d be renting for a couple of years so can be flexible in terms of the catchment areas.

welcome any tips and advice!

Hi @Singaporeslings I don't know the area so cannot advise on specific schools, but as I imagine you are aware, it’s a case of where is there a space in year 9? There may not be a very wide choice but the LA can advise.

State schools are unlikely to allow your DD to be in the wrong year but a private school, if you can stretch to it, may be amenable. What is her SEN (you don't have to say ofc but just trying to get a feel of how it will affect things). Things like dyslexia, ND, many state schools are well set up to support.

If your DD would be in year 9 now in England then I would move asap – many schools choose GCSE options in year 9 (usually in Feb/March) and any delay might mean less choice for your DD. In any case definitely move before the end of the school year. I would try to avoid any school that starts the GCSE courses in year 9 – this was happening more and more a few years ago but I think the trend is now back to a two-year course starting in year 10 – in any case it’s that you need, obviously. Best of luck.

Take a look at Sidcot School which is out in the countryside just beyond Bristol Airport. They have a network of school buses bringing kids in from various directions so you wouldn't need to live right near the school if you choose somewhere along one of the bus routes. Moving into year 9 is incredibly difficult so you need a really supportive and well-resourced option for this child to have any chance that she won't resent and blame you for decades to come. Sidcot is a really nurturing non-selective school with a Quaker ethos and has a lot of SEN children who really thrive there.

There are some really good state senior schools in the North Somerset area, so within your 30 min commute time of Bristol. Some of them are in beautiful areas too as a place to live, also with lower crime rates than Bristol.

Clevedon School may suit you if you'd like to live by the sea, or Backwell, Nailsea, St Katherine's (Pill/ Abbot's Leigh) and Portishead (Gordano school) may also be worth a look. Some Weston Super mare schools have a good reputation for pupil support if you go a bit further out, though less academic..

Not sure how great your daughter's SEN are, but Ravenswood School is also in North Somerset.

Hope that's helpful to get you started!

Also came on to recommend Sidcot for it excellent pastoral and send support, as well as ability to offer a really broad academic programming that caters to both those very academic and not so academic alike.

If you want a state-sector school you will have minimal choice - once you have moved and are resident, the LA are obliged to offer you a place but it will be wherever there is a space and any actually good state school is unlikely to have a space (or if it does there will be a scramble to grab it from the families whose kids are at the less good ones so you may not be the lucky one, and the space available to you will be the one the lucky family vacated when they won the upgrade). I don't know details about all the schools mentioned by @Tamarastar but I have a friend whose son in the same yeargroup as my DC was bullied at St Katherine's for being studious and hardworking, doing homework etc so not convinced that would be a very supportive environment.

Agree with Cactus re availability.

State schools will rarely let you move out of your year group & SEND provision is patchy at best. Depending on what SEND your DD has & if/where you had the diagnosis, the LA (local authority) may insist you have DD re tested using a UK clinician - which will mean long delays via the LA. This is important because of time delays re accepting DD’s diagnosis and application for any exam accommodations.

Have a look at King’s Bruton. Small, private, through to 18/19 yrs with an emphasis on SEND provision. Has crested status.

I’d look at possibly Sidcot who I know supports dc with additional needs despite being a mainstream private school, it’s about 45 minutes I guess from central Bristol and nice countryside in between. I have 2 friends with children with mild sen in mainstream in Nailsea school (state), it’s 30 minutes south of Bristol and on train line with direct service to London sometimes. I live on the coast which is lovely but I don’t know how good gordano or st Catherine’s are for sen, the two secondary options from here

Sounds like state school may be too challenging for many reasons. Part of the support DC needs to manage this move is to know what the end point looks like. And if we can’t pin down a state school before we get there then it’s probably not going to work.
But it’s great to get such glowing reports on Sidcot.
What about Redmaids High? I get the feeling it may be too academic - is it very pushy or do they support all levels well?
I’ve also found another school - but on the other side of Bristol, called Westonbirt. Does anyone know what this one is like?

@Singaporeslings have you subscribed to the good schools guide? It may help.

I have heard very good things about Redmaids. I would say the reputation is that it is academic but less pressurised than some of the other Bristol private schools. Being girls only will be a big draw or not depending on your and DD’s perspective, but I have heard they are very supportive. It looks like a more traditional sixth form vs Sidcot, which offers arguably a broader range of technical and academic options.

People move Heaven and Earth to get to Breden but no idea if any good. It’s where some from
Clifton College go if too SEN.

There is a place called I think Sedgemoor Manor for ASD

These are specialist provision for intelligent kids with more pronounced SEN