Best private schools around Farnham with emphasis on pastoral care

[KiwiUKMumma]

Hi all, we are thinking about private school for our kids however would be looking for somewhere that has a strong emphasis on pastoral care. Whilst academics are important we would like to put their wellbeing first. As I have one girl and one boy I would prefer it to be a co-ed school that is well balanced between boys and girls. Thank you

What age are your children and what are you looking for - academic, arts etc?

Hi @FuzzyWolf my daughter will be year 7 next year. She's academic but also loves performing and sports, particularly football. I just don't want a school that puts heaps of pressure on them academically but still want them to do well.

Hi @KiwiUKMumma We know friends with DC at the various schools around, mainly Edgeborough, Frensham Heights and Aldro. Some travel to Churcher's and St Edmunds not too far away. My DC were at Aldro and have now moved on and we couldn't fault the pastoral care. I would definitely recommend..

Have you looked at Lord Wandsworth?

Tormead & Churchers have a bus, I expect St George’s Weybridge has a stop too. You need to hit the open days, decide how long you want the travel distance to be, ie to pick up late or watch a sports match and get some advice from a tutor re how much work your dd needs to do, is she Year 7 in Sept 2027?

Surrey has vast array of private schools - 20% of pupils in the county are in private education which is the highest in England but Farnham sits in an odd location for easy access to private and it has very good state schools, are you in the catchment for Weydon?
Pastoral / academic is a difficult balance, Tormead would probably be your best bet but it’s single sex. For boys it may be Churchers.

Sorry Weybridge is too far.

@tennissquare she’ll be year 7 in Sept this year! We are late to the party as only moved from NZ in November. We’ve applied for state but for a few reasons we think private may be better. Is it too late? Probably only want 30 mins commute absolute max. Thank you

@KiwiUKMumma well yes it’s too late for an academic selective school in year 7. You need to subscribe to the good schools guide and study the school transport options unless you plan on driving yourself, perhaps start a new thread asking for non selective private schools a 30 mins drive from Farnham with year 7 entry in Sept (although St Edmund’s hindhead is probably an option). You should seriously consider your state option too because the Farnham schools are good.

Where is dc attending now? Friends used Barfields and Lord Wandsworth. Priors Field is less academically selective than most of the girls schools in the area. You could look at a prep with year 7/8 for year 9 entry into a secondary with a later selection process.

Most of the private schools had their assessment days before Christmas but Churcher's is on Saturday 24th January for Year 7 entry this September. However they may have closed their applications and it could be a tall order to prepare in three weeks unless she's already up to speed with the style of tests! There's a maths paper, verbal reasoning, comprehension and creative writing task. You might be better to talk to the local schools and explain your situation and see if they will assess her separately or offer a place based on existing work. Or as others have said, look for a prep school that goes to the end of Year 8.

We love Aldro for our DC. Pastoral care is amazing. It is a really happy school. It has real focus on both academics and sports with sports every day which I think helps!

Definitely Aldro. Such a lovely school and the kids seem so happy. Very special.