Thomas's College - did anyone attend the offer day?

[Boilingfrogatprimaryschool]

Does this look like it will be a good school?
My SIL is thinking about this school for next year as she has a very bright DS but very laid back and hates too much pressure.
It doesn't look like an overly selective school or too much of a hot house, is that the case?
If anyone attended the offer day last week can you tell me what did you think (good or bad)?

TIA

Bump

A friend and I went, as both our DDs have offers. We were both impressed overall, with strong staff backgrounds and an impressive HM with solid stints at SPS and SPGS. The campus is nice, and the facilities are good. Now that there is a bus system, we are considering accepting it over other schools, such as Ibstock and others. My DD has friends from previous schools who joined this year, and they are very happy.

Thank you for getting back to me. I'll definitely tell her to this.
Do you think this school is going to pitch itself as mixed ability and will have some very academic children who don't want the pressure of somewhere like Latymer Upper or will it be pitching itself to parents looking at the likes of Kew House?

Hmm good question. I felt that it doesn’t pitch as a super academic focussed school but I also felt confident that it will be a platform for kids to stretch and excel. As mentioned the HMs background is at both St Paul’s schools so he understands what’s required. And with the PE funding they will thrive or struggle based on results. Bottom line is I’m confident that my DD will have the support to thrive and do well both academically and personally

If your ds has a bright dc, I would see where they got in first before. Latymer Upper is no pressure at all. My ds goes there and is doing very well. He is very much laid back and came from a primary that was laid back.

That's good to know, I assumed LU was lots of homework and pressure to get results, but I guess they are looking at moving away from GCSEs so that shows some willingness to prioritise the childhood over the academic.

Can I ask, did you use a tutor or just do it yourself/use Atom to get a place at LU? I'm asking for myself here as it is somewhere I would consider for my DC as it's local to us, but not really to SIL.

My DS got an offer from LU this year, which we just turned down for Kings. He did use atom for practice as its easy to use. The competition is high at LU as they take 50/50 State/Indy, and it's co-ed, so the pool is split into 4. But if your DS is bright, then it's a good school to consider.

My ds feels no pressure at LU. Ds really enjoys the lessons and has made a lot of friends. The teachers have been great and supportive in his sports when he has had to leave early because of it or sit out others because of injury. They get homework, but we rarely see ds doing it. He seems to do some at school or on the bus home. I think it depends on the dc and how they balance work/life. Ds has sport every day and sometimes twice a day Sat/Sun and his schedule has been quite filled like this for the later years of primary (during 11+ as well) so he is used to managing his schoolwork with his sports/screen time. Maybe hw will increase later. But it is the same for dd, she is in year 9 at G&L and also seems to manage her hw well.

We used a tutor for LU, but he was also doing Atom for other exams. The math for LU was the hardest exam out of all he took, so I would def use a tutor for this to make sure to cover the more difficult math. But I would also look at your child individually and think about how much outside help they need. It also depends on the school they are at. Mine went to state school. Dd did a lot less prepping and got away with it (less prep because we decided to do the 11+ last minute for her). Ds, we did more prep earlier because he is younger and we knew we would do the 11+. But also looking back he def could not do it all last minute like his older sister. Make sure the tutor has experience doing the 11+ and for LU. In addition, make sure he is reading books, practicing creative writing. Don't just trust one source for prep. So I would recommend, tutor, atom and yourself to cover all :) For interviews, just practice general questions and make sure he has thought of what his favourite book is or what he likes to do on his free time etc. There is no right or wrong answer and nothing to stress, but some kids might go blank or freeze suddenly when asked these simple questions and if he has already thought about it prior to, less likely. Good luck.

Just to say here I am a Thomas’s year 7 parent with a bright child and very happy with how things are going so far. They are definitely still encouraging him to stretch and improve but not in a pressured way.

Thank you for your response. That is very encouraging to hear. I'm coming to it from state too. If you were able to DM me your tutor details I'd be very grateful, as Maths is definitely the subject that needs the most attention!

@Nottoolongtogo
That is very positive to hear. It does sound like a lovely school and I will definitely be going along with SIL to have a look at the next open day.