Benenden, Worth & Eastbourne college conflicts!!!

[Coloursingreydays]

I am writing to seek advice and perspective on our Year 9 senior school options. My daughter is currently in Year 6 at an independent prep school, and we are feeling quite conflicted about our next steps.

We initially applied to five schools and received four offers. While our daughter was disappointed not to receive an offer from Brighton College, we have placed deposits at both Eastbourne College and Worth School. Our current plan is to decide between these two in Year 8, particularly as she intends to apply for a Music scholarship.

However, we recently received an offer from Benenden. While it was her first choice initially, we have several concerns. As a sensitive child, we worry about the social dynamics of an all-girls environment. Furthermore, Benenden is heavily focused on boarding; we prefer to have our children at home until college, the lack of a flexi-boarding option is a significant drawback, alongside it being the most expensive option.

My daughter is a well-rounded student who performs well academically, though she is not at the top of her class. She is very talented in Drama and Music but does not enjoy sports at all.

Could anybody with experience at these schools provide some insight into the educational environments at Eastbourne College, Worth, and Benenden? We are trying to determine which would be the best fit for her personality and interests before committing further. Happy to hear Horror stories too !

Benenden is very sporty and even those that not on the top sport teams does and enjoy a lot of sport. If this is not what your DC likes it would not be fair to go full boarding and lots of social aspects is quite sport oriented.

Can I ask when you registered and when you received your offer for Eastbourne College?

I think Benenden is very boarding focused. Did you plan to flexi board or stay for a longer day at the other schools. Does your daughter prefer co-ed and what’s the commute like to each of them?

Thank you. She won't be boarding. Day student

We registered in Nov last year. Private tour end of Jan Offered 2/3 days after.

Regarding commute Worth/ Benenden 35 min each way, we prefer longer days. She's confused between CO Ed & only girls but feels a CO Ed might suit her better, also changes her mind every day about schools hence can't be really sure.

There’s quite a marked academic difference between these schools. It would be unusual for a child who has just missed out on Brighton to move on to Worth. Worth offers a very nurturing environment with strong SEN support, though, your prep should be able to advise whether that’s something your daughter would benefit from. Ours tends to suggest Worth for children also considering Bethany rather than Brighton.

Benenden is academically stronger than Eastbourne, A to B at A level is 88% versus 78%, GCSE 7 to 9 is 78% versus 52%, though of course that’s only one factor. Benenden is very much a girls’ school, with a strong boarding ethos. Both Benenden and Eastbourne are very sporty, perhaps Eastbourne slightly more so, and both have good provision for drama and music.

I’m not sure how well day girls are integrated at Benenden, as we looked from a boarding perspective, perhaps worth revisiting and asking to speak with some current day pupils. Pastoral care at Benenden is often spoken of very positively for girls. I’ve heard more mixed feedback about Eastbourne, particularly for more sensitive or introverted girls. Those I know who thrive there tend to be confident, sporty and resilient, one quieter girl we knew moved on to Mayfield. By contrast, the girls I know at Benenden seem happy across a range of personalities, both outgoing and more introverted.

Will you be driving, or relying on train or bus links? Journey time really does matter, especially when GCSEs and homework begin to pile up. If it came down to it, I’d lean towards Eastbourne for co ed and Benenden for single sex, once you’ve looked more closely at day provision. And if it’s very close, the easier journey can make all the difference.

I would ask for a meeting with your deputy head of academic as they will have all your DCs data and be able to guide.

I’m not familiar with the other school but EC is excellent. We chose it over BC to avoid the corporate hothouse atmosphere.
EC is known to be sporty but we have found the humanities/art and STEM offering to be exceptional as well as the pastoral care. Good luck!

Worth really not good.

Could you elaborate please

Thank you so much. What year is your girl/boy now? Was the trasiccion alright? Flexi/ FT boarding/ day?

I have a child at the school. Problems with behaviour in classes, staff turn over, money issues, poor exam practice, if your child has SEN needs it’s not well supported

Worth is a fabulous school. My nieces attend and my sister cannot say enough about it. Warm and nurturing while getting the best out of every child.

Somewhat outing but old Worth here, left v early 2010s, so might have changed since. Day student.

Generally a well governed school. Whilst I was there there was an excellent performing arts scene, especially music. We had a reputation for being "nice people".

To be honest, I have friends from the local private schools in Sussex and Surrey including those you've mentioned, and we all seem to be the same (now in our 30s). Can't say I have reviewed each schools performance across the board so this is vibes based, but we all had a fairly similar education experience, attainment was good.

The key factor was parental input - some of my friends who had lots of parental pushing did well (with a few caveats), those who didn't tended to fall upwards more slowly.

In my example, school was an escape from a stressful home life, and high grades (with the school having good teachers) meant a route to London and moving onwards. Now in the professions and very settled, married, happy life etc.

Would I recommend Worth? Yes, if it works for you. I don't particularly think any one school is better than tother though.