RGS Surrey

[dddais]

Hi all, does anyone have experience of this school? It was recently taken over by the RGS group and having spoken to them I was quite impressed. I am looking to enrol my daughter for Year 8 on a boarding basis. She completed primary school overseas. I am looking for a small, nurturing environment / individual attention, that tries to get the best out of the pupils. Any feedback anyone can share (in particular in relation to boarding environment) would be really appreciated.

Do you mean RGS Surrey Hills? (Ex Box Hill)

Hi yes sorry i do - surrey hill

Yeah if it's RGS Surrey Hills (old Box Hill, near Dorking) they do sell themselves as quite small and knowing everyone, which sounds close to what you're after. Boarding is full/weekly/flexi and they've had international kids for ages, so Year 8 from overseas isn't a weird ask. On the visit I'd ask how they settle mid-entry boarders and what evenings/weekends actually look like for Y8 girls — marketing and the house feel can be different things.

Ask what the ratio is between day and boarding numbers. Local intel suggests that RGS offers SH to those who perform less well on their entrance test to maintain its exam stats.

Thanks. What's SH? I got the impression Surrey Hills was not too focused on results; they only publish limited results

Surrey Hills. Definitely not as results focussed as Reigate Grammar itself.

We looked at the school, as we were at one of their prep schools. We were massively unimpressed with the calibre of teachers and only a couple of the year went there. Much better options out there for nurturing schools. Word is massive amounts of churn while they weed out the poor performers.

Thank you for sharing your perspective. Oh that is disappointing to here. I have not visited but based on a telephone call I had I was quite impressed and it ticked a few boxes - not too far from a family member, the fees seemed ok and they seemed to emphasise nurturing. I have a spot at another school (in Ipswich) but am concerned the environment could be a little bit too competitive for my daughter who isnt really the academic type and gets anxious easily by deadlines. Would you mind sharing which schools you feel are more nurturing? Do they have boarding facilities?

I would consider full boarding schools if you are living overseas otherwise you might find your dd is alone at the weekends. Have you considered using an educational consultant? Otherwise when you speak to admissions team ask detailed question about the number of girls who board and how many stay in at the weekends.

St Catherine’s Bramley?
no direct experience but I hear good things.

Thanks, I've heard its good too but I got the sense its quite an academic, pressurised school which wouldn't be suitable for us

Priors Field?

It’s worth contacting and visiting the school, to make your own impressions, hearsay can be quite misleading as many schools are experiencing a broader intake than may have been the case a few years ago. It’s a great location with a lovely campus feel, I wouldn’t write it off without looking.

Thanks. Yes it does seem that many independent schools are quite different to years ago - less focused on selectivity and more of an emphasis on nurturing. I was looking at St Cat's originally but struck it off as too much of a hothouse. Unfortunately a visit now in the time i have to decide won't be possible. If anyone has any first hand St Cat's experience please do share

@dddais, I would start a new thread in the boarding school section of Education. I think you are missing the point regarding the small number of girls who stay in at weekends at boarding schools in year 8, - let alone day schools with a few boarders added on. Your dd could be on her own for weekend after weekend unless you choose a full boarding school. Outside the top level boarding schools most of them are not full and will take anyone who can pay the (excessive) fees.

Thats exactly my concern - we don't want her to be lonely, so want a place with a decent number of boarders and where they run a lot of activities. The issue is a lot of schools have decent capacity and used to be full but now boarder numbers are very few. They've given lots of reasons - cost, boarding falling out of fashion, cost of travel, etc

Yes you need to move the Boarding School section of MN and read the threads were parents are looking for full boarding, you will find all the schools that do this listed, sorry I’m really bad at linking posts from other sections of MN.