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Secondary education

Surrey choices

17 replies

Befuzzledagain · 26/03/2013 17:06

Hi there

I know not many people out there will have enough knowledge of the area to help me. But just in case, may I ask....if you had the choice of the following which path would you choose?

South Farnham Juniors or Waverley Abbey followed by Weydon Comp followed by sixth form college.

Boxgrove Primary followed by George Abbott Comp.

Eastwick Infants and Juniors followed by Howard of Effingham.

Pack up and move to grammar school area (children would have a good chance).

I am at a crossroads with only a few weeks to choose where to move to. Hence me asking for help from strangers : /. Thanks for taking the time to help me!!

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Hattifattner · 26/03/2013 17:14

With your first option, you are unlikely to get into either south farnham or waverley unless your child goes to a nominated feeder infant school. Both highly competitive for entry.

Weydon also has feeder school system, which means no matter where you live in relation to the school, you may not get in if you haven't been to the right school.

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mummytime · 26/03/2013 17:18

I'd go for the Middle one, because I love GA (not so much Boxgrove). I wouldn't want a grammar, but that could be because it would be all wrong for my children.

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holidaysrcoming · 26/03/2013 17:25

hi, there is a similar post going on re good state secondaries. Are your dc school age? if you are looking at in year admissions you may not get the pick of school no matter how close you are. The areas you have mentioned altho' close are quite different to live in - big town G'ford v villages. Also differ in cost of housing, size of house, cost/length of commute, need for one car/two cars etc etc.....

All v good schools. Be careful where you live in Bookham, the catchment area on their website is not a guarantee you would get a place if it is oversubscribed. However if your dc are young all could change. Currently you would be better off with the Raleigh in Horsley for jnr. G Abbot v small catchment.

Personally I wouldn't move near a grammar without a good back up option unless my dc were in year 5/6 and i had a pretty firm idea of their suitability. There may be good back up options around Surrey grammars, someone more knowledgeable than me hopefully will come along !! good luck

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Mendi · 26/03/2013 20:30

If aiming for the Howard you do need to be in one of the feeder primaries first if you want to be highest up the selection criteria, so bear that in mind. You can see which primaries feed to it by searching the selection criteria online. Raleigh in W Horsely is certainly one.

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Befuzzledagain · 27/03/2013 14:53

Thanks everyone. You make some valid points of which I have already discovered. I also know it is going to be tricky. Mummytime - you sound very knowledgeable of the schools around here. May I take advantage of this ; ) and ask why you prefer GA to the Howard and Weydon (if you know all three). May I also ask you if you have any thoughts on South Farnham school, Waverley Abbey, Boxgrove? I think you could be somewhat of a golden nugget of advice.

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mummytime · 27/03/2013 19:39

I like the Howard actually, lovely kids. I don't know Weydon so well. The only real advantage of GA is that it doesn't have feeder schools, if you live in the right area you get in regardless of which primary attended. It is also very clever at handling money and resources.

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apatchylass · 27/03/2013 19:54

I'd do the second, because GA is an outstanding school. But don't you have to pay so much for a house in the area that you could afford to go private and live elsewhere?
HofE is also great, but tight catchment.
Don't know the first schools you mentioned.

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mummytime · 27/03/2013 21:39

Some places in GA catchment are quite affordable. Some people do live in cheap areas, and go private. However, if you do this a) you don't get an asset you can re-sell; b) school fees increase by a large percent each year so may out strip the "saving"; c) most private schools in this area are quite selective and certainly do not suit all DC, so you may need to move a child who it doesn't suit.

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Befuzzledagain · 27/03/2013 23:06

Thanks so much for replying. Food for thought. With four children we have decided not to go down the private route, but seek great state schools instead. We may never be able to afford to buy. We may be stuck in the rut of renting forever after returning to the UK after a decade away. But we would prefer to stay in Surrey/Hants as it is an area we like and know and like the schools.

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cece · 27/03/2013 23:11

I know several people who have children at GA and they all seem happy with it.

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Hattifattner · 28/03/2013 14:55

Weydon was not our first choice school - Its like a brand around these parts and their attitude is very much "you'ld feel lucky to get into this school because we are so great!"). Friends children go there and her comment is that if your child is bright or has SEN, then its a great school. If they are just average kids or even on the wrong side of average, the school will do very little for them.

S Farnham and Waverley both academically strong, Waverley very sporty with wonderful grounds. S Farnham more academically rigorous and going for academy status. Both populated by very "Naice" families and dont like to let the riff-raff in to their school. As a result, the schools have lots of very wealthy parents that know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. (Come to the summer ball - on £70 a ticket! ) Very hard to get in unless you attend the right feeders. I believe that both have similar issues to weydon with bright/SEN and children who are average not getting a look in...

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Issy · 28/03/2013 17:48

I know a family whose children are at the Raleigh school in Horsley and then went on to Howard of Effingham and have been very happy with those choices. East and West Horsley are also a nice blend of urban (very close to Guildford) and country life and have a good community/village feel.

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Dededum · 29/03/2013 13:33

Have to mention that GA is huge (300 in a year) and very tight on discipline. Think school uniforms have to be just right.

Doesn't suit every kid or parents. We could have got in but choose another Guildford comp as more suitable for our son. Loads of DS1 friends at GA and seem to be doing well, but can say the same for St Peters (catholic) and County (music academy).

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greyvix · 29/03/2013 23:55

Weydon results ( value added) suggest that the school targets all ability groups, not just SEN or the most able (although the school is 4th in the country for A/A*, according to the Sunday Times). Meanwhile, South Farnham regularly achieves first place for achievement at KS2. I am biased, but I would not write off the schools in Farnham. My four children followed this route, and have done very well.

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Befuzzledagain · 04/04/2013 15:54

Thank you for taking the time to post. We took your thoughts on board and spent the weekend driving round Great Bookham and Burpham area. If I am totally honest we still love the whole feel of the area in Farnham. There is a great sense of community and I feel we would be happy there. So that leaves us with Weydon. Greyvix - great to hear you are happy with the schools there. I suspect our four children will be following in the path of yours : ))

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Mrscupcake23 · 07/04/2013 18:50

I have been a nanny for many years in Farnham.

Waverley abbey is a lovely school. South Farnham has a completely different atmosphere. It's run like a business they get good results through lots of pushing. They are told all the time how great the school is etc.

All the children I have minded got on fine at weydon.

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greyvix · 13/04/2013 01:03

Good choice, OP. The schools in Farnham (both primary and secondary) are good and it is a lovely area to bring up children.

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