Page 1 of 2

Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:21 am
by sunny24
Hello,

I'm in dilemma between wilsons & St Olaves as my first choice. We are happy to relocate to a commutable distance to any of these schools. Any suggestions which one is best? Please advise.

thank you

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:41 pm
by Mama H
Hello,

We are in a similar position. However we have opted for St Olave's. I do think that Wilson is equally a good school. I also do think that they could take similar steps to that taken by St Olave's as far as a fair assessment of the child's positon/chances of being offered a place is concerned. All we are allowed to know until March is that our son is one of the 390 pupils that have passed. We know for sure they will not be making 390 offers so what's next. Also we really do love St Olave's.

Sorry cant be more helpful.

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:43 pm
by sunny24
Thank you very much for your advice. I had spoken with school today. They are saying that lots of children commute to school from North London. They run a bus from crystal palace. If you don't mind may I know how you are planning to send your DS.

thank you

BW

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:58 am
by Athena
I'm not sure about Wilsons but if as the others say they are equally good schools I would opt for the one closest to you or the school located in the area you would like to move to. My son is at St Olaves and although it is a very good school it is not without it's issues. The new headmaster Aydin onac is widely disliked in the school both by staff and students causing a mass exodus of teachers at the end of every year which I feel hinders DS study. Just as you get familiar and comfortable with a teacher he/she leaves. Standards for entry to sixth form have also been raised so if you don't cut the mustard at GCSE you will have to leave. The pressure is immense. Google the headmaster for more info especially on rate my teacher, it makes for interesting reading. We based our decision to send our DS to St Olaves when the previous head Anthony Jarvis was at the school, things have certainly changed now.

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:07 pm
by kingsgen
Athena wrote:I'm not sure about Wilsons but if as the others say they are equally good schools I would opt for the one closest to you or the school located in the area you would like to move to. My son is at St Olaves and although it is a very good school it is not without it's issues. The new headmaster Aydin onac is widely disliked in the school both by staff and students causing a mass exodus of teachers at the end of every year which I feel hinders DS study. Just as you get familiar and comfortable with a teacher he/she leaves. Standards for entry to sixth form have also been raised so if you don't cut the mustard at GCSE you will have to leave. The pressure is immense. Google the headmaster for more info especially on rate my teacher, it makes for interesting reading. We based our decision to send our DS to St Olaves when the previous head Anthony Jarvis was at the school, things have certainly changed now.
I have read the comments about Mr. Onac on rate my teacher. Comparing comments made about him with my dd primary school in South London and Rochester Grammar School in Medway, it is very clear that he has a very high academic and behavioural expectations from both the pupils and teachers. I think our children need a person likes him and the school system also need people like him and that is why Ofsted has a new head in January. The new Ofsted chairman or head used to employ former soldiers to work in his school. He succeeded in transforming the school as behaviour improved and they started getting good results as well. Michael Gove gave him the ofsted job as result of this.

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:11 pm
by lefol
I agree!

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:46 pm
by Jiff
Athena - I agree with you and would only add that he is also disliked by many of the parents, especially those who knew the school under the excellent headship of Mr Jarvis. (PS I have not read "rate my teacher" and base my views on my own experience as a St Olave's parent.)

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:28 pm
by lefol
Never seen the rate my teachers site until recently, it is quite a funny. My agreement was with the sentiments raised by Kingsen that we need discipline in schools. I dont really know much about St Olaves, only heard it is a great school.

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:51 pm
by Jiff
Hallo Lefol

Sorry if my reply sounded snappy - it wasn't meant to. :D I think the issue with St Olave's is that it is a great school, but that the new(ish) head seems to be focussing purely on results and "leavers' destinations", in fact anything that can be measured in a league table. I don't think discipline is an issue, it has always been good, but previously the school also provided a great ethos and rounded education; this remains in part with some of the excellent staff, but seems to have been lost in any of the head's pronouncements (except lipservice) and his speeches are reminiscent of Soviet tractor production figures.

Re: Wilsons VS St Olaves

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 4:50 pm
by Athena
I totally agree with Jiff and would just like to add that my views on the head are not based on rate my teacher by any shot. In fact I only stumbled upon this site very recently. From my personal experience I would say that while every school needs discipline and of course children benefit from it, there is a big difference between running a military school and a grammar school. As Jiff pointed out the school was perfectly disciplined by Anthony Jarvis too. In any case my views are based on our experiences at the school which has lots of positives too. I would rather not go too much into detail about Mr Onac on a public forum and I'm sure others have their own experiences of the school; but ofsted reports and grades are the only criteria we sometimes have to go on when deciding on schools for our DC. It's nice to share our own experiences of children in various schools.