11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi all,

Please can anyone tell me the difference between QE and St Olaves, not only academically but all round (like sports and environment).There is no problem in moving to either school.

QE being in Barnet? Shouldn't think there are many people who have looked into both schools? Did the 2 open days help give you a flavour of the differences between the schools - that's all anyone will have to go on really?

My son is at St Olave's and absolutely loves it. There are some articles on here that are fairly negative and other comments on the web but I've yet to meet another parent or child that goes there and doesn't love it.

Just throwing this out there but have you considered Wilson's in Wallington? Another wonderful school and well worth a visit.

Have a look on the times Parent Power website and you'll see that there's very little between them academically - you will be very fortunate to get into any of them.

I'm a parent with a child at St Olave's and have mixed feelings about it, and so does he. He joined for sixth form and it's been great for him personally in terms of being thrown in with other kids who share his academic interests. He's done extremely well academically and has a great uni offer. However, he and many of his friends are dissatisfied with the school in other ways, and at the moment I would not want his younger brothers going there before sixth form unless we were to move very close. Of course, students will rightly always have critical opinions of their school, but I thought you might be interested to hear what they say.
First, there is a lot of academic pressure and they are open about that. You don't need to have that pressure all the way through to do very well at A-level and university; my son has had a much more relaxed childhood than he would have had if he'd been at this school all the way through.
Secondly, the sixth formers who went to other schools before have frequently commented that they don't think the teaching is that great. We don't know how much of the St Olave's value added is due simply to taking a lot of extremely bright kids and letting them bounce off each other without being held back.
Thirdly, the head is perhaps a 'marmite' person and how you, or your child, react to him may make a difference to you.
Fourthly, at sixth form, if you don't get a minimum of a B at AS in a subject then you are not allowed to take that subject at A-level, no matter how much you love it. If you do not get 3 Bs then you are out and have to find a new school halfway through your sixth form studies. There has been some bitterness amongst the pupils because of this, and a feeling that if there was care for the individual, they wouldn't be kicked out at this stage.
Fifthly, some who have moved to Newstead have reported that they much preferred the more discursive teaching style. This could well be down to the individual teacher, of course.
Some kids at Olave's seem to go off the rails a bit, perhaps as a reaction to the pressure. Could happen anywhere.

At least at St Olave's, what you get to do at A level bears some relation to what you wanted to do and have demonstrated ability in in a public exam. And at least there is a formal point of entry at year 12, rather than just a chucking out exercise at the end of year 11. From which you can deduce that QE is by far the wealthier school, since most schools look to increase their numbers, or at least replace 'natural wastage' at this stage, to attract the funding that follows each pupil. But you can look those threads up for yourself, OP - I'll get into trouble for raking over old ground if I say any more .

BTW, have the good folk of Orpington got over the Scout Hut issue now?

Toadmum - do you have a son at both schools or are you just comparing what you've read on here?

Am intrigued

boardfleet wrote:Toadmum - do you have a son at both schools or are you just comparing what you've read on here?

Am intrigued

Just going by the volumes of info / conversation on this forum, I'm afraid - as you yourself pointed out, parents with a child at each (I would add, at least contemporaneously) must be few and far between, even in the mad would of 11+ tourism. Although I may be wrong and there are many such, just not on this forum or at least not willing to respond to the original request if they are.

OP, you will probably have to satisfy yourself with searching for the two schools separately, although you may well find posts from those whose DS took the entrance exams for both and who commented on their reasons for choosing the one over the other if he did well enough for putting either as a first choice on his CAF to be reasonable.

cornucopia wrote:I'm a parent with a child at St Olave's and have mixed feelings about it, and so does he.
Some kids at Olave's seem to go off the rails a bit, perhaps as a reaction to the pressure. Could happen anywhere.

Hi Cornucopia, what exactly do you mean when you say ''some kids at Olave's seem to go off the rails a bit''?

Hi Cornucopia,

You seem surprised at the level of academic pressure and suggest that this pressure is "all the way through". It's simply not reasonable to compare academic pressure during sixth form with what the students experience through the rest of school. The implication that St Olave's students aren't getting "relaxed childhoods" is based on this false assertion and is complete nonsense.

You assert that students who have been taught elsewhere don't rate the teaching. It's a reasonable accusation and easily tested: St Olave's exam results are among the very best in the UK with a rate of entry to Oxbridge that rivals any other school. Even given the exceptional raw material that the school gets these results would be impossible without a good level of teaching.

I don't subscribe to the "personality cult" head teacher requirement that parents appear to demand these days. Exam results are up = he's doing a good job. It would be great if he was also an inspirational leader - I happen to like him a lot - but not everyone can be Robin Williams in Dead Poets' Society....

In terms of the requirements for sixth form, parents and students know the deal and, while it's harsh, nobody can complain they didn't know what was required. 3 Bs at AS level is a pretty pedestrian requirement to be honest given where these kids are starting.

And you're blaming the school for kids going off the rails?

Prospective parents, take the reviews you see on here with a pinch of salt and go visit the school.

I would add that Newstead score above St Olaves at GCSE. Some of the girls from Newstead then fancy a change, join St Olaves sixth form and then St Olaves leapfrogs Newstead for A-Levels. The boys who get booted out of St Olaves mid-way through sixth form sometimes find themselves at Newstead. Read into that what you will.