Solihull or St Georges/Priory

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rits
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 3:40 pm

Solihull or St Georges/Priory

Post by rits »

This maybe rather random but am looking for feedback on schools. Is Solihull School a better school than the 2 Edgbaston schools?
My son is very sporty and musical and we loved Solihull. But we live in Harborne and concerned about the commute for him.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Post by hermanmunster »

Commuting across Birmingham (from Solihull to Edgbaston) is a memory deeply engrained..... seem to take a huge chunk out of the day!

At least the commute is against the traffic to Solihull :roll: and if it is easy ie one bus or one train then fine - it is all the changes that take the time and hassle lugging stuff around! Music fine but don't try to commute with a double bass / cello / tuba.... similarly cricket kit can be a pain on a bus.

I don't know much about the schools these days - used to know a fair few lads at Solihull and I am not sure but is Edgbaston CofE part of the group now ?
rits
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 3:40 pm

Post by rits »

Edgbaston CofE is now St Georges. Really would like opinion on Solihull school. It appears to offer so much more than the Edgbaston private schools particularly for sport and academic achievements. Anyone know Solihull school?
The commute is one bus directly to school and takes 30 mins.
KenR
Posts: 1506
Joined: Fri Mar 17, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: Birmingham

Post by KenR »

Know all 3 schools quite well - Solihull is in a different league to both St Georges and the Priory. Far superior
fm

Post by fm »

The intake at Solihull is generally better--both brighter and better educated at point of entry. I understand the music facilities are very impressive. It has more prestige. And, despite the commute, I know Haborne children who continue to make it on sixth form even when they have sufficient passes to switch to KES or the free grammars. Lastly but not least, I have not heard of anyone being unhappy there.
rits
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 3:40 pm

Post by rits »

Hi KenR
Was hoping you'd reply as have read many of your posts and find them incredibly helpful.
The impression I get of Solihull is it is superior. My son just missed out on 5 ways so really want to get the best for him. He also has choice of Bromsgrove and Old Swinford but am still thinking Solihull better. It's just the commute that puts me off, not my son!
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Post by mike1880 »

I'm not an expert but I'd put all of those ahead of the Edgbaston schools in academic terms, even though OSH is a "comprehensive" :wink: .

Mike
nmf
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 3:55 pm

Old Swinford School

Post by nmf »

I should be grateful if anybody can assist: We live in Warwickshire and are very interested in sending DS to OSH in a couple of years time as a weekly boarder. How easy is it to get into this school?

With regard to Solihull School, a number of colleagues have children attending and all are very happy. In my view Solihull is particularly good for boys and is still finding it's feet a bit with the girls. Having said that if I had a girl I would choose Solihull School over St Martins.
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: Old Swinford School

Post by mike1880 »

nmf wrote:I should be grateful if anybody can assist: We live in Warwickshire and are very interested in sending DS to OSH in a couple of years time as a weekly boarder. How easy is it to get into this school?
Ha, good luck with that. We went through it last year and I'm really none the wiser. I think Master 1880 was probably judged unsuitable for boarding but they found out we'd been offered a higher preference before they got round to telling us and stopped talking to us.

In theory, the odds of getting in are about 1 in 4 which is not bad compared to some of the alternatives. The difficulty, as you're finding, is that the process is a little opaque. My impression, though, is that the bar for boarding suitability is set very high and for a fairly specific type (outgoing, confident, sporty, etc.). Boarding suitability is judged by interview.

I've been told that some of the preps are very clued up about getting boys into OSH (the only one I can remember specifically is Blue Coat in Edgbaston, but one or two others were mentioned); I think if I was doing it now I would look very seriously at putting him into prep school for the last year or two (I think a few B'ham parents do this anyway to boost the chances for indies) and I'd question said school beforehand about their record of getting boys into OSH.
nmf wrote:With regard to Solihull School, a number of colleagues have children attending and all are very happy. In my view Solihull is particularly good for boys and is still finding it's feet a bit with the girls. Having said that if I had a girl I would choose Solihull School over St Martins.
I've never fancied Solihull much but am seeing it in a whole new light today; I'm wondering whether we should put it down for Miss 1880 as second choice indie (after KEHS it's basically down to EHS, St Martins or Solihull I think). We're desperately short of options for her if she doesn't get into GS.

Mike
2togo
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:50 pm

Post by 2togo »

Three boys in my DD state primary were offered places at OSH this year. They are very normal boys, not highly confident public speakers etc. All 3 are however quite sporty. Know of others who have got in & not at all sporty - quite the opposite, in fact, musical, bookish, gentle types. Why not ask them (OSH) what type of boy THEY think is suitable for boarding?
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