WCGS v's Wilsons

[Worrywart]

Hi,

I recently went to the Open Evenings for both schools. I found the Head at Wilsons to be quite charasmatic and better at selling the attributes of his school, but Wallington felt to me like a happier school! I would love to hear the opinions of others especially if your child is already attending one of these schools.

[surreymum]

They are both good schools. I think it is really a questions of what seems right for your child.

Wallington is smaller, takes girls in the sixth form and plays predominantly rugby. Wilsons is larger, more football orientated and more sporty generally.

Boys seem to be happy at both.

Wallington is just going through a process of change as the head is relatively new.

[Worrywart]

Thanks for that do you know what sort of changes Wallington are going through? I thought as the current Head had been there for 30 years already he may have been appointed in order to keep things the same!

[surreydad2010]

Hi there

I have one son in Wilsons Yr9 and the other going to start WCGS in September this year.
My tuppence...

Wilsons has a fantastic academic record, it has some great sporting facilities, the boys love the astro pitches. They do tend to leave the boys to fend for themselves more than Wallington...
Wallington has a brilliant induction programme..we've had BBQ and sports day, 4 full induction days, rugby morning, they seem to have more of a family atmosphere than Wilsons. Wilsons sort of feels like a collection of children and teachers in a building where Wallington feels more like a school - of that makes sense!

Both to be honest are excellent schools and there isnt really a great difference between the two..

[Worrywart]

Thanks SurreyDad that insight was really useful. I got a similar sort of feeling at the Open Evenings but it's nice to have it confirmed by someone who is about to have a child at both schools.

[Plum]

Hi Worrywart

At the open days last year, I thought the Wilson's head came over as really dynamic and had a lot of good things to say. The new head at WCGS didn't come over as a particuarly good public speaker which I think probably diluted his message. But having seen him speak several times more and seeing him at the picnic recently, he does appear to have a really strong affection for the school (he has been there a long time as OH remembers him!) and wants the best for the school and the boys (I'm sure the Wilson's head is the same) and he's grown on me. Also, WCGS have a very personable head of KS3, who DS thought was great (can't comment on Wilson's equivalent).

We put WCGS first on our preferences as OH and his brothers went there and also, two of my nephews have passed through and another is still there, so we feel like we know the school more - also, it's more conviently located for us. I also liked that fact that it was smaller and DS liked that they played rugby. I liked that Wilson's does home economics but WCGS is introducing it as well in the next couple of years - teach those boys a few recipes before they go off to uni!

When it comes to results, I think they are very close together, although in the league tables, Wilson's has the edge.

With regard to "changes" at WCGS, I got the impression when the head of governors spoke at open day for boys and their parents that have passed the test, that they are not looking at making any major changes and wanted to keep things on an even keel (I may be wrong though - wouldn't be the first time!)

My nephews that have just left, really enjoyed their time at the school - they liked all the camaradie that goes with a boys school. We're waiting on their results but hopefully one will be going on to doing a history degree and the other will be doing an English degree.

In the end, I think it comes down to gut feeling and what your DS wants...... To be honest, I would have been happy for DS to go to either school.

Good luck
Plum

[Worrywart]

Thanks Plum. I also had the impression that Head of WCGS wasn't a great public speaker but that he really did care about the school. Wilson's Head came across much better, but the school itself maybe because of the size seemed a lot more daunting. Do you happen to know if there is much of a drop out/weeding out rate at either school for boys that get in and then experience difficulties?

[supermum2]

I attended both open days for the schools in question. To me, Wilson had a great marketing campaign. The tours were organised and boys knew exactly what to say and where to be. The heads speech was well planned out and and the content appeared flawless. Their glossy brochure appeared to be well designed and the entire package portrayed an image of a very good business. I was impressed with the open day and my DS was besotted! WCGS was a much more hands on experience. The tours were slightly disorganised, the prospectus had paragraphs that were not aligned properly. Many boys were in lesson to create the feel of a normal day. The heads speech involved a few boys speaking about their experiences, which I felt was very useful.

I think they are both good schools and if I were to go for marketing, buildings, grades and presentation then Wilsons would win hands down.

I really liked Wcgs as I am one of those people who like to read between the lines, in the long run all these children will do well at any school given the right support, to me the most important way to get the best out of people/children is the use of soft skills and ensure that they are in a caring and supportive environment. My DS has had some friendship issues at primary svhool and I really felt that he would actually be cared for as an individual at WCGS.

My ds still insists on Wilsons but I guess we will have to wait for the results!

[Worrywart]

Thanks Supermum2. I agree with a lot of what you said, the only difference being that my Wilson's tour was a little disorganised as I was in a group being shown around by 3 Year 7 boys and they seemed to be distracting each other. Also we only had time for a potted tour as we wanted to catch the last Head's talk of the evening. That aside though, the Wilson's Head and prospective was indeed very impressive. I think like you though, my preference would be Walllington that seemed more of a family.

[ThreeKids]

I know this is resurrecting a very old thread, but for those that may also be going through the same dilemma.

I have a son at WCGS. He's a relatively quiet child, bright and has a kindly nature. The family atmosphere at WCGS is very very evident and he is absolutely loving it. He didn't like either Wilson's or SGS and I can see exactly why. This has more to do with his own personality than the schools. It is, I think, horses for courses.

Other things - from experience - the settling in process is fantastic as already mentioned. Friends with older children had warned that it would be a very rough period getting used to everything, but they have ended up amazed at how easily their own sons have settled into the school. The school aims to take the boys in September and 'hit the ground running' (their words) and they have achieved just that. This they need to do as they power through KS3 in 2 years instead of 3 which is different I believe (though I stand to be corrected) to the other Grammars. So the boys choose their options in Year 8 rather than year 9.