Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

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piggymom
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:28 am

Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

Post by piggymom »

Went there with my DD tonight. Really impressed by the students and the friendliness, supportive environment of the whole school. My DD likes the school very much.

The compromise seems to be "students not stretching enough and so the results of public exams were behind other grammar schools in the same district, and the lack of outdoor space for students to run around.

Any one share the same or have other thoughts? Would love to hear more as we know very little about the school. Thank you.
JJ123
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Location: kent
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Re: Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

Post by JJ123 »

Hello piggymom
I have DD in year 10 at Wok and was also there on Thursday evening with her little sister hoping to start there in 2017. My eldest was also offered a place at Togs with all her friends but always preferred Wok primarily for the aspects you give. Choosing Wok was the best decision we could have made for her. It is a very caring school which imo stretches all girls to their potential and more importantly produces confident well rounded girls.

Yes the results at Togs are slightly better but it's important to remember they are creaming off the highest ability girls in the first instance. That said, in my daughters year, there are many girls who scored easily high enough for Togs but didn't chose it and results are improving yearly.

Remember also in year 9 in Maths and science girls are streamed depending on their ability allowing all to work at their pace and ability.

I honesty wouldn't hesitate to recommend Wok. My DD loves school ( unlike my other two :roll: :roll: ) its pastoral care is incredible and most of the teachers highly motivated and approachable ( no school is completely perfect ). They are not fearful of the teachers but respectful which i particularly like.

In terms of the grounds i am a bit confused - it has a huge area of playing fields and sports courts and the new multi sports centre will be open in time for your daughter - or are you talking about the Sevenoaks annex ?

Good luck with your decision hope you find the right fit for your daughter.
kent mum
piggymom
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:28 am

Re: Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

Post by piggymom »

Thank you JJ123,

wow, what you said is very promising and thank you for the insider information. The sportsground bit was told by two current students who showed around at the opening evening. Perhaps I got it wrong.

Re the Sevenoaks Annex, I found it quite strange as there seems to be only 3 forms of year 7 there, that means there will be only around 90 students. That would then work like a very small school indeed... May be I understand it incorrectly. Do you know anything about this? thanks
JJ123
Posts: 182
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:22 pm
Location: kent
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Re: Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

Post by JJ123 »

Yes the Wok admission section on line confirms this too. I'm afraid i don't know more.

I will chose the Tonbridge site for my dd starting in 2017 (depending on Thursdays results :? ) and she thankfully gets sibling priority. Although i live in Sevenoaks i would prefer the whole secondary experience that comes with an established school - Big girls interaction etc - and my eldest two have always loved the 25 minute bus ride to Tonbridge ( its a social thing). But thats just me. I guess if there are just 90 girls they will definitely get personalised attention !
kent mum
pp1
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Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:27 am

Re: Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

Post by pp1 »

I looked round both WOK and TGS for my daughter last year. We thought they were both fantastic schools but TGS was the one she chose - and she is loving it! If your child is musical, the new facilities at TGS are incredible, as is the new 6th form centre. That made a big difference to my daughter and she was a bit put off when we looked round at the bucket catching the drips in the WOK music room - ridiculous of course that she honed in on this one detail, but I guess it was one of the things she felt important to her. We were also very concerned at the number of extra places WOK offered last year (2 extra forms) and how they would be accommodating these children, however I can see that they are in the process of getting some lovely new facilities, like their new sports hall, so that will be a real boon to the school. From looking around the schools, we were equally impressed by the girls showing us round, both being very friendly and engaging.

We were a little concerned that there is a reputation of TGS being rather a 'hothouse' and that the children are overtly pushed there - but I do think you have to be careful who you listen to about this - and from what my daughter is telling me now she is there, I genuinely don't think this is the case. The curriculum seems to be absolutely fascinating and for a child who wants to learn, I'm not sure you can fault it, but of course you do have to have a child who is a good all-rounder in both English and Maths and who is happy to pursue a language through to 6th form as part of the IB. They also do French, Spanish and Latin from Year 7. For anyone looking at TGS, it is important to know all about the IB to see if it would suit your daughter!

Mine is quite a down to earth girl from a village primary with good enough marks for TGS and yet she is absolutely loving it and thriving there. She says that there are obviously very clever girls but that she feels inspired to work hard for herself and not to compete with them and does not feel under any extra pressure at all. The teachers are wonderfully welcoming and nurturing and her learning mentor is always asking them how they are and the TGS transition team were superb at settling them into the school as well as offering excellent continued support both for children and the all important parents too! Despite being quite a shy girl, she has made a whole host of friends, both in her learning community and class and she is already developing plenty of confidence (they cover some wonderfully inspiring and motivating subjects in assemblies and have lively discussions in their learning communities) . We are also very impressed with the IB's strong ethos of community and volunteer work that runs throughout the school.

In short, I'm not sure you could go far wrong with either school, but please don't discount TGS from what you have been told by others! You definitely need to see it for yourself with an open mind as we did. Good luck with all your school visits and I hope your daughter finds the right school for her.
pp1
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:27 am

Re: Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

Post by pp1 »

Sorry - and forgot to say, there's no streaming at TGS either until Yr 9 based on ability (well that's what we were told!) and they still all cover the same syllabus, just the ones finding it harder get more support
piggymom
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:28 am

Re: Weald of Kent - open evening tonight

Post by piggymom »

Thank you PP1 for the invaluable information. DD has to be lucky to get decent marks in order to be able to at least "get the entry ticket" to consider TOGs :lol: . Will keep eyes and my heart open, and hope to have clear mind by end Oct when we hand in the form.

Thanks again.
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