Need some advice pls....Herschel or St. Bernards...

[iss22]

Hi,

I need to complete the CAF form this week and I'm a bit confused which school to put first. Both grammar schools are excellent and we like them both but just need some help to decide. Any feedback is really appreciated as I don't know anyone with kids studying in both schools to ask their experiences.

We like St Bernards because we're Catholics. We went in the open evening and it's very organised & impressive. The headteacher is very welcoming & share his vision for the students. Problem is, it's 15-20 mins by car from where we stay and we were somehow worried by the past issue of the merger...."what if", it happens again, "what if" they decided to remove the grammar school status, so many "what ifs". I searched the web for any clue and all I can see is that this topic is closed and no one seems to be talking about it anymore. Does anyone heard about this? Is there a likelihood that they will open this proposal again in the future????

As for Herschel, it's just a walking distance from where we stay (15-20 mins walk) or 10 mins or less by bus. Very convenient for my DS and all his friends will go there. It's very popular (any idea why it's so popular? The results among the Slough grammar school seems pretty close to each other (they're all good performing school). Problem is, when we went in the open evening, it seems a bit disorganised and I didn't get a feel of the school at all. The headteacher is very good and she spoke about the excellent exam results but I'm also after the wellbeing of my child apart from getting good exam scores, i.e. how is the school helping the students grow as mature individuals, how they tackle bullying, how they deal with different personalities of the students, etc.... which I can't remember being mentioned in the talk.

We all have different situations, locations, 11+ scores, religions, etc that can affect our decision but can you just let me know what school would you choose between the two and why?

THANK YOU in advance for your help.....asap pls....I need some input this week....plssssss!!!

[harrow123]

Hi,

I need to complete the CAF form this week and I'm a bit confused which school to put first. Both grammar schools are excellent and we like them both but just need some help to decide. Any feedback is really appreciated as I don't know anyone with kids studying in both schools to ask their experiences.

We like St Bernards because we're Catholics. We went in the open evening and it's very organised & impressive. The headteacher is very welcoming & share his vision for the students. Problem is, it's 15-20 mins by car from where we stay and we were somehow worried by the past issue of the merger...."what if", it happens again, "what if" they decided to remove the grammar school status, so many "what ifs". I searched the web for any clue and all I can see is that this topic is closed and no one seems to be talking about it anymore. Does anyone heard about this? Is there a likelihood that they will open this proposal again in the future????

As for Herschel, it's just a walking distance from where we stay (15-20 mins walk) or 10 mins or less by bus. Very convenient for my DS and all his friends will go there. It's very popular (any idea why it's so popular? The results among the Slough grammar school seems pretty close to each other (they're all good performing school). Problem is, when we went in the open evening, it seems a bit disorganised and I didn't get a feel of the school at all. The headteacher is very good and she spoke about the excellent exam results but I'm also after the wellbeing of my child apart from getting good exam scores, i.e. how is the school helping the students grow as mature individuals, how they tackle bullying, how they deal with different personalities of the students, etc.... which I can't remember being mentioned in the talk.

We all have different situations, locations, 11+ scores, religions, etc that can affect our decision but can you just let me know what school would you choose between the two and why?

THANK YOU in advance for your help.....asap pls....I need some input this week....plssssss!!!

I would choose Herschel if I am you

Becaz:
Walking distance so easy life for 7 years
Freinds in the same school hence good social life for ds
Get to know to go along with non-catholics as well (I am not catholic, so I may be silly here)

Open morning at herschel: I had been to langley/stbernards/herschel 2 years before, langley open eve was not at all organised well and i found herschel good that way. So I would not worry about herschel open eve exp. You can stand outside herschel and meet the existing parents and discuss with them about your queries, nothing wrong doing this.

[tiffinboys]

I would choose Herschel if I am you

Becaz:
Walking distance so easy life for 7 years
Freinds in the same school hence good social life for ds

Good advise, specially if some one live pretty close to a grammar school. There is no need to put 11 years old to travel for hours for seven years. Time saved could be well spent in studies or after-school activites/sports etc.

[Jpk]

Sounds like Herschel if you an walk there and there will be plenty of friends locally