Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

[DadTutor]

Majority of children leaving KES enter science based university degree courses as far as my analysis shows. I agree, in some cases, KECH is a fantastic option for those DC smart enough to pass a very tough exam, and from cash limited backgrounds. I also know of some cases where kids from very rich backgrounds who also choose to go to KECH.
I would wager that in a few years, KECH will also be IB.

I agree with the move towards IB.

There is a need to differentiate the academic success of schools and IB is definitely the way forward. KES imo has been bold and forward thinking in making the move to fully take on IB, and ultimately I think it is a wise and correct move.

[no_ball]

http://www.kefw.bham.sch.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

KEFW doing what KES did a few years back before KES went completely to IB. I think the others from the KE foundation will fall into line soon after.

[UmSusu]

gr8 post mm, its something i'd like more comments on.
Is KES a place for the classicists, languages etc? and KECH/KEFW more suited for the more mathematicians and scientists?

Camp Hill has its science specialism so I can see why people would say that. We know several families whose children wanted to pursue the medicine route and opted for KES - 2 of the families had sons who went on to do medicine at Oxford. My own children are not at secondary school yet so I can't speak from personal experience, but from what I have heard around me, the parents who delibrately chose KES over grammars wanted their children to benefit from the quality of the classical subjects as well - not to mention the choice in extra-curricular activities.

Then of course, there are children who had no choice because their children did not do well enough to be offered a place at the grammars.

Both options sound very good to me. After 3 children, I started to doubt that we could afford KES when the time comes. Now that we have 4, I doubt that we can afford retirement before 80, never mind KES fees. Good luck to all in your decisions.

[2Girlsmum]

Has anyone compared the FT lists to others available (The Times, Mail, Telegraph, BBC) ones? The FT one seems out of kilter in its list compared to the others IMO. I was looking at the London schools, which all appeared to be in a completely different order and position the where they were in the other lists.

[KES Parent]

http://www.kefw.bham.sch.uk/

KEFW doing what KES did a few years back before KES went completely to IB. I think the others from the KE foundation will fall into line soon after.

If you mean that KES ran IB alongside A Levels as Five Ways is apparently going to do, then that is incorrect. KES moved straight from only offering A Levels to only offering IB in September last year - they never had the two systems in parallel. They have been planning the move for several years, but only implemented it once they were ready to commit to IB completely. There is no reason for the other KE schools to follow suit - having DC at both independent schools, my view is that the fact that KES has done it makes it less likely that KEHS will, at least for the foreseeable future.

[pheasantchick]

2girlsmum- i've wondered the same thing.ie. How do all the lists compare?

[nigs]

2girlsmum and pheasantchick, I have also wondered the same. The lists and ratings are very different to the Times, for instance. Not sure where each gets their results from or how they are compiled. Which one to rely on?

[bromley mum]

I'm OOC (!) so please can someone tell me what does KES, KESH and KEFWstand for? Thanks

[moseleymum]

I'm OOC (!) so please can someone tell me what does KES, KESH and KEFWstand for? Thanks

KES - King Edward's School (Indie, Boys only)
KEGS - King Edward's Girls' School (Indie, Girls only)
KECH - King Edward's Camp Hill (2 Grammar Schools - one for boys KECHB one for girls KECHG)
KEFW - King Edward's Five Ways - boys and girls

2girlsmum and pheasantchick, I have also wondered the same. The lists and ratings are very different to the Times, for instance. Not sure where each gets their results from or how they are compiled. Which one to rely on?

That's the whole point - you can't rely on a single year's results as they vary in their pupils and parameters. They don't necessarily let you know which is right for your child.
Is a £65k+ school (according to the other reply) placed significantly enough above a free school to make it "better"?
Is it worth putting your child through "harder" programmes of study (iGCSE and IB) when they will be judged against those doing "easier" exams (GCSE and Alevels), when those doing "easier" exams are in the vast majority.


Who knows?

[no_ball]

It's a brummie thing. King Edward school for boys and girls (private) and king Edward five ways (state)