WGHS Results

[quasimodo]

My daughter got 378 looking at both NGGS and WGHS Newport is a worry as normally only 40-50 places outside catchment area up for grabs so may have to look at WGHS

I would have thought with that score NGGS shouldn't be a problem as your first choice school if it is your first choice.By all means have WGHS as your back up second choice but it shouldn't come into the equation.

[Meggy12]

We're trying to decide between WGHS and our local independent school. The indie school will only hold a place for her if we pay a deposit of more than £2000 by the end of December, talk about ransom! Also, quite cheeky as offers from WGHS won't come out till March 1st.

My daughter got 332 in the consortium entrance exam. Can I be reasonably sure she'll be offered a place at WGHS and not pay the indie school deposit?

Anyone with a daughter at WGHS already on this forum? Do most girls manage, or will someone with my daughter’s score find it hard work? Are your daughters happy there?

[quasimodo]

We're trying to decide between WGHS and our local independent school. The indie school will only hold a place for her if we pay a deposit of more than £2000 by the end of December, talk about ransom! Also, quite cheeky as offers from WGHS won't come out till March 1st.

My daughter got 332 in the consortium entrance exam. Can I be reasonably sure she'll be offered a place at WGHS and not pay the indie school deposit?

Anyone with a daughter at WGHS already on this forum? Do most girls manage, or will someone with my daughter’s score find it hard work? Are your daughters happy there?

I would not pay the deposit.

The admissions score on offers day under the current system over the last few years has never been above 321.Even if we allow a slight increase by a couple of points due to 20 pp places that still takes us to 323.This assumes that all those non pp girls are scoring at these margins which will not be the case and makes no allowance for the movement in the waiting list of up to about 3 places each year.This movement in the waiting list is constrained by the admissions criteria which prevents an offer being made below 2% from the cut off in March.This still exists in the new admissions criteria.

The actual admissions score is irrelevant once you have a place and is no indication of how they will do once at the school.

My dd is incredibly happy and it was the right place for her.We were very careful where we placed her when our eldest dd was not happy with her 5 years at the independent KEHS in Edgbaston on full fees until we moved her to QMGS in Walsall for the sixth form.The eldest was fine academically and gained lots of soft skills at KEHS but in my opinion at the time it's pastoral care was lacking.One of my youngest's dd's friends is at KEHS on a scholarship but I hear she is not happy.I took the decision at the time not to put my youngest dd in for the exam so I didn't have a decision to make.The decision of final school for my youngest was fully supported by my wife,my eldest dd and my youngest.We went on at least 3 open days over a couple of years to make sure it was the right school.

Go with your gut instincts they are usually never wrong.

[Meggy12]

I would not pay the deposit.

The admissions score on offers day under the current system over the last few years has never been above 321.Even if we allow a slight increase by a couple of points due to 20 pp places that still takes us to 323.This assumes that all those non pp girls are scoring at these margins which will not be the case and makes no allowance for the movement in the waiting list of up to about 3 places each year.This movement in the waiting list is constrained by the admissions criteria which prevents an offer being made below 2% from the cut off in March.This still exists in the new admissions criteria.

The actual admissions score is irrelevant once you have a place and is no indication of how they will do once at the school.

My dd is incredibly happy and it was the right place for her.We were very careful where we placed her when our eldest dd was not happy with her 5 years at the independent KEHS in Edgbaston on full fees until we moved her to QMGS in Walsall for the sixth form.The eldest was fine academically and gained lots of soft skills at KEHS but in my opinion at the time it's pastoral care was lacking.One of my youngest's dd's friends is at KEHS on a scholarship but I hear she is not happy.I took the decision at the time not to put my youngest dd in for the exam so I didn't have a decision to make.The decision of final school for my youngest was fully supported by my wife,my eldest dd and my youngest.We went on at least 3 open days over a couple of years to make sure it was the right school.

Go with your gut instincts they are usually never wrong.

Thank you quasimodo, really appreciate your reply. I'm personally convinced that WGHS would be right for her, just hope that DD and DH agree. They are not keen on the travel to school, as WGHS is 17 miles away, however she won't need to use public transport as there is a school bus. Our local independent school is only 3 miles away. This does mean that she would miss most of the after school activities at WGHS, or we'd have to go pick her up afterwards. Does your daughter do a lot after school? We heard there is a baking club and a music club at WGHS and she's quite keen on those. She's also quite artistic and wants to be a game graphic designer when she grows up. Will there be girls with similar interests to her at WGHS, or do a vast majority go on to study more traditional subjects such as law, medicine and humanities?

We are going to the open evening on Wednesday; this is our second open day, but the last one was so busy it was hard to imagine the school on a normal day. Please let me know if you have any advice on things to look out for or questions to ask. Thank you!

[nervousdad1]

After school clubs are not great at WGHS compared to independent schools
music feels like a bit of an after thought to be honest.

[quasimodo]

I would not pay the deposit.

The admissions score on offers day under the current system over the last few years has never been above 321.Even if we allow a slight increase by a couple of points due to 20 pp places that still takes us to 323.This assumes that all those non pp girls are scoring at these margins which will not be the case and makes no allowance for the movement in the waiting list of up to about 3 places each year.This movement in the waiting list is constrained by the admissions criteria which prevents an offer being made below 2% from the cut off in March.This still exists in the new admissions criteria.

The actual admissions score is irrelevant once you have a place and is no indication of how they will do once at the school.

My dd is incredibly happy and it was the right place for her.We were very careful where we placed her when our eldest dd was not happy with her 5 years at the independent KEHS in Edgbaston on full fees until we moved her to QMGS in Walsall for the sixth form.The eldest was fine academically and gained lots of soft skills at KEHS but in my opinion at the time it's pastoral care was lacking.One of my youngest's dd's friends is at KEHS on a scholarship but I hear she is not happy.I took the decision at the time not to put my youngest dd in for the exam so I didn't have a decision to make.The decision of final school for my youngest was fully supported by my wife,my eldest dd and my youngest.We went on at least 3 open days over a couple of years to make sure it was the right school.

Go with your gut instincts they are usually never wrong.

Thank you quasimodo, really appreciate your reply. I'm personally convinced that WGHS would be right for her, just hope that DD and DH agree. They are not keen on the travel to school, as WGHS is 17 miles away, however she won't need to use public transport as there is a school bus. Our local independent school is only 3 miles away. This does mean that she would miss most of the after school activities at WGHS, or we'd have to go pick her up afterwards. Does your daughter do a lot after school? We heard there is a baking club and a music club at WGHS and she's quite keen on those. She's also quite artistic and wants to be a game graphic designer when she grows up. Will there be girls with similar interests to her at WGHS, or do a vast majority go on to study more traditional subjects such as law, medicine and humanities?

We are going to the open evening on Wednesday; this is our second open day, but the last one was so busy it was hard to imagine the school on a normal day. Please let me know if you have any advice on things to look out for or questions to ask. Thank you!

My dd travels by school bus from Walsall and enjoys the experience.Generally its an hour 15 minute journey.We have tried to change it from year 9 onwards but she won't have it .She regards it as part of her down time.Many activities take place during the lunchtimes.My youngest has been putting on Zumba classes for the younger girls.She demonstrating how not to do it and her friend showing how it should be done.She has full days preferring as many activities as possible.Usually one sport after another.She is involved in baking club.She has been involved in representing the school in sports some during the day and on the odd occasions after school at different levels.She has a number of things she does out of school which she wants to be home to be able to do, as examples guides or her recent foray into tap lessons.

There are many girls who are musical or artistic.A number of my dd's friends are like that and go to the music club but everyone finds a way to develop their talents.

WGHS has a very wide range of academic ability so the Universities and courses the girls go onto are diverse.The majority of the girls continue onto A level.

The demand for music lessons is high and the school population is increasing.You may want to question the availability of lessons and the prices.The new sixth form centre has just been built and opened last month.

Computing is no longer compulsory and all the girls no longer do a GCSEin the subject.This may be worth exploring.

Good luck in your endeavours.

After school clubs are not great at WGHS compared to independent schools
music feels like a bit of an after thought to be honest.

My eldest had lots of facilities at KEHS but she hardly touched them. WGHS does have less facilities as its a state school but they are fully used by my youngest dd.

I am not the best person to pass judgement on the state of music at the school compared to others.I will let others better qualified and with better knowledge give their opinions.

[Meggy12]

Thank you for the advice quasimodo, sounds like there's lots and varied activities, looking forward to the open day tomorrow!
Both DH and DD starting to get their heads around the idea of having to travel into school, sounds like there are plenty of kids traveling as far or even further than our 17 miles. I'm hoping that they will be sufficiently impressed tomorrow that travel won’t be the deciding factor, fingers crossed.

Thanks again, appreciate it!

[quasimodo]

https://www.wghs.org.uk/extra-curricular-activities" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you click on the link and then where it says extra curricular booklet it should open up to a PDF of the current activities.

Even I learn't things my dd is not taking up all the things she could be doing and I know she would have an interest in.

On a aside I wasn't aware the school had a LGBTQ+ club.I certainly recall when my eldest was in the sixth form at QMGS she would mention X or Y had come out as being gay and no one thought anything of it.It was nice to see the liberalism in the school. Certainly the school I went to if somebody had come out as being gay they would have been ridiculed and in some cases physically attacked.It has changed generally but I am sure its still the case in some quarters.

[Meggy12]

https://www.wghs.org.uk/extra-curricular-activities

If you click on the link and then where it says extra curricular booklet it should open up to a PDF of the current activities.

Even I learn't things my dd is not taking up all the things she could be doing and I know she would have an interest in.

On a aside I wasn't aware the school had a LGBTQ+ club.I certainly recall when my eldest was in the sixth form at QMGS she would mention X or Y had come out as being gay and no one thought anything of it.It was nice to see the liberalism in the school. Certainly the school I went to if somebody had come out as being gay they would have been ridiculed and in some cases physically attacked.It has changed generally but I am sure its still the case in some quarters.

Thanks for that quasimodo, I missed the club info on the WGHS website. The list is impressive and there seems be a wide variety of different activities and sport, unlike our local independent who seem to be stuck on the usual hockey and netball clubs.

Agree with you regarding the LGBTQ+ club, it's refreshing to see that in the club list and the liberalism at the school now. Think most kids feel more enlightened in that regard these days, although a friend's 15-year old son had to leave our local independent school not because of bulling when he came out, but because other boys completely shut him out.

[Spindle]

Music is also good at WGHS. Lots of opportunities to get involved with different groups. Performances are often quite ambitious and the standard is really high.

@quasimodo haha we’ll meet half way! School told me it was 319, but I suppose it could have been up to 318.99!! We were also 318.something, so very much in the midst of it!

Really appreciated the support on here at the time