JHGS vs RGS

[anotherdad]

Yes, the shot of the brooding young men in bow ties on the JHGS page is reminiscent of the Bullingdon Club photo that so embarrassed David Cameron many years later. An odd choice of style by the school.

[BucksBornNBred]

Talking with friends I believe RGS is possibly a bit more disciplined in its approach. JH is a good school on the whole but IMO has had a few teething problems since the change in Head.

And the brooding men are their "Men in Black" - sixth formers who are ambassadors for the school and help out at school events. I don't think you could find a finer group of polite, welcoming and helpful young men and they look very handsome in their tuxedos; I always look forward to school events

JH do ask for contributions to the school but never force the issue, whereas I believe RGS boys have to donate weekly to charity, with boys coming into class to collect the cash (that was a couple of years ago so not sure if they still do it). On a personal note (not relevant I know) I think the uniform at JH looks much smarter too.

JH has lots of lunchtime and afterschool clubs and their yearly play (in collaboration with WHS) is good enough to be on in the West End!

[Bustermartin]

Can't compare fairly as I don't have any first hand experience of John Hampden. I am sure they are both excellent schools. Must just say though, that my son is in Year 10 at RGS and he has never had to donate weekly to charity and I have never heard of boys coming into his class to collect money - so I think that must have been discontinued. Perhaps it was a specific thing for one year group? As with all schools there is plenty of opportunity to support them with donations for various things - but if you are not in a position to do that, you are not made to feel like a second class citizen!

We had a great visit to John Hampden on their Open Evening a couple of weeks ago and really hope that we get to have the choice between the two on 13th October. My younger son is very keen on going to RGS with his brother and because we think that both schools are so good we will leave the decision totally up to him.

[BlueBerry]

Isn't the envelope going to be addressed to you anyway?

My son did exams last year and we got all the results through via email. It was my email address so I got them first and was able to give him the news. This meant that I was able to prepare myself, so if the news was bad I could get over my own reaction without him being there. It wouldn't have helped my son deal with bad news if I was also visibly upset.

It's up to you, of course, but I would certainly consider trying to find the results out yourself before your son finds out.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm definitely going to try and find out the results before he does. My issue is that I stupidly promised him that we will find out together. I'll have to take some annual leave from work, go home early, steam open the envelope and then seal it back again The Berks results will be online so that will be OK. The only problem is that we are attending an open day on the 16th.

[BlueBerry]

And the brooding men are their "Men in Black" - sixth formers who are ambassadors for the school and help out at school events. I don't think you could find a finer group of polite, welcoming and helpful young men and they look very handsome in their tuxedos; I always look forward to school events

Oh yes, I forgot about the Men in Black! We got last year's prospectus, I wonder if this year's one will be any different?

And please can you tell me what you mean by this?

Talking with friends I believe RGS is possibly a bit more disciplined in its approach. JH is a good school on the whole but IMO has had a few teething problems since the change in Head.

[BlueBerry]

Bustermartin, is your son a football or a rugby player? Does sport feature heavily in school life?

Do they get a lot of homework?

[Amber]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm definitely going to try and find out the results before he does. My issue is that I stupidly promised him that we will find out together. I'll have to take some annual leave from work, go home early, steam open the envelope and then seal it back again The Berks results will be online so that will be OK. The only problem is that we are attending an open day on the 16th.

Alternatively, you could just tell him that on balance you think it best if you open the envelope. Equally, if you open it together and are prepared for what to say if it is a negative, then surely that is OK too? Remember that in a few short years it will be GCSE results, and learning to manage your own anxiety becomes crafted into an art form by A levels!

I do think the Bucks system of envelopes in the playground sounds like some kind of mickey-take - adding insult to what is already such a flawed system.

[scary mum]

I do think the Bucks system of envelopes in the playground sounds like some kind of mickey-take - adding insult to what is already such a flawed system.

It's a horrible business. We always grabbed the envelope & escaped home as quickly as possible. I presume it's some kind of money saving exercise - school prints out results (maybe?), stuffs envelopes, saves the price of postage. I understand there's a marvellous new system called "email" as well as "the internet". Maybe Bucks will discover it one day (they manage for school allocations).

[Amber]

presume it's some kind of money saving exercise - school prints out results (maybe?), stuffs envelopes, saves the price of postage.

Here's another way to save money - scrap the whole selective thing. No exams, no appeals, no letters to print out...just think where all that money could be spent!

[BucksBornNBred]

And please can you tell me what you mean by this?

Talking with friends I believe RGS is possibly a bit more disciplined in its approach. JH is a good school on the whole but IMO has had a few teething problems since the change in Head.

When comparing notes, I got the impression that the classes were more formal at RGS than JH, but I can't say for sure so maybe a RGS parent could comment. I know the described atmosphere would probably suit my DS better.

We have had a few issues with JH since the new head took over, but that could be coincidence and I have no doubt she is doing a good job and it is still a very good school.

One other difference between the schools (unless it has changed) is that RGS has shorter lessons than JH, which has one hour lessons across a two week timetable. Also, JH has a strict no phones policy ... which all the students ignore except for my DS