I'm interested in opinions on CGS from anyone who currently has DCs there or knows the school well.

How pressurised/ competitive is the environment? Are children expected to be gaining A grades at all times?

Does the fairly large geographical intake area (I know it reduced significantly this year) have a particularly negative effect on kids' friendships/ being able to meet up with friends outside school?

I believe homework is generally 1.5-2 hours a night, which seems like a lot to me, but am interested to know whether pupils cope with it OK and if there's support available if necessary.

At the most recent open evening much was made of the benefits of the vertical tutoring system in terms of mixing with others from all years & remaining in the same group year on year. Does this have a hugely positive impact on your DCs' school experience?

Most importantly, if you have DCs there, are they happy & would they recommend the school to others?

I've visited the school a couple of times now & read a few generally positive posts on here in the past about it, but am really interested in any up to date views from anyone with direct day to day experience!

Many thanks in advance.

It isn't particularly pressurised. Obviously A grades are considered to be desirable, but lower grades are not frowned upon if the pupils are working to the best of their ability in a subject. I would certainly not describe the school as a hothouse or pressure cooker environment.


Although the geographic distance appears to be large, almost all the more distant pupils are either drawn from the Berko/Hemel direction or from areas on the Met Line, which makes it relatively easy for them to get together outside of school.


1.5 - 2 hours a night would be news to me, but that could explain quite a few things! I don't think you should assume that it is quite that much, other than for the more intensive subjects such as Art GCSE. In common with most schools, homework deadlines are usually at least 48 - 72 hours to allow for out of school activities.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "support", but the staff are always supportive of pupils who need help or advice.


The VTI was not popular (and that is putting it mildly) to start with, but I think it has now bedded in well, and I certainly don't hear complaints about it now.


I can't think of any child I know who has been unhappy there, and the atmosphere has always seemed to be genuinely happy. I do know students who have transferred in from other schools at various points, and they have been happier at CGS than they were elsewhere.

Thanks very much for this detailed reply, you've put my mind at rest on these queries ☺

You've got some good questions there! I hope you don't mind if I take a couple of these and post it on my thread about JHGS and RGS?

Sally-Anne - why was it not popular? I was really attracted to the idea of vertical tutoring when we first went round CGS so I am interested to hear whether it is working well.

No-one likes change. There was uproar at Burnham Grammar when they implemented it last year but it all seems to have settled down & is working well (as far as I can tell - I had one DS who loved it, and another who would prefer the old system).

Before the VTI, the students were all just in the traditional class groups for registration, form tutor time, etc. Those groupings were broken up to an extent by the VTI, and there was a rather silly rebellion over it: lots of stuff on Facebook about being separated from friends, blah.

Totally exaggerated, but as scary says, it was just that they were all averse to change. The fact is that they still have plenty of time to spend with their year group but they now also have the advantage of the mentoring, role models, understanding, etc, that come from the mixed age groups created by the VTI.

There were some teething problems with it, and not all the staff were convinced about it either, but all of that got sorted out in the first couple of years.

Blueberry - yes of course, feel free to copy & paste away!

I've asked Yr9 DS your questions...

He doesn't feel it's pressurised. They do have high aspirations but a lot of it is up to the student to put in the effort - support's there if needed.

We live the other side of Chiltern from all his mates - they're in Ley Hill/Chesham Bois with a couple in Berko. Every few weeks they go into Chesham after school, most of their communication out of school is on X-Box anyway! He doesn't feel it's been a problem - it's more a logistical issue for me for parties!

Homework varies but there's definitely support if students are falling behind - we've experienced this and the pastoral side was fantastic.

Ds thinks the vertical tutoring is a real asset - particularly for Yr7s and new starters. He's got a range of friends across the years which he says he'd never have had otherwise. The tutor system is very strong - whenever we've had any issues, because the form tutor knows him so well, they've been dealt with quickly and effectively. Every year there's a tutorial session where you are invited in to discuss your child's progress with their tutor - I've got far more out of them than parents evenings tbh.

CGS has really worked for DS. DCGS would never have suited him as it did his brother.

Thank you so much