Hi all
This forum has been invaluable for what has been our first 11+ journey! My DS is due to start year 7 in Sept 2020.

It's been a measured journey - we began prep at the start of year 5 and were well prepped for SW, or so we thought (definitely couldn't have done more nor wanted to do too much more without feeling like we lost 12 months of life) ! He definitely had a bad day but on allocation day secured a place at Rickmansworth (3rd choice) on academic.

After the first round of CI we are much closer to our second choice of SCD and there is a chance we could be offered it.

We now need to decide whether we want to stay on the CI list for round 2 or not. Our first choice is highly unlikely given there were only 22 places to fight for in the first place (wgsb).

We went to see both Ricky and SCD once only and of course the introduction session for parents at Rickmansworth was cancelled (totally understandable given current covid-19 situation)

I just wanted to know if any parents on here had to choose between the two or have children that attend either of these schools and could provide a view? Distance of home to school doesn't vary too much - SCD is 5 miles and Ricky 4 miles and we have a school bus not far from where we live. DS is an all rounder but doesn't play an instrument. I know SCD gets better results but I hear the pastoral care at Ricky is better.

I realise this is a personal decision - but any further insight into the schools would be very helpful.

Thank you for reading and good luck to all the children and families for which the process isn't yet over!

We were in a similar position, and went for Rickmansworth, although we were unusual. Most people locally to me choose SCD over Ricky, simply because it gets slightly higher results.

For what it's worth, I found Ricky to be far more approachable, and the pastoral care is indeed extremely good.

Results wise, my ds was targetted 8's and 9's at Gcse until they all got cancelled (who knows how they'll deal with the results...) He wasn't alone, top sets are very able.

We've looked at both schools again for 6th form, and are staying with Ricky. Had a particularly tricky run in with one SCD teacher at the open evening, so it wasn't a difficult decision!

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm so sorry about the impact of cancelled GSCEs on your DS

Hi. I can’t comment on the difference at the 2 schools but my DS is at SCD and is really happy. He has found the teaching to be generally excellent ( better than his previous private school) and we have found the pastoral care to be very good. For me the most important thing is that is really happy and I believe as a result he is getting on well. The school have coped with Covid- 19 really well ( at least in our experience for his year group which is year 8 ). One thing to consider is that both schools offer slightly different subject options, so if your son has particular interests the offering may be better in one school than the other. For example I don’t think think Rickmansworth offer Spanish but SCD does. My DS was keen on learning spanish, so this was definite pull. SCD also offer LAMDA at an additional cost but it’s done during school time which saves on weekend running around. I am sure there are Ricky parents who can talk about the Ricky offering. Best of luck with whatever you decide!

It was a tough decision but we retained SCD as our higher choice and were offered it a few weeks later and after some consideration accepted the offer.

I think we were in a win-win either way.

Thank you for your comments - I agree, so far since accepting the offer (Ricky was good too in this respect) all comms have been assuring and overall my DS seems very excited about joining the school. And yes Spanish was his preference, we will find out this week if he is placed in the form groups that offer this (vs German) - to be honest either will be exciting and fun.

It's been a long journey since Sept 2019 - just thankful we have a great nearby school for the next phase, albeit under the strangest world circumstances.

I have a child going into y5 - so will have to go through this all over again but she is really impressed with SCD so I am really pleased we have that as an option.

Glad to hear that you were able to make your choice and your DS is excited. Not sure if you have got your uniform yet but I was told that BEATs uniform shop in Watford was better than the Chorleywood shop and I was very happy with the service and quality of clothing. In the current climate you need to book an appointment with them. Ordinarily parking is a challenge but given that’s it by appointment only you should be ok. Normally the school does a summer camp for a week so kids can get to know each other but I am guessing that can’t take place year. Best of luck.