Sutton GS Success

[shocked]

Hi, I am new to posting on this forum. My DS got into Sutton GS and was wondering whether any existing parents can explain any issues, what the induction was like and what it involves. Any tips would be great. My son is very excited, it was his first choice and quite a few of his school friends are going.

[tiffinboys]

A great school. I am sure some SGS parent would answer you soon. When we looked at it, we were very impressed with the school and its HT.

Issues, if these could be called issues, should have been looked at before selecting the school as first choice. One is sports field being off-site and second some one mentioned about languages being assigned i.e. The language (e.g. German or French) is allocated; it's not a choice initially. You would probably need to discuss this with school if you have any particular preference.

[redstar]

Congratulations to your DS!
I have a DS who will be starting in September too, and another already at the school.
There are lots of opportunities for the boys to meet each other before they start: an induction day for the boys in June, another one at the sports field for boys+parents in June/July, 3 sports days in the summer holidays (football, rugby and cricket) and the Year 7s go back to school one day early for a refresher.
The PTA is pretty active so you will also have a good opportunity to meet up with other parents in your form/year group. If your DS is into sports, music, drama etc then the sports fixtures/concerts/plays are another great way of getting involved and making lots of new friends. I am not sure whether it is typical to allocate children to the same form as their primary school friends - it did happen for my older DS but I do not know if that is the norm. There are many boys who will be the only one coming from their primary.
As tiffinboys says the sports field is offsite but games are scheduled for a block of time in the morning or afternoon so there is not much to-and-fro.
Your DS will be allocated either French or German in Y7 (you can express a preference but you might not get it) but in Y8 you take an additional MFL - either French, German or Spanish.
Happy to help with any other questions - welcome to the school!

[aloevera]

My son is in the Lower School at SGS and is having a splendid time. We are very happy with the school and its pastoral care. My son is enjoying himself immensely, goes to several clubs and takes part with enthusiasm in a variety of House competitions.

He has never mentioned the offsite sports ground as being a negative; it is only 5mins from school (he says the minibus drivers are dab hands at the short cuts from Northey to Sutton!) and it is a really super resource for the boys. The onsite sports hall is excellent, and the swimming pool is a definite bonus. I think the sporting ethos is excellent; my son is not uber-sporty, but enjoys the activities immensely.

Re: languages - boys choose either French of German in Yr 7, which then splits them into half (two houses do F, two do G), then in Year 8 they need to pick up either F/G depending on which one they didn't take, or Spanish, as a second language.

We are very happy because our son is so happy at SGS; he enjoys the work and it seems the homework is pretty well balanced. Any specific questions, do shout!

[shocked]

Many thanks for your replies. Can I ask when you received the "pack" of joining documents with details of the induction days, uniform etc.

[redstar]

I think we had a brief registration form to complete towards the end of March, but the bulk of the information (such as allocation to a form group - which determines the language being studied in Y7, induction day details, uniform, trips, parentpay details etc) was sent in May.

[shocked]

Redstar, many thanks. Just received the initial pack which asks for a monthly voluntary direct debit and various registration documents.