11 Plus Exams Forum

Dear parents,
DS has passed both Wilsons & WCGS.
Both schools are roughly at the same distance from home.
However, WCGS has a direct bus (45 mins door to door) whilst additional bus change is needed for Wilsons which may take extra 5 ~ 20 minutes per connecting bus frequency.

Wilsons seems popular with parents in terms of league table ranking, new buildings, facilities etc, whereas WCGS sounds great in pastoral care and friendly atmosphere.
WCGS results are not bad either.

I am little confused in prioritizing them as first / second choice in CAF form.
Can you please help?

Hi We had been to Wilson's open day and are very much impressed by the school. We have kept Wilson as our first option as my son wanted it that way. What we are confused is whether to put WCGS 2 or Langely Grammar School in Slough 2 a both are almost equal on league tables. And we are open to relocate.

I hope this helps

There isn't a right or wrong answer - it is down to preference.

Have a look at the subjects on offer - is there anything that stands out for you there? How much choice do they give at GCSE? Can they choose languages or are these chosen for them?

Then consider distance from home, and whether you know other people at the school. Bear in mind that boys are usually sanctioned for being late, so the reliability of the route to school is fairly important.

Then have a look at co-curricular. I put this last because you can always find activities outside of school if you prefer.

Personally at this point I would ignore the league tables as these may look dramatically different in a few year once the new GCSEs are in place, and the focus will be on Attain8 and Progress8.

Thanks JoMum2005.
@Ladymuck: Thanks for your insightful comments.

The source of confusion is:
By looking at other threads / comments, majority parents prefer Wilsons than WCGS.
Going with this theory, mostly the top lot of the kids reach out to Wilson's and the remaining ones fall back to WCGS.
Also heard that Wilsons is more stricter & their homework pack is heavier whereas WCGS kids get lighter reasonable homework and are happier.

Given the presence of top kids, school facility and homework load, should Wilsons results be far more superior than WCGS (than what is currently happening)?
Or
Is it because WCGS is too good to unleash the best out from the available lot through friendly approach and happy kids?

Am I missing something?

Also, can the parents whose DS in Wilson / WCGS comment on the flexibility on choosing subjects?

I don't think that there is such a difference in the ability between boys starting at Wilson's and those starting Wallington . I certainly wouldn't take any account of what a relatively small number of parents seem to prefer on a forum. There are lots of people who just seem to focus on a league table results without realising that there is separate entry criteria for 6th form, so looking at A level results is pretty irrelevant - your son may not get the chance to take them at this school, and the order in the league table may change over time especially now that Wilson's has increased to 180.

There is a difference in ethos though, so it is worth thinking about where your child will thrive. Some love the strict no-nonsense approach at Wilson's where you do what you're told without question. Others prefer the slightly more relaxed and family focused approach at WCGS. It isn't that much different when looking at schools such as Whitgift and Trinity. Whitgift is stricter, Trinity more relaxed. Both produce excellent results. Some of my friends prefer one, others the other. There is no point in putting Wilson's first choice and then complaining when your son isn't allowed a smartphone, or gets a detention because his shirt is hanging out. Nor should you choose WCGS and be upset about making GCSE options in year 8.

What is noticeable on the forum is a lack of parents regretting going for these schools.

My eldest son only sat for WCGS, as they did rugby when Wilson's didn't.

Thanks for the wonderful comments, that cleared up the hidden reality

Can the parents (with DS in Wilson's / WCGS) please comment on the subject specialization / flexibility of choosing?

Had 3 at both Wally & Wilsons's. Both are great schools, but if I had a gun held to my head I'd choose Wlison's. The're getting very good at rugby now. 2nd eldest who left 2 yrs ago said that they were the best 7 yrs of his life. Eldest enjoyed his time at Wally boys, but I think he could have been encouraged to take part in sports a bit more, but then all siblings are different.

I don't think there is that much subject specialisation at Wilson's. Boys do either French or German from year 7. You get a chance to put your case for either but need to accept that may not be granted ( ours was).
GCSE choices in year 8 for year 9 start. All do triple science,two English, maths and MFL. Left with three choices. They don't have to do a humanity but most do. Very laid back about choices. The boys have the major say. In fact as parents we were told to leave it to them.
Lovely atmosphere and the boys really seem to enjoy school. Only have one son so can't comment really on WCGS other than to say I live very locally and have never heard a bad word said by parents about it.

Thanks Zeinab & Moon Unit.
Almost every parent (of my DS friends) that I checked with prefer Wilson's than WCGS.
Conversely, none are talking against WCGS as well, hence is the confusion

Still trying to understand why WCGS is not the preferred choice ???
Is it just the proximity to Wilson's with slightly subdued league table ranking / not so appealing infrastructure / anything else ???

janjanamma, it's always worth asking what other people think but you really need to choose the right school for your child - not because other people seem to like it, but because it feels right for your DS. Every child is different and a school that maybe perfect for one boy, may not be the ideal place fro another...