I've been on here for years with little posting. I have two in Chigwell and the youngest has been offered a place in Forest and Chigwell. She is very good at drama and singing. I really like Chigwell and she is keen but when we went to the Forest interview I felt like it might be a better fit for her. Does anyone know about drama at Forest or opportunities or differences between the schools. Thanks for your help. We will be deciding in the next day or two so a place will be available in either school. We are on the waiting list last year and got in so fingers crossed for everyone in that situation.

afternoon. both school are good although i preferred chigwell (i'm biased as dd is at chigwell). chigwell has a fab' drama centre although tbh dd doesn't do drama so i have no direct experience in that area. i've only ever heard good things about forest but can't offer more than that....(sorry, not very helpful). tbh the only thing i don't like about chigwell is the selfish driving done by some of the parents.... which i guess in the scheme of things isn't really very important. dd loves it there fwiw. best of luck with your decision

btw forgot to mention, if you dc likes singing, the musical director is always on the look out for good singers for the chapel choir (which tour, have a european trip shortly) although afaik they have to be able to read music.

Thanks so much. I hear you on the driving. I try to get in and out early! I'm leaning Chigwell as three in the same school appeals and yes to chapel choir!

could anyone help me get an idea of which is more academically better - Forest or Chigwell ? I have heard sports is better in Forest & music and drama better in Chigwell. But I would also like to know a bit more on the academic side as well. Really appreciate any thoughts about this. Thanks

i can only share a view based on chigwell. i know of plenty who went there who have gone on to oxford & cambridge. there are plenty of high achievers who went/go to chigwell as i am sure there obviously are at forest. i think if a child is clever & focused he/she would do well at either. dd is a music scholar so completely immersed in the music side (string orchestra, big band & chapel choir). there is a fab' drama centre although she isn't at all involved in drama so cannot give you any advice on that.

Hi Harimom, my son is at Forest, music scholar so like the above poster's child very involved in music (which is fantastic at Forest)! I don't know which school is better academically, I believe last year Chigwell's A-level results were higher than Forest's, but the year before they were more or less the same, so it varies. Each year there is a good number of pupils from Forest getting offers from Oxbridge, just like Chigwell (don't know which one gets more).
If your child is interested in drama then maybe it's good to know that drama is not part of the curriculum the first two years at Forest (unlike Chigwell) but there are of course lots of opportunities to do extracurricular drama and from year 9 pupils can choose it as one of their GCSE options. There are two games afternoons each week, Chigwell does one, as far as I know.
Other differences in terms of curriculum: at Forest, pupils can now choose Mandarin from year 7, I don't think this is the case at Chigwell but of course it may be offered as an extracurricular activity there. Also, Forest pupils do a Higher Project Qualification as part of their GCSE's (counts as one of ten GCSE's), something that not many schools do. On top of their 3 A-levels they do an Extended Project Qualification too.
Hope this helps!

fyi chigwell also offer hpq & epq as mentioned above.

There isn't a major difference between both schools academically and Forest tends to send more to Oxbridge than Chigwell does, but that's because they have a larger cohort of students.

I've heard of a family declining Bancroft for Forest, and one declining CLSB for Chigwell. One family declined Chigwell for Forest, purely on distance as they lived in Snaresbrook.

I think, in the end, it will depend on where your DC feels comfortable and the distance you are from each school. Both are really good schools.

Good luck!