New Hall, St Edmunds College and Brentwood school

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

Post Reply
11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now
MamaG
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:54 pm

New Hall, St Edmunds College and Brentwood school

Post by MamaG »

Does anyone have any recent experiences of these schools at secondary level?
I am particularly interested in what they’re like in terms of:
How broad and forward thinking the curriculum is
Whether they are a fun and friendly place to be
Extra curricular activities
SEND support (ADHD)
and how much homework/how pushy it is there.
Also interested in any experiences of flexi boarding.
Any opinions gratefully received!
MamaG
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:54 pm

Re: New Hall, St Edmunds College and Brentwood school

Post by MamaG »

Anyone???!
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Re: New Hall, St Edmunds College and Brentwood school

Post by mad? »

I'm sorry I have not personal experience of these schools. I have heard good things about Brentwood in terms of breadth of activities and being fun, along with bright DC doing well there academically. All of these schools will have a different ability intake to the grammars that they compete with for some DC, but from what I have seen (anecdotes not data) the grammar eligible DC who went to Brentwood did as well there as they would have elsewhere, and had a great time also. I have hear denoting about the other 2 schools, but am not from your area so that does not mean anything - just that I happen to know a couple of former Brentwood parents. I hope you get more feedback soon.
mad?
MamaG
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:54 pm

Re: New Hall, St Edmunds College and Brentwood school

Post by MamaG »

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated
MamaG
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:54 pm

Re: New Hall, St Edmunds College and Brentwood school

Post by MamaG »

Just updating this post for anyone who might search for opinions on these schools in future. We went with Brentwood in the end, my son joined at 13+. We have been very happy with our decision, the curriculum is great, he made friends quickly and likes his teachers and lessons. The school seems well organised, forward thinking and innovative. The facilities are great. A couple of things to be aware of which I wish I had known before:
-The school bus takes a lot longer than it says on the timetable, there is often traffic around Brentwood
-SEND support has been pretty non existent (though our son has been getting on well and prefers not to draw any attention to his SEND so this has worked ok for us so far)
-Worth looking at GCSE choices as Brentwood maintains a much broader curriculum than most schools, we like this but others may prefer somewhere that narrows the curriculum and allows kids to specialise more in fewer subjects
-The school does quite a few 'additional' lessons on top of the national curriculum - philosophy, global perspectives, wellbeing, digital - again we really like this breadth and the focus on 'real life' learning but others may prefer something more traditional
- Although there is officially no Saturday school, if opting for a team sport in games, the children are expected to attend training and matches on a Saturday whenever possible
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Re: New Hall, St Edmunds College and Brentwood school

Post by mad? »

Thanks for this MamaG, very useful for future applicants. Glad DC is enjoying things.
mad?
Post Reply
11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now