Sevenoaks School - experienced parents opinion please

[Tryingmybest]

Hello all, we got an offer from Sevenoaks with a siginificant % of bursary. We also got Eltham College offer with a good scholarship. We (me, my other half and dd) are all leaning towards Sevenoaks. I just wanted opinions from parents whose children attend or attended the school how it is in terms of community? One thing i keep thinking is as we will be heavily bursaried due to our financial condition will we be the odd ones out in the crowd? I have seen lots of post in the past and seen that sevenoaks school does have some mixed reviews. So any first hand experienced opinions (specially bursary applicants) in this, it will be very much appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.

[Tryingmybest]

Forgot to add, distance will not be a problem as we are planning to move closer to the school.

[Tryingmybest]

Hello again, anyone who is a sevenoaks school parent, i would be ever so grateful if you could throw some light on few things for us, we wanted to know if there is any BAME representation, if the community is welcoming regardless of any financial standing, any other things to look out for? Please help an anxious mother out! Thank you so much!

[PettswoodFiona]

I didn't reply as DD whilst she was offered Sevenoaks for a Y7 start (she is now in L6) decided to take the grammar. Her grammar (SE London / Kent borders) is far more diverse than the assessment day she went on which wasn't a deciding factor, more an observation. She also preferred an all girls experience which for her has been superb. I did like the idea of the IB which is one of the major differences of Sevenoaks, but DD has thrived with the traditional route and it hasn't been an issue missing out on what seemed like a lovely concept. Although you can move at sixth form, whether you want an IB or a more traditional route should be a consideration as I think they do the MYP at Sevenoaks so it would be very different to Eltham College.

I know a few girls who moved there for sixth form and a couple of boys who thrived at Eltham, it really seems on the up, with a good governorship and loyal parent body.

If it had been a choice when my DD was looking for a place for Y3 then I would have loved EC, sadly it was still boys only at that stage.

[Tryingmybest]

Thank you so much PettswoodFiona. Very helpful advice.
I did love EC when we went for open day. It felt like we are right at home. We only had a virtual tour for Sevenoaks so far. We have been invited for taster day. So that will help us decide surely, hopefully. Dd and other half are sold on sevenoaks, but I did feel a bit strange that dd commented 'its too perfect' after test day. Not sure if thats a good thing or bad. She wont elaborate on it. I just hope it is a right school for her whichever she chose. She is quite strong in english, not so much in maths, loves sports and arts. Any further feedback from anyone is much appreciated.

[Ivy102021]

I would definitely go for Sevenoaks with a girl. I have direct experience of both schools. The bursary students in my daughter’s year are very well respected and popular. Very good mix of culture and ethnicities. If the finances are similar, Sevenoaks is a far more professional outfit/slicker operation than Eltham. The head at Sevenoaks personally experienced financial assistance and is very invested in this. I also think the academic profile of girls at Sevenoaks is better than at Eltham. The teacher to pupil ratio at Sevenoaks is something like 8:1 so lots of attention for the pupils.