Lawrence Sheriff or Ashlawn

[Lollipop100]

And before I log off...
Definitely no bullying issues.
Pastoral care is excellent.

[Smallbean]

Thanks, that's my main concern. I liked it when I went round though.

I think DS has decided on Sheriff but we're going to think about it over the weekend. It's the fact that they do Rugby not football, and have more PE a week that has swayed him I think.

Plus it looks like all of his friends are going to Rugby High,m

[khanp]

Dear Small Bean,

Lots of good advice from those on this site.

Both my boys go to LSS, they enjoy the school and are very sporty. One of my DS loves football and he is part of the year 11 Football team will be one of the sports he studies at GCSE PE. He is also a first team player for Rugby. He is enjoying both, whereas my other son likes Football and Cricket and but not keen on the Rugby. So there are choices in PE at the school and also the PE teachers are very chilled and support the boys in whatever decision they make.

I hope this helps.

[Vicksteroo]

I hope it's okay to resurrect an old thread - I'm in a similar position to that stated by the OP in that we're struggling to decide between Ashlawn and Lawrence Sheriff, and I wondered whether there are parents here with more recent experience?

My impression of LSS was that it's very results driven - potentially to the detriment of the enrichment subjects and personal development of the pupils. I repeat, that was my impression - I'd be glad to be shown I'm wrong! Obviously we don't have the 11+ results yet so it could all be moot, but I'm still trying to come to terms with what our choices should be and in what order.

Are there any parents here with boys at LSS or Ashlawn who are bright and creative, not sporty, not particularly competitive, dislike homework, have a small-ish mixed friendship group, and are quite sensitive and caring? My gut feeling is that LSS might not be the right environment for him, but then again Ashlawn is so huge! And with the change of head, might Ashlawn be an uncertain bet right now?

I want him to go somewhere where the staff will be able to take the time to help him settle in, help him tackle his worries, allow him some creative freedom, whilst encouraging him to actually do the work he's supposed to.

Any comments welcome - I'm not slating either school, just trying to come to terms with the reality versus my impressions of them both. Thanks.

[GSHopeful]

I’m also interested to follow this thread.

[guest201]

My son is in year 9 at LSS. This is my experience of LSS, in terms of it being results driven, I would say no more than Ashlawn or any other grammar school, they all harp on about their results at open evenings because that is what parents want to know (If little Johnny comes here will he get 10 A* or 9s?)
If your son doesn't like homework he will not like either school, I know plenty of parents of Ashlawn children and they get as much homework as my son and in some cases more. My DS still finds time to play Fortnite to his heart's content and so do his school friends, what I am trying to say is that the amount of homework he gets is not excessive and I know parents who think they don't get enough!
In terms of enrichment and personal development what they offer is very impressive.
It is a boys school they can be very boisterous at break and lunch but there are plenty of "sensitive and caring" boys there, these boys may take slightly longer to settle in, but I think they would at most secondary schools. Remember Ashlawn has a massive intake and there are probably more boys in each year than at LSS, do you think they will be any less boisterous?
One of my son's best friends is very sensitive and gentle and his mother found pastoral care to be excellent during the first few weeks, I think it was more for her peace of mind than her son!! He loves the school.
I don't have first hand experience of Ashlawn but I have only heard good things about the grammar stream.

[Vicksteroo]

Thanks guest201, that's really helpful to hear. I agree that any large group of boys is going to include the full mix of testosterone levels! It's good to hear that pastoral care is rated highly at LSS, as that was an area I felt was lacking at the open evening. I'm going to try to revisit the school and see if I can get a better impression of it before we have to make our decision.

You mention that enrichment and personal development is "very impressive" - are you able to elaborate on what impresses you? I was concerned that they only get to choose a topic for half a term and then move on to something else - am I right that any child with a keen interest in, say, cookery, wouldn't then get to continue that after the half term enrichment club?

Thank you.

[guest201]

Enrichment isn't a club it is part of the timetable. The range of activities available for enrichment is enormous, it ranges from sports to puzzles, board games, languages and lots more. They do change activities every half term (I think) to give them the chance to try lots of different activities that they maybe wouldn't have tried otherwise. Enrichment is about giving the boys a taster of many different things, not limiting them to sticking with what they know and like.
If I remember rightly when my son was in year 7 they did 2 sessions of enrichment each week, one they could chose what they wanted and the other was based around European culture, history, food geography etc my son would rather have done ultimate frisbee but he did learn a lot about Europe!!

One thing I will say is that LSS is a great school, but it doesn't suit everybody, sometimes I think parents worry too much about the all boys environment and plant a seed of doubt in their child's head as to whether it would suit them or not, your child is probably much stronger and more resilient then you give him credit for
Remember, part of the job of a secondary school is to prepare the kids for the real world.

[guest246]

Although I firmly believe both schools are excellent in their provision of education, I would say I'm a fan of Ashlawn School due to its inclusiveness and overall standard of education. It's no surprise that both schools perform extremely well academically - my eldest son went to LSS and my youngest is currently in Ashlawn 6th form and he's been at Ashlawn since the start of Year 7. Both my children have done really well at GCSE, my son at LSS got 9 A*s and 2 A's and my youngest son got 10 A*s and 2 A's at Ashlawn. Ashlawn is a much bigger school than LSS, but my son said it's good because you can avoid those you don't like instead of bumping into them all the time in a confined environment! It's really up to you, although LSS do far better in sports and games than Ashlawn which is probably more study based (I'm not saying LSS isn't!). Both are brilliant schools, and I'm sure he'll love it wherever he goes

[Vicksteroo]

Thank you, it's great to hear from someone with experience of both. I hadn't thought of the fact that a larger school allows you to avoid people you don't like! My son is not a fan of competitive sports so LSS doesn't score so highly there for him, but it was the sheer size of Ashlawn that concerned me. I'm going to an open morning at each this week so hopefully will have a clearer idea of how the schools feel during the school day. Thanks for your comments.