Chislehurst & Sidcup vs Bullers Wood

[hema_b]

Hi
My DD has got her Bexley result and the letter says she has been deemed selective. I think we are within reasonable distance (4.6miles) to get selected for C&S school. At the same time, we are within walkable distance for Bullers Wood school (0.6 miles) and it is well within the catchment area.

C&S is a grammar school but it is not graded as an outstanding school by ofstead. It is graded as Good.
Bullers Wood is not a grammar school, but an outstanding school for many years and also A-level graded as outstanding.

Now I am in a dilemma to decide which one of the two schools is better and will be best suited for my DD.

Should I go for a Grammar school or an Outstanding school

Has any one got experience of or heard about these two schools? Any opinion or suggestions would be great.

Thx

[MerlinFromCamelot]

I think it would be best to look at both and go for the school which suits your child best.

DD went to a primary school with outstanding status for many years, I would not go for it again for what it is worth.

[amfnc]

I don't have first hand experience, however I do have a friend who has a DS at C&S and a DD at Bullers (who was also deemed selective but she chose Bullers). She loves Bullers and says that she will be sending her other DD there also, regardless of any 11 plus result, she really couldn't rate it highly enough. It's a personal choice at the end of the day, but if I had a girl (all mine are DS's) Bullers would be top of my list.

Good luck!

[MerlinFromCamelot]

I don't think it is a good idea to send a child to a school because a sibling is already there.
Each DC is individual and it is important to select the best school for the DC concerned regardless of where the sibling goes.

In 2012/13; 37.4% who took the maths higher tier paper achieved an A-A* and in the Eng. language higher tier paper 30.4% achieved an A-A* at Bullers.
I think you will find that Chis & Sid will have done better than that but it is not all about grades.

Good luck and happy choosing. Having to make a choice between 2 or more schools you like is a nice problem to have.

[bondgirl]

Hi hema_b

We were in your position 4 years ago. DD passed Bexley but we were also in catchment for Bullers Wood. When we visited both schools, BW just felt right for DD. She really didn't take to C&S at all. She is now in Y10, has one GCSE already and is taking 10 next year. All her targets are A and A*. If you look in the results section of the BW website, you will see that there are a large number of girls who achieve 8 or more A/A*s each year. We have been very happy with the school.

Having said all that, your decision has to be which school is right for your DD not anyone else's. Good luck in your decision

[lefol]

Did you not check the ofsted reports before the 11 plus exams ? You could have spared Her the 11 plus prep horrors if choosing a school with a high ofsted a few doors away was high on your list . My DS attends Chis and Sid and I cannot speak highly of the school, it's teachers and the students .
It's definitely the right school for him and compared better to the one at indie! As most parents have said it depends on the child but I certainly would want the younger one to join Chis and Sid too. Teachers respond to my emails within hours , learning and extra curricular also great and its very mixed too.

[hema_b]

Thanks all for sharing your experiences and giving your opinion. I have booked to see these schools and hopefully I will be able to make a right decision after that.

[chg-2003]

I have no experience of Bullers Wood (we didn't live close enough to consider it) but my DD has just started year 7 at Chis and Sid, which we chose above a number of other grammars, some rated 'outstanding'. We are very pleased so far with our choice, DD is happy and confident, making friends, challenged academically, and supported by staff. Please pm me if you want further information - its such a hard decision and I had many sleepless nights... Got to do it again next year too

[VanillaLatte]

How convenient is travelling to BGS and CSGS if you live in Chislehurst/Bromley area please? Any feedback will be highly appreciated.

[bondgirl]

I know quite a few boys who travel to C&S from Bromley. The 269 bus goes pretty much all the way there. I don't know anyone at Bexley Grammar from Bromley - you'd have to be a top 180 scorer to get in and I think top 180 scorers choose C&S as it's closer.