Hi, we are looking at both Beth's and C&S, we are out of catchment so would be moving for the schools.

How would you characterise the difference between the schools.

My boy is not very fond of languages and likes his maths, sciences & sports is something he looks forward to...

Beths - I was reading focuses on Math's and Sciences, C&S anybody knows what they are known for and focus on.

Bexley - seems to have a particular liking for languages and has a very small catchment , hence we are thinking of maybe not focusing on.

Any advise will help?

Not in your area, but although the final decision for all three of our DC with regard to secondary school was made by DH and myself as their parents, we listened carefully to their feelings about each of the schools we looked at together.

What were your DS's feelings about the 'vibe' of each of the schools when you came away from the open evenings? What did the teachers and current pupils say with regard to what you had heard on the grapevine about the emphasis at each school on a particular subject area?

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We will be going to look at both of these schools over the next couple of weeks too so would be interested to hear any insights. Particularly re the journey from Bromley - 1 bus but possibly very time consuming!

I thought C&S were adding an additional class for 2020 entry but maybe this is incorrect as admission numbers are the same as last year I think in the booklet?

I can't speak for Chis and Sid although I know they are very big on rugby. My DS is in Year 7 at Beths, and enjoys the maths and science, and he is loving it there. He has also gained a passion for geography which utilises skills from both. He has joined the rugby B team too which seems to be more about fun than winning and really enjoys going off in the minibus to random parts of Kent. They have three sports lessons a week (1xPE and a double games) The year 7s also seem to have created their own table tennis lunchtime club. He's having a fab time.

Hi everyone. My daughter has just started at C&S and loving it so far.
Re: the bus to school from Bromley. Registration is at 8.15am and my daughter gets the 7.01 bus from Bromley North. Any later bus and she worried she won’t get on it. (There are children from lots of different schools, including Townley, all getting the same bus.) She gets to school very quickly- one of the reasons being that the bus is so full is doesn’t stop at a lot of stops. Coming home can be an issue. She sometimes has to let 3 buses go past before she can get on. In a nutshell, there are lots of children going to C&S from Bromley this year as the catchment went out much further than previous years, and the bus service can’t cope with the extra pressure. Saying that, my daughter doesn’t mind the journey and loves catching up with her friends on the bus! Although things might be different when the cold weather sets in...

Me and my son visited Beths today as it was their first open day. He really liked it. Regarding Bromley, I heard they were looking at a providing a coach around the Orpington/Bromley area - might be something to keep an eye out for? Might pop by again on Saturday. We will also be looking at CSGS and Bexley GS to compare.

Oh, interesting to know about the potential Orpington coach, thanks. Atm I think it's a question of two trains via Hither Green, which wouldn't be ideal.

My DS is in year 10 at Beths and travels from Orpington to Bexley via Hither Green by train every day. The connections are pretty good and if he times it right in the morning, he can be in Bexley in about 40 minutes.
There are quite a crowd that travel by train from Lewisham/Hither Green so its a very sociable way for the boys to travel.
The journey to Beths was my main concern when we were looking at schools but now I dont give his journey by train a second thought. My DS is a very confident commuter.

Thanks candy floss, that's very helpful to know too. Still waiting for Kent results but good to know Beths is a good option.

Hi,

Does anyone know why Beths and C&S went quite out last year from a catchment Point of view, and if it goes that far out we will be in fingers crossed. Do we know how the 2020 catchment would behave? Any insights for some one whose kids got in last year?

Another aspect we noticed C&S is Good in Ofsted while Beths is Outstanding but when you look at results C&G is quite good when compared to Beths... Any insights as to the differences between the 2 schools would help.

Is Beths more all round development and C&S more academic?