St Olaves or Indie

Eleven Plus (11+) in Bexley and Bromley

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bexbrom
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:40 pm

St Olaves or Indie

Post by bexbrom »

In a year where we weren’t able to go to any open days we are now facing the decision between St Olaves or Indie (Trinity).
Never visited Olaves except for exam day.
We live in Bromley and our DD is very happy at Newstead.
Our DS is much more of an all rounder and loves sport (especially cricket - but also rugby, football, tennis).
We could just about afford it - but it would be a stretch ....
just really struggling but know we must make decisions for other boys on wl.
Are St Olaves boys well rounded - how to know if a child will fit in having never stepped through the door. Do they enter sports competitions?
Would really appreciate any advice?
Qusay02
Posts: 76
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:59 am

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by Qusay02 »

Hello,
My DS at st Olave's and he was offered Trinity and Dulwich College as well. My DS was determined to go to St Olave's because according to the league table it is way better than any local Private school (he is interested on academic achievement more than anything else) and was very proud that he was selected from over thousand applicants.
To be honest, he is so happy at St Olave's, staffs are amazing and very supportive. They have plenty of activities and they do enter many competitions. Their standards are always high, they value their pupils and the boys feel the school is their second home.
But again, that is up to you and to your DS.

Good luck
olucares
Posts: 157
Joined: Fri May 20, 2016 10:55 am

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by olucares »

We had to choose between St Olave's and a top independent last year (with scholarship) and we chose the independent school, also I know someone else who had to make the choice, also chose the indie - but I think you have to factor in affordability well. I would have gone with Olave's if we didn't have a reduction in fees.

I visited St Olave's twice in 2019 before my son sat the exams (open days) and in as much as we placed the school 1st choice (mainly because of the academics), something somewhere didn't quite connect for me and a few of my friends made the same comment, having said that I know a few year 7 parents who have commented about how well they are enjoying their time there.
bexbrom
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:40 pm

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by bexbrom »

Thankyou both for taking the time to help us!
Olaves has organised virtual taster sessions next week maybe will see how we feel after that.
Its difficult because of course the independents put lots of energy into recruiting the boys and parents into their package! Which I have no doubt would be amazing - but think Olaves could be too.
Going round in circles here!
BW
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by PettswoodFiona »

DD's friends who have brothers at Olaves attest to the fact the school does do a lot of sport, if they want to, but it is also a place where it is OK to not do sport. The Olaves page on co-curricular has a link to sports and from there a link to fixtures if you go back to pre-pandemic you can see the fixtures that they had and get a flavour of what was going on.
mj8784
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:31 pm

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by mj8784 »

Fwiw, my son is year 8 at Olaves and he loves it. He's actually really excited to be going back in next week which surprised me!
I've been really impressed with them since he joined and even in lockdown. They have all live lessons and seem to be checking in with the boys often and they seem desperate to shake off the 'super high pressure' reputation from a few years back.
My son is really sporty and he loves music too and loved all the sports and music clubs (pre covid but they're about to start back). The sport focus is on rugby and cricket but they offer other stuff too (just not much football). He's made lots of friends and has never reported any bullying or anything like that. The kids are all really bright but they all seem like 'normal' 12 year olds too! There has been lots of Minecraft and Fortnite and whatever the latest online game is during lockdown with his class mates and pre covid he used to meet up with his friends from time to time.
I've had good communication from his teachers so I have a sense of where he's at and what to work on (mostly not talking during lessons!).
Hope that helps and all the best with whatever you decide.
grgygirl
Posts: 382
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:09 am

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by grgygirl »

It’s a very tricky decision, especially if you can’t visit the schools for a post offer inspection. St Olaves won’t be able to offer the breadth of sports that the independents offer but it has thriving rugby, cricket and Fives teams. If your child is in a sports club outside of school then that may offer more development opportunities. There is no football club strangely but the boys play that and tennis at break times. There are also several table tennis tables dotted about. Sports are not St Olaves raisin d’etre but it seems enough for most. You have to decide whether the extra curricular is worth £20K plus of fees per year as it would be difficult to match the academics which are fantastic.

Just to point out as well that class sizes drop to 25 or less in Year 9 and the boys are set for maths then.
bexbrom
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:40 pm

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by bexbrom »

Thankyou all so much - especially helpful when we can’t visit.
We’re edging towards St Os and hope our son has a wonderful time.
He’ll be disappointed - the private schools have done a great job of reeling him in!
Thanks B
Snoop67
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:47 pm

Re: St Olaves or Indie

Post by Snoop67 »

We were in exact same position two years ago with Olaves and Trinity. We chose Olaves in the end and have never looked back ☺️ Our very sporty boy loves it and can’t wait to get back next week! Good luck
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