Old Palace?

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Giulio
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:31 pm
Location: London

Old Palace?

Post by Giulio »

Hi,
I would like to hear opinions on Old Palace of John Whitgift, school for girls in Croydon.
How are they academically? Facilties? Ethos? Happy parents? Impressions? Rumors? anything...
Giulio
Mummyto3
Posts: 153
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Croydon

Re: Old Palace?

Post by Mummyto3 »

Morning Giulio

Try the indie page; there are a couple of parents who know parents with DDs at the school.
Plum
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:26 am

Re: Old Palace?

Post by Plum »

Hi

My niece has just left OP. She got 2 Bs and an A. Should have been 2 As but her ICT teacher gave them the wrong course work to do so they all got low marks (D for course work, A for exam). You don't expect that sort of mistake from any school but it meant that my niece missed out on her first choice Uni, fortunately, she had a good back for second choice and it's all worked out well.

With regard to the school, my sister has never had any complaints about it. My niece went on a full bursery but never had any trouble as most of the girls there are from pretty normal backgrounds with parents struggling to pay the fees as well.

All her friends, that I have met, are well spoken and polite. They all exude that certain confidence indie school kids often have, which is not a bad thing. Even my niece, who is very quiet, is also self assured - probably down to the fact they they used to do a lot of debating and public speaking at the school.

I will definitely be looking at OP for my daughter in a couple of years time.

Plumx
Mumof1
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 5:13 pm

Re: Old Palace?

Post by Mumof1 »

DD spent 7 years at the school (Y6 in the senior school) and has just started at a grammar school in September. OPS is a good school and used to be very academic. However, with the change of Head in 2005 and the merger with Croham Hurst in 2008 it seems to have become less so. Music and languages are high on the curriculum with the girls learning either French or Japanese from Y3 and Latin introduced from Y6. DD wanted to stay on at OPS. However, we did not think spending 14 years at one school was beneficial to her development. She has settled well into her new school.

P.S I found your analysis of the marks for the 2010 intake useful.
Giulio
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:31 pm
Location: London

Re: Old Palace?

Post by Giulio »

Plum and Mumof1, thanks for your postings.
I have been to the open deay yesterday and the school, for our situation, has some pluses over other indies I have seen (Alleyn, Jasgs, Streatham & Clap)
it is more diverse
it is a bit cheaper
not overly academic (might suit DD better)
they teach Italian
cookery/food technology up to A level
music also a plus

also I found the buildings of higher standard, nice swimming pool, but short on sports facilities (haven't seen the grounds)

fees are still off-putting, it would go "on the house" (how do you change the meaning of an idiom?), and with university fees going up might be better to wait piling up more debt

any insight on bursaries and scholarships?
Mumof1
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 5:13 pm

Re: Old Palace?

Post by Mumof1 »

Guilio

OPS's senior school is located in central Croydon so it does not have much grounds. However, it has access to the grounds at the junior site in South Croydon (former Croham Hurst school). As part of the Whitgift Foundation the bursary is generous if you can get it (see the Foundation's website for more information). Scholarship is up to 50% although only one person got the maximum last year. The others got up to 25%.There is also a music sholarship but you can only get either music or academic scholarship, not both together. A girl can get an academic or music scholarship + a music award (contribution to the cost of learning an instrument). Bursary is in addition to a scholarship. The fees are good value for money (if you can afford it) compared to the other independent schools in the area.
Third time round
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 4:03 pm

Re: Old Palace?

Post by Third time round »

My DS has a scholarship from the whitgift foundation for Trinity School. He has a music and academic scholarship and a bursary as well. I think the rules across the three foundations schools are very similar so perhaps you should ring OP and ask for clarification
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