Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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Dizzy
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:55 am

Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Post by Dizzy »

My DD has received a scholarship from Bancroft and also has a place at WC (based on rankings). We are struggling to decide between the two. DD like both, isn't sporty but enjoys music and drama. We could probably stretch for the remaining fees at Bancroft, but was wondering what others thought.

We are considering the WC place as a 100% scholarship, so would be very hard to turn down. DD has worked very hard to prepare for 11+, so would seem a shame not to take it. On the other hand, appreciate that Bancroft has it's benefits, smaller classes, better pastoral care etc.

Not sure what to do. Appreciate your thoughts.
ToadMum
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Post by ToadMum »

If it really is going to be a struggle to make up the balance of the fees, then I would probably take the Woodford place if your DD is offered it. Even with a scholarship, you will still have to buy uniform etc and fees will only move upwards as you go on.

I must admit that I am not familiar with either school, though (we are quite a way down the c2c line). Is WCHS particularly famous for poor pastoral care? Or is it just that the pastoral care at Bancrofts is so fabulous that none other could hope to compare?
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Dizzy
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:55 am

Re: Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Post by Dizzy »

Thank you for the reply. My understanding is that independents generally provide better pastoral care, one of things you are paying for I guess.

Putting fees to one side (although it is a big consideration), does anybody else have any views between the two schools? Would be keen to hear from parents with children at these schools, or those that went through a similar scenario.
ToadMum
Posts: 11946
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Post by ToadMum »

You could try asking on the Essex - Redbridge section :)
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Dizzy
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:55 am

Re: Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Post by Dizzy »

Thanks. Not sure if there is away to redirect this thread to that section, but will manually repost.
kelwaypops
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Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:08 pm

Re: Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Post by kelwaypops »

my dd just got a music scholarship for chigwell, we didn't try for bancrofts or wch as neither seem right for dd although i think that both schools will be fantastic, just depends on what dd is like. i think both appear to be similar in that they lean completely towards results/academic side of things. tricky as yes, wch would be free BUT i have done alot of homework on the subject and know for a fact that unless your child is NATURALLY very clever they may well fall behind at wch. a fair few who get in have been tuturored BIG TIME and struggle to keep up once there. at a complete guess, i would think that bancrofts are more likely to have 'some' children who are clever but don't live and breathe it. i wanted dd to go to chigwell as it feels more of an all rounder. i went to the wch open day. i got the impression that most of the students go on to study medical. dd wants to be a journo' :lol: and is more into the creative side of things so didn't think she would fit in. i thought the girls (who took us round) seemed very nice. funny thing was that one of them told me she didn't like it there and wished she could go to forest :lol: which i thought really funny as she was supposed to be trying to sell us the place. i didn't really know why they had an open day. the place has to be one of the most over subscribed in the country with hundreds upon hundreds trying for one place. bancrofts would be a lovely school. i am worrying about making up the difference at chigwell but think :? we should be able to do it as she got offered a better scholarship than we had hoped for but still alot of money.
Dizzy
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:55 am

Re: Bancroft vs Woodford county grammer

Post by Dizzy »

Thanks for the reply. I think on the whole the kids at Bancroft seem to be more confident and better articulated, but that is a generalisation. I think my dd is quite academic and will probably like to try for medical school. From that perspective, either would suit. I actually heard a stat that Forest has the best rate of students going onto good medical school, but they do have larger numbers.

I think it boils down to whether you think the investment is a good one at Bancroft. An alternate view is send to grammar school, save the fees and use a smaller amount for targeted extra curricular activities.
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