WOK vs TGS?

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PurpleDog
Posts: 223
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:21 pm

WOK vs TGS?

Post by PurpleDog »

Does anyone have a view on the choice between these two schools?
The both have outstanding OFSTEDs and are clearly both very good schools but very different.
Any advantages or disadvantages of the two options?
qazsfsdfd
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:49 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by qazsfsdfd »

PurpleDog wrote:Does anyone have a view on the choice between these two schools?
The both have outstanding OFSTEDs and are clearly both very good schools but very different.
Any advantages or disadvantages of the two options?
WOK has better pastoral care than TGS. TGS puts much more pressure to get good grades.
GPmum
Posts: 295
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:52 am

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by GPmum »

I disagree - do you have a daughter at TGS qazsfsdfd?

Our daughter is in year 8 at TGS and I could not speak more highly of the school and its pastoral care. And she is extremely happy there.

I think it comes down to which school suits your DD.

We also know girls at WOK who are equally happy.
Pink99
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 7:06 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by Pink99 »

I agree with GPmum. I have 2 dd's at Tgs, one of whom was very unwell for a while, and the support she and I got was outstanding! So pastoral care is excellent. I don't think that the school needs to push their students, as a lot of the girls are very self motivated.
I know that Weald is also a great school. They are just different, so you need to see which suits your child best.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by mystery »

How do you tell the differences by looking round? Been round them both now and not sure that really told me.
FortyNinePence
Posts: 193
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2013 10:06 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by FortyNinePence »

mystery wrote:How do you tell the differences by looking round? Been round them both now and not sure that really told me.
I looked round a few last year. (Boys ones)

I was surprised by how strongly I felt about where my DS would fit in. I looked at the other children, the focus of the school, the engagement and chemistry between my DS and the teachers and it seemed very clear.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by mystery »

That sounds good. But hOw do you get the chance to assess chemistry between child and teachers at an open morning?
FortyNinePence
Posts: 193
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2013 10:06 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by FortyNinePence »

mystery wrote:That sounds good. But hOw do you get the chance to assess chemistry between child and teachers at an open morning?
We went to an open evening, not a morning. At one school, the English teacher sat and read a passage from a Y8 text with DS, and they chatted one on one for 10 minutes. DS was beaming for ages afterwards. He also chatted with Maths & Chemistry teachers.

At another school, the teachers were aloof with him, with little engagement and in one case, mild irritation.

The latter school is the "elite" one. So in our case, I am not so interested in league tables.
franticmum
Posts: 139
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:16 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by franticmum »

There has been this exact thread almost every year around this time. Unfortunately, in the discussions, TGS always seems to be attacked by people, in my opinion, who have no direct experience and seem to be anti superselectives who think it is high pressure, etc. (I'm not accusing anyone here btw).

Therefore, please can you only respond on schools that you have direct experience of, ie your child. 'A friend of mine's daughter ...' is not helpful as you are not giving the true story.

My daughter is in the upper years of TOGS and has been very happy there. The girls are generally self motivated and encouraged to achieve their full potential. Regarding pastoral care, my daughter's best friend's guardian died and they were very suportive. I can say that in contradiction of paragraph 2 because my daughter was asked to be her direct peer support.

WOK is also a very good school. Another friend of my daughter's also has a girl there and is a governor and sings its praises. You need to look at both schools and see what best suits your child. Good luck in your decision making. I'm sure it will work out fine whichever you choose.
PurpleDog
Posts: 223
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:21 pm

Re: WOK vs TGS?

Post by PurpleDog »

Thanks all! Think we are spoiled to have the choice of two really good school.

(Having said that, DD still may not meet the criteria for either as we are borderline for Weald catchment and who knows on scores for TGS.)

Will see what we think of TGS on Thursday and then probably allow DD to choose.
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