Thomas Telford v girls high

[katedep]

My daughter is hoping to be able to choose between these 2. She is very academic ( scored 360 in admissions test for Wghs) and wants to be a go but is also very sporty and hopes to swim for England in commonwealth games !
Given a choice what would you choose!?!!?!

[quasimodo]

I am biased in this view as I with my youngest dd have chosen WGHS. We were out of catchment in considering Thomas Telford (TT) although one of my nieces(I have many) went to the school in the sixth form after leaving KEHS at sixteen.

From an academic point of view WGHS would in my view be better for your dd as the school consistently appears in the top 100 schools for GCSE and A level year after year. However Thomas Telford consistently appears as a top comprehensive (the school is not fully comprehensive) but not as high as WGHS.

As you know TT takes the top students from a range of ability bands following the entrance exams and or chooses children with talents like sporting abilities. As your daughter wants to swim WGHS doesn't have its own swimming pool but swimming is offered at the school at facilities outside the school. Whilst TT has excellent sporting facilities and that includes its own swimming pool. Your dd clearly needs to practice for a number of hours most days before and or after school. I don't know if your dd would be able to use the schools swimming pool out of hours maybe you should ask and view it (if you haven't already) if your dd is fortunate enough to be offered a place. From this perspective TT should be your choice.

From the academic viewpoint a bright child will do well anywhere. Just remember the school day at TT is much longer than at other schools which supports and reinforces the teaching. Even the headmaster Kevin Satchwell takes a number of pupils under his wing to support them academically.

[Turtlegirl]

I have a completely different perspective to quasimodo!

If she is already swimming at a high level, aren't you already being given advice by a club or personal coach? I imagine that school swimming, even at TT, is too low a level for international sports competition training. And extra hours at school would be negatives too, taking away from swimming training time. My daughter swims at a club at a pretty low level & is there for 5 hours a week & she can only do that because she's home from school by 4.30pm every day.

Unless you live close to TT & would have to travel a long way to WGHS I can't see any advantage in leaving a swimming club where you're already training at a serious level & attending a school with fewer academic advantages.

[Edit: changed less to fewer - my father would've had conniptions if he'd seen the misuse!]

[quasimodo]

http://www.ttsonline.net/news/495/synch ... ships.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The above web link shows the level of competition at the school in the past I am not aware of the current position.
I can understand Turtlegirl the perspective you are coming from. Many years ago a friend of mine who was a county level swimmer would swim for a number of hours with his coach most mornings at a swimming pool near his house before coming to our sixth form college. It didn't impact on his studies he ended up reading history at University college Oxford.