DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

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Seraphine
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:39 pm

DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

Post by Seraphine »

What would be your choice and why? I'm really torn and we're all finding the final decision making a bit tricky tbh.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

Post by PettswoodFiona »

Depends on your transport options and what subjects and opportunities mean more to you. From Petts Wood there are private coaches to all three for example and journey time is similar. What interests does your DD have? Dance is compulsory at Townley and they have amazing new computing suites for example, it is also a larger school which seems to give it more curriculum choices including a classics department. Wilmington has a good reputation for pastoral care and is on the smaller side. Dartford I hear hood things about their STEM capabilities.
Seraphine
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:39 pm

Re: DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

Post by Seraphine »

My concerns re Townley and Dartford are the pressures - increased amount of homework and the pressure put on the girls at school. Also the size of Townley. I can't really say what is most important at this stage. My daughter is 10. She has no idea what she wants to do for a career or what she hopes to study at uni. so choosing a school based on its specialism seems moot at this point.

She enjoys dance, drama, is fairly sporty - likes the swimming pool at DGGS - but has quite an all encompassing hobby outside school so I'm wary of heaping more extra curricular stuff on her - as well as the extra homework.

Finding this quite a tough decision. She says she's not fazed by the largeness of Townley. I like the idea of Wilmington and it being small, but in all honesty she isn't a child who needs the more nurturing environment. But as a mother, that definitely appeals to me.
Seraphine
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:39 pm

Re: DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

Post by Seraphine »

All 3 are similar transport wise.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

Post by PettswoodFiona »

FWIW my order of preference is 1) local grammar which based on past scores we should get but has shocking debts and a recent bad run of Heads 2) ToGS (unlikely as slightly below predicted OOC cut off but you never know) 3) Townley 4) Dartford 5) Wilmington 6) Chis n Sid. If I could pick up Townley and plop it closer to us then that would move to first choice. I like the fact it is the foundation school in Bexley for the Oxbridge entrants, has sole relation in the Uk for Google, is on an upward trend, does well despite not being a superselective. DD likes her sleep and I can't see how travelling for 50 mins each way would be ideal for her so we've gone for the option of nearby despite the negatives of the school. The school nearby does have a lot of positives I might add, but the negatives do concern me but clearly not to the extent we are ruling the school out - quite the opposite! It was also the one that DD felt most affinity with the girls showing her round. If distance were no factor then it would be a very different order!
Seraphine
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:39 pm

Re: DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

Post by Seraphine »

Thanks for your reply PWF. I assume your nearest, based on your location, is NW? My daughter was a couple of points under last year's cutoff for there, but like you in reverse, we'd decided against it anyway due to travel. We're Bexley side of Kent so NW a bit of a trek for us.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: DGGS, Townley or Wilmington?

Post by PettswoodFiona »

Yes Seraphine, it is NW. You know your DD best, I do like the idea of the IB hence ToGS but my gut favourite was Townley. Good luck in your choices - I didn't think it was going to be as hard as this. Our strategy was to keep as many doors open for as long as possible, I sometimes feel like Alice in Wonderland, fallen down the abyss and faced with all sizes and shapes of doors and the keys to them are out of reach and I can only peep through and get the smallest flavour of what is behind. I keep reminding myself we are lucky to have these dilemmas. :D
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