Kings High Warwick or Shottery

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Poppy100
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:56 pm

Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by Poppy100 »

Interested to hear your views - which school do you prefer, if you were offered a place at both?
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by kenyancowgirl »

Personally, if I had a daughter I wouldn't send them to an all girls school full stop!

SGGS is very alpha female so may not suit a quieter type - they are OK at sport but do not rate it very highly (doesn't seem cool) so some girls we know who are quite sporty are finding that balance difficult. We know about several very unhappy girls there (but obviously there are some very happy girls!). Generally, I would say the SGGS girls are quite "forward" :shock: when it comes to matters of the opposite gender - I think this is exacerbated by the all girls scenario, so may well be true of Kings High too! Kings High, in our experience, has many, many girls who did not make the grade for SGGS but have parents who can afford to pay the fees.
Poppy100
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:56 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by Poppy100 »

Thank you, yes been thinking about the all girls issue, but it's kind of too late as those two school are likely to be our two options. I like both schools and we have been offered a full bursary for Kings, plus it's a lot closer, where as for Shottery, my daughter would be getting on a bus around 7.30am. My daughter's ranking suggests we will be offered a place at Shottery. I wonder how many people turn down a place at there? It is ranked in the top 20 of all state schools, where as Kings is not ranked in top 100 of independent schools but I know it has great facilities and smaller classes. I'm really torn as to how to decide which school is best for my daughter.
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by kenyancowgirl »

Small class sizes have been proven NOT to offer a significant advantage - it is a myth perpetuated and re-inforced by private schools to justify their existence!

Ask yourself, what will be covered by the bursary? They don't always cover the incidental costs, such as uniform and trip money (you may be able to apply for support with compulsory curriculum trips, but what about those nice to have ones, that a high proportion of the girls at Kings High will be able to afford?)

I will pm you.
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by kenyancowgirl »

Poppy - you can access the private message by clicking on the link in the top left of the screen, by your log in/log out toggle.
JamesDean
Posts: 1537
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:03 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by JamesDean »

I know girls at both and would say there's a definite 'type' who go to Shottery. The girls I know who go to Kings High are a much more diverse bunch from many backgrounds - full fee paying, bursary and scholarship ... And there is a local discount here as well, making it more accessible to some who may not otherwise consider the school.

And I wouldn't worry too much about travelling to Stratford and back - I've never heard any of them complain (DS travels to KES with the girls), although the bus from here is around 8am.

Good luck with your decision - its a lovely choice to have,

JD
Poppy100
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:56 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by Poppy100 »

Thank you all of you who have posted, this is so helpful and just what I need. I've replied to the messages.

Yes it's is a lovely choice to have, JD. I've heard a couple of times, about the 'type' of girls that go to Shottery - why is it do you think!? Also I thought there would be a more diverse bunch at Shottery. We've seen so much of Kings from taster/events they put on and all the girls have been so lovely. And one of my main hopes is my daughter will have a good set of friends - but I guess she'll get this at either school, it may just be a bit more socially challenging/competitive at

I am planning on making money, so it would be nice to have that for me rather than school fees in the future. From what I understand cost of school trips fairly similar at each school.

Lots to think about, even though I know she'll thrive at either one!
Eagle88
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2015 4:11 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by Eagle88 »

For what its worth I've worked in two all girls schools (not in Warwickshire) both of which were lovely ... by the way, I agree that its a lovely choice to have :D
Yamin151
Posts: 2405
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:30 am

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by Yamin151 »

kenyancowgirl wrote:Small class sizes have been proven NOT to offer a significant advantage - it is a myth perpetuated and re-inforced by private schools to justify their existence!

Ask yourself, what will be covered by the bursary? They don't always cover the incidental costs, such as uniform and trip money (you may be able to apply for support with compulsory curriculum trips, but what about those nice to have ones, that a high proportion of the girls at Kings High will be able to afford?)

I will pm you.

I think small class sizes are a significant advantage for SOME. Definitely in our case. THose children who are not so good at speaking up tend to get lost in a big class, or in case of one of my DS's, doesn't want to admit if doesn't 'get' something and its far more quickly noticed in a small class. So completely down to individual child on that one.

Uniform more expensive at the Grammar school and so far all the trips are too. Not a complaint, just a fact for our experience.

Just like state schools, indies can vary widely, so I am not dismissing KCG experience or opinion, but just putting my experience for balance.

Can't comment on either school as do not have girls.

Good luck
rockyroads
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 5:26 pm

Re: Kings High Warwick or Shottery

Post by rockyroads »

Hi Poppy

I have 2 girls at Shottery so you are welcome to pm me if you want any specific information.

All I can say is that they are both very happy there. The pastoral care has been brilliant which I think school should promote more at open days.

Neither girls are sporty and it hasn't been a problem. There seems to be a group of sporty girls but there's also a fair number of girls who aren't interested in sport.

There are a few alpha females as there would be in any school but they are a minority. The vertical tutoring works really well and there are mentors for some of the children.
I know both my daughters have a diverse group of friends and are doing really well academically but don't seem too pressured.

I also have friends at Kings high who are also settled.

Good luck with your decision.
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