Kings College School or St Pauls V/S QE Boys

[Pound.Pence]

May I please request for advise from the experienced members of this site.

My son has rcvd a conditional offer at KCS ( we need to accept this by March 4th) and are confident that he should rcv an offer from St. Pauls as well. He also sat the Grammar Schools and with his score (262) we are optimistic that he will be offered a place at QE Boys ( Results to be published on 2nd March).

In either case we are willing to move closer to the school. My son though academic enjoys sports and music.

So far the criteria for us has been -
1. The number of children going on to Oxbridge from these schools ( knowing well that my son may choose some totally different subject 7 years down the line and prefer another university). Having compared the results we don't see a substantial difference b/w these Independent schools and QE's.
2. KCS @ £20k/yr and St. Pauls @ £24k/yr. We can manage it but we will have to make sacrifices with hardly any savings though our pension plan is not an issue. Hence, will these schools offer the premium over QE after shelling out their fees?

It's a difficult choice and we do not wish to make a mistake of not offering our son the best to his potential. He prefers St. Pauls followed by KCS and the QE. We'll appreciate advise from parent who have been in this situation and also what was their experience after having decided to go Independent or Grammar. Did they look back and doubt their decision. Also, what else should we consider in making this decision.

Thank you.

[Nikita76]

Is this for 11+ entry?

[Pound.Pence]

11+ QE
13+ for St Pauls and KCS. Will need to continue for 2 more years at current independent.
But need to make a decision now as KCS's conditional offer expiry is 4th March else choose QE and leave current school

[Ladymuck]

If money were no object SPS then KCS.

BUT this is a sacrifice, so QE is the sensible decision. There will be more families there in your position, and it is better for your son to feel part of a larger peergroup than one of the poor families at SPS. Choose with your head, not your heart, bearing in mind you can revisit at 6th form when the quality of teaching may be more important.

[Daogroupie]

QE.

Your son will have everything he needs in sports and music and most importantly, in my opinion, he will be with other boys who have worked hard and will continue to work hard to achieve their goals, many of whom have not come from preps and had all the advantages that preps bring to their students.

It is not only the money you would need to pay to private schools but the fact that you will be in society of families who have the money to live a different life to the average student at QE.

What do you think SPS and KCS offers your ds that QE does not other than the society of boys with money? DG

[Miro]

We are in a similar situation, choosing between scholarships of 2 independent schools (declined one) & waiting for another school offer and QE.

DS loves music, drama & sports, he hates rugby and he is used to do many activities in and outside school.

Yesterday he attended a music concert at QE and I felt it helped him a lot to feel ok about the school; that it is not just an academic school.

There is a school play on the first two days of March at QE. If you know any parent there, why not trying to book for your DS. It might help him.

My DS says his first choice is now QE.

[Daogroupie]

Well hurray to that Miro! At last! If you had told me you were going I would have arranged for him to talk to some of the boys in the concert at the interval.

I look forward to coming to watch ds in a concert at QE at Xmas. Roll on March 1st! DG

[Miro]

Many thanks Daogroupie.

Oh, he missed the opportunity. It would have been great if he had had the chance to talk to any of the boys there.

Being seated around tables made it a relaxed atmosphere.

[Pound.Pence]

Thank you Ladymuck and Daogroupie for your objective feedback.
Thank you Miro for the suggestion to attend the school play in March.
We appreciate the honest feedback from you all.

Daigroupie - To your Qs on what SPS and KCS might offer more than QE, we may be wrong but would appreciate more views:
SPS and KCS offer the advantage of a future influential network, experienced guidance for getting through to Oxbridge, their relationships with Oxbridge, hopefully less pushy and more individual attention and grooming and opportunities for the child's strengths which could be academics, sports, music, drama etc

[Womblemania]

I have a DS at KCS and turned down a place at Tiffin for my DD so I think I can offer a bit of insight for you.

Why choose KCS?

1. Really good pastoral care. Tutor system works really well (vertical forms) with small number of boys on each form. Tutor really knows the boys on a personal level and communication with home is excellent.

2. Lots of opportunities to do stuff - both at a high level but also for those who want just to have a go. Rowing is a good example - everyone has a go but some compete at the highest level.

3. Excellent teaching - on a level that is really quite astonishing.

4. Highly academic atmosphere but somehow not a lot of pressure. There are pushy parents and tutoring but for the vast majority it's really not pressured.

5. Lovely boys. I think that's what's sold it to us from the outset. Not arrogant, confident and really charming young men.

We never looked at the boys grammars but the impression I got was that whilst the results achieved are on a par with KCS and SPS the process of achieving them wasn't going to be as much fun. For me education is as much about the journey as the destination.

But I wouldn't choose KCS or SPS on the basis of future networks. That might happen but in my experience of working in an area where networks are said to be important it's actually the confidence and ability that leads to success.