Any experience of Wilson's, SGS and tiffin?

[judith1209]

Hi ladies,
Have you made up your mind for the CAF order?
Before completing it can you share any experience or idea about these three school?
I am lack of information and to make it worse I am a kind of person who can never decide myself.
What do you consider most for your CAF preference? I'd like to hear people's opinion please~~

[sleeplessmum]

Hi we were in the same position a couple of years ago. The things we considered were as follows:

- How near was the school to our home?
- Which school did our son like the most? - he is going to be there for the next 8years( hopefully). He needs to be happy.
- Sports
- Pastoral care
- Which school did we warm to when visiting the schools for the opening evening.

Good luck and congratulations.

[judith1209]

Hi sleeplessmum
Thanks for your comment.
Can I ask you where you decide to put and how your ds like the school?
Thanks.

[Moon unit]

I have one at Wilson's.
We are really pleased with it.
The pastoral care is fantastic.
From year 9 up the tutor groups are split so only contain 15. The tutors and heads of year
are incredibly helpful and approachable.
They know the boys really well and are very supportive at times of difficulty.
They keep the same tutor from year 9 to 11.
Very good for music ( free instrumental lessons and instrument loan in year seven).
Sport is excellent especially football.
Fast paced academically but I should think it's the same at all.
They are expected to work hard from day 1.
I've never heard a bad word about any of the grammars in Sutton just that they all have a slightly different feel.

[judith1209]

Thanks Moon unit!
My son and I both liked Wilson's but thing is the journey time is over an hour with 2bus changes. I am not sure how it could be when he is in Y7.
Both tiffin and SGS is about 30min journey with direct bus. Do you think it would still worth to choose Wilson's for the first choice?

[Moon unit]

I'd always favour a short commute.
Why don't you do a trial run at half term of the morning journey to get a feel for how doable it is.
If you tried the other two as well it might help you come to decision.
Do bear in mind CCF on Tues ( and sometimes Thurs as well) might finish as late as 5.50).
I read recently that commutes of over an hour each way have an impact on adult mental health.
Presume it's the same for children.
The Wilsons head is very keen on punctuality.

[mad?]

Thanks Moon unit!
My son and I both liked Wilson's but thing is the journey time is over an hour with 2bus changes. I am not sure how it could be when he is in Y7.
Both tiffin and SGS is about 30min journey with direct bus. Do you think it would still worth to choose Wilson's for the first choice?

I am sure Wilsons is a fabulous school, as are they all. However, IMO no school can make up for what you lose by having a 2 hour + daily commute with 4 changes compared with a 1 hour return journey. That is time your DS can never get back, opportunities he will never have again that he will have to miss out on due to travel constraints, along with the stress of it all, as MoonUnit mentioned. If you have a choice of 3 great schools and one or two are quicker/easier to get to, it is an easy choice. Good luck and what a wonderful position to be in!

[streathammum]

Sutton is an amazing school. My son just started to and is thriving.

Bear in mind that if getting to Wilson's takes over an hour on a good day, it will be more like 90 minutes when the buses are slow. When the journey to school is so long it limits what what children can do so they don't get the most out of their school experience.

[osasco2]

This could help

https://www.schoolguide.co.uk/compare?u ... 787+136798" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sleeplessmum]

Hi,

We chose SGS and we haven't regretted it. It is a fantastic school!

There pastoral care is excellent and they keep the boys on their toes academically. Communication with parents is brilliant.

The journey isn't far so our ds can take part in after school clubs.

I know this is a hard decision but please go for the choice that you think your son will be the most happiest- he will there for 5 or 7 years.

Good luck