Nonsuch parents feedback needed please

[Selin]

Nonsuch parents, I am looking for feedback, pros and cons of this great school please. DD got 335 so I think she has a very good chance of getting into Nonsuch OOC.

We live too far from Nonsuch so we will have to move to Cheam if DD goes to Nonsuch – DH and I really like Cheam village, easy enough to commute to work too, so we all happy to move if DD will be happier at Nonsuch! DD has a very high score that will get her into our local grammar school but she doesn’t like the school and I respect DD’s decision; I want her to be happy in her new school. I really appreciate any feedback from Nonsuch parents. How is pastoral care, are your girls happy? How is the variety of extra curricular activities?

DD is very social, loves to make friends and hang out after school hours, having sleepovers etc. DD loves sports clubs/training and plays violin. She is strong on English and maths.

I and DD both love Nonsuch school; we will visit Nonsuch again tomorrow but nothing like a parent’s view

Many thanks in advance

[magic16]

Hi, I really don't know much about nonsuch but I have few friends who took their children out of a grammar school because it was not fun.. Too many competitive and unfriendly parents. It is hard to make friends as kids are not allow to have sleepovers / playdates or shopping trips... Values are v different.

I did agree with my friends once I visited the schools myself .. Sad but true. Mental health is much more important than academic results.

Good luck to you and daughter!

[KingstonMama]

My daughter is there now. I was attracted to NS over other grammars as they put emphasis on pastoral care and it felt friendly. It’s early days but there hasn’t been too much pressure, they let them settle in and don’t give much homework at all. I emailed the head of year about an issue outside of school for my daughter and she was v responsive and helpful re. support. Girls are encouraged to join clubs, of which there are many both sports, music and other. My daughter hasn’t got into lots of things yet but is trying a new club next week. She says all the girls are friendly, and she’s never lonely. She fell over outside sch week 2 and older girls scooped her up and checked she was ok.

[Moon unit]

I’ve got two children at grammars in Sutton.
Plenty of sleepovers,shopping trips and other outside school meet ups.
Frienships just the same as at junior school as are the parents.
I’m not sure how from visiting a school you could get a feel for this sort of thing.

[rocky]

Hi,

Firstly many congratulations to your daughter for getting a good score - she's done extremely well.

My DD started year 7 in September and we did have concerns about the level of pastoral care at Nonsuch however a considerable amount has been done to improve things on this front.

A few things I have noticed that I can remember since DD got a place at Nonsuch

A teacher from Nonsuch and an existing student came to meet my daughter at her school to answer any questions she had and they also left her booklet written by an existing student for her to read with some activities in.
There's an induction day in the summer term prior to September start where your daughter is invited to meet her teacher and the rest of the class. They play games etc in order to learn about the layout of the school and lunch in the school canteen!
The PTA organises a meet and greets event for parents in the summer where the children go and meet other children int their class again and do some outdoor fun games whilst parents get to meet other parents.
Year 7 students are now mainly taught in the same classroom so they don't have to spend considerable time walking between classrooms
In the first half of autumn term in year 7 there is no homework given. This is in place to allow pupils to sample the many different lunchtime and after school clubs.

I am disappointed to read the earlier reply - best to speak to people with first-hand experience!

On the subject of moving to Cheam - it's a great place to live and there are some good surrounding towns also. Cheam Village has a nice cosy vibe to it with some independent shops.

Best of luck in your journey

[Zoe99]

This is a very helpful post. I had heard rumours that there weren't so many extra curricular activities at nonsuch because many of the pupils live a long way from the school, so it is great to hear the reality from parents of current students.

Agree with the info on Cheam as a place to live. Lovely village with beautiful parks.

[shalini2222]

Hello,
My daughter started Nonsuch in Sep this year. We live about 40 mins away (12 miles) from Nonsuch and were really apprehensive about the commute and whether it was worth sending her there. But so far we have absolutely no regrets. The school is amazing and my daughter is really happy. There are many lunchtime and after school activity clubs which the girls can join. The other girls are quite friendly and my daughter has not had an issue settling in. There has been one inset day till now when the school was closed and my daughter and her group of friends met up and went to a shopping centre. We've not had a sleepover yet since its still early days, but I'm sure all of that will come soon.
So no issues at all with the school. Hope this helps you in making a decision.

[tiffinboys]

Hi, I really don't know much about nonsuch but I have few friends who took their children out of a grammar school because it was not fun.. Too many competitive and unfriendly parents. It is hard to make friends as kids are not allow to have sleepovers / playdates or shopping trips... Values are v different.

I did agree with my friends once I visited the schools myself .. Sad but true. Mental health is much more important than academic results.

Good luck to you and daughter!

And I am wondering how far is Pate’s and Ribston (Gloucestershire) from Nonsuch?

[elevenpraforum]

Nonsuch parents, I am looking for feedback, pros and cons of this great school please. DD got 335 so I think she has a very good chance of getting into Nonsuch OOC.

We live too far from Nonsuch so we will have to move to Cheam if DD goes to Nonsuch – DH and I really like Cheam village, easy enough to commute to work too, so we all happy to move if DD will be happier at Nonsuch! DD has a very high score that will get her into our local grammar school but she doesn’t like the school and I respect DD’s decision; I want her to be happy in her new school. I really appreciate any feedback from Nonsuch parents. How is pastoral care, are your girls happy? How is the variety of extra curricular activities?

DD is very social, loves to make friends and hang out after school hours, having sleepovers etc. DD loves sports clubs/training and plays violin. She is strong on English and maths.

I and DD both love Nonsuch school; we will visit Nonsuch again tomorrow but nothing like a parent’s view

Many thanks in advance

Congratulations!
My elder one is at NS and she loves it. There have been no issues and the pastrol care is great too. There are plenty of clubs at lunchtime and after school too. They do support at every step. We have had no problems at all.
Good luck to your daughter.

[Selin]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to give such useful feedback, gives me such reassurance that we are making the right decision. We did our research but you can't get this sort of first hand experience info from anywhere.

It is a big decision to sell our home to move to a completely new area, not to mention how expensive the stamp duty is but I am confident it is the right decision. I can see all of us living very happily in Cheam.

We went for a tour at Nonsuch again yesterday (I really love this school) and today whole family going to Cheam spend the day in the Village and we will start looking at houses!

Fingers crossed now, hopefully DD's score is high enough to get her to Nonsuch OOC.

Thank you all again, really useful information.