Thank you so much, you’re right that is quite the endorsement that your son has chosen to stay! In all honesty one of my reasons for choosing the grammars was the belief that my son will be more likely to ‘find his tribe’ there, so this is reassuring. And it’s good to know you don’t need to be rugby mad for STRSDS has just started at 6th form in STRS. He has been there since year 7. His GCSE grades were good enough to move over the Pates, but he chose to stay, so I guess that is a decent endorsement! Both schools have loads of ND kids including my own. My son has definitely found STRS a safe space with no bullying and everyone seems to accept each others quirks. He has managed to find his tribe. There are rugby mad kids but also plenty who aren't, so I wouldn't let that worry you.
STRS is very strong in science and maths. Less so in languages, English, art. I would agree with PP that is your DS prefers being top of the class then Pates may not be for him. When I visited Pates, the kids said that there was self imposed pressure rather than pressure from the school. They also had a lot of emphasis on being independent learners from an early stage. So, it really depends on what your son is like in terms of interests, learning style etc.
Such a tricky decision! My mind keeps changing every time I hear from someone new!
Statistics: Posted by irnbrulou — Wed Oct 16, 2024 10:06 pm