Any sharing on boarding school life in UK state school?

CPU1995

My son is currently studying in a state school for Grade 12.

After a month’s studies in this school, I have the following observation on my son’s school.

1. Students have to buy textbook by themselves before the start of school term.

2. Each lesson lasts for 70 minutes. Is it too long? And there is only one PE lesson in a week.

3. There is virtually no activity after school and students would normally go to boarding house after 3:30 p.m..  

4. Students are not allowed to browse facebook and youtube.

5. There is virtually no homework and supplmentary class/extra tuition after school. I really have some concern on this arrangement.

6. The school does not have the parent portal for parents to browse the progress of the student.

7. How long would the school communicate with you and report the process of your child and in what way?

8. What is the arrangement of your state school to support your child to adopt the boarding life, English barrieror learning difficulties, if any?  

9. How many boarders? There are only 70 boarders in my son's school out of about 1,000 students and each form has 10 boarders. My son occupies an over 100 sq feet single suite.

Any parents would like to share your views on the above in your kid's state school. Thx.

CPU1995

You have the same mindset with me except that my sons are quite laid-back and only be driven by comprehensive extra tuition to get a fair result in HK.

I am disappointed by the way the so-called excellent school's teaching method in HK which is only focused on the brilliant students only without paying heed to the average or under-performed one.

HKdevil

回復 nakai_miu 的帖子

yes, it is Wymondham college

nakai_miu

Sorry, I over look. Is it Wymondham college.

nakai_miu

Dear HKdevil,

Would you mind telling me the school name because I am looking for boarding schools for my daughter.

Thanks a lot.

HKdevil

Although the boarding room for 6th form is onsuite, but there are still many other students near by, so there are still plenty of opportunity for my girl to mingle with others, but then again, hers is a full boarding while your son is weekly boarding, so he might have less chance since all of them are gone during weekends.

I sent my girls away for few important reasons.

1. it is my elder girl who is from a so called excellent school not my younger girl. the whole idea started from sending my younger girl away first, since my younger girl is totally different in personality from my elder girl, while my elder girl is a capable, competitive and driven entity, my younger on the other hand, is very creative, laidback, can't be pushed etc...so i figure that this kind of personality would suit better under the UK system. So I asked if she wants to study in int'ls school when she reached the grade of form 1 in HK. I let her choose either int'l school or boarding to which she said boarding without hesitation. my elder girl later also expressed her desire to go, so they go together.
2. Although they both have their specialties in their studies, they both are not good at chinese, and I have no confident that they would achieve the required chinese level for universities here.(oh they are mixed with a chinese mum and a british dad by the way).
3. I have opportunity to observe graduates from both local schools and from overseas boarding schools, and I noticed that those from boardings are more mature, more humble and with broader horizons...those from locals are very proud for pure fact that they are from elite schools which i find very ignorant and arrogant and sad.

I think if we could afford it, boarding would do the children good, at least they could realise how big this world is and that however famous a local school is ,,,,it is so tiny when compare with those boarding schools.

Boarding also train them to have better interpersonal skills, the problem solving skills etc.

I will definitely do the same to my son.

CPU1995

You indeed are very comfortable for your choice to find such beautiful and excellent pastoral care school for your two brilliant girls.

Ranking after all is not as important as how the parents as well as the kids perceive their 2nd home in UK. Also, I concur that weekly boarding is not suitable for my younger son to study together with his brother in the same school since my elder son has to take a 90-minute train to the host family every weekend. It is quite troublesome and UK trains are always not on-scheduled. Yesterday, he took the wrong train and casued much delay in arriving at host family.  

I haven’t visited my son’s school and my son doesn’t have the smart phone to take the photo. I think the small size of two boarding houses might account for its lack of activities when compared with yours.

According to my son, the school is not large but the students here are quite ambitious for their academic performance notwithstanding the school has nearly no homework and activities after school. They normally go to study by themselves after school and seldom participate in other activities.

For the boarding room, I don’t prefer an own onsuite room and it is much better to share with others and change the boarding room by rotation for every term so as to have more chance to meet others and speak English. In his boarding house, there are only three Chinese including one Sinpaorean.

Btw, why do you also send your younger girl to UK despite she was studying in such excellent school in HK?

HKdevil

Yes

HKdevil

Well mum tends to be long winded and bossier, so I know more

HKdevil

Wymondham college

Tommy

HKdevil 發表於 12-9-29 15:57
Tommy share with us about your views of  the school

Wow!  Your description to the school is very detailed and comprehensive.  You know it better than I do.  
In fact, my son seldom actively reports to me his school life.  I only know he is doing well and the tutor also gave good comments to him.

Anyway, I'll chat with my son tomorrow to see what's going on in his side.  I'll target to ask him questions commented by CPU1995 and you.  After that, I hope I will have something more sharing with you.

HKdevil

Tommy share with us about your views of  the school

Tommy

This is the boarding house exclusive for 6th form students.

12-9-29 15:28 上傳

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Tommy

That's what HKdevil mentioned "big grass in the middle of a desert".

12-9-29 15:26 上傳

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Tommy

Here's outside the school's main entrance.  It's really "in the middle of nowhere.

12-9-29 15:19 上傳

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HKdevil

Oh yes, the school is in the middle of no where, so imagine a pit of big grass in the middle of a desert, so the student cant go anywhere without being noticed. in that kind of environment, they can only study, study and study.

my husband's cousin is a teacher and he told us that the school is the best school in the area and that the school is the school he wants to send his daughter to.