Destination Schools

We are often asked about the destination schools for our leavers with some wanting to know the percentage of boys who get into their first choice schools.

Choosing a school for your son is an art not a science and one that can be hard to measure. When you register your son at Aldwickbury you are asked if you have a destination school in mind – he might be six months old. So much can change between then and when he is a 13 year old looking you in the eye!

There is so much to put into the mix of choosing a school –your family philosophy for life and education, aspirations, religion, finance, availability of senior school places, entrance exams, employment and health of parents and all of this before you think about your son’s interests, abilities and character. Add to this that many of these components can change only months before your son leaves Aldwickbury. It is easy to see how difficult it is to measure.

Parents who are adamant that they will not consider boarding all through their son’s career at Aldwickbury suddenly find when he is in Year 8 that they have a son who will thrive given those opportunities. The opposite can also be true when it has been a given fact that a boy will enter a full boarding school until the parents bravely see that this will not be the best environment for their son. In these changing times a school bill from a day school can look more attractive that one from a full boarding school for some parents. Many of these reasons are private family matters and not ones to be shared with the school community.

Whatever stage your son and family are at the Headmaster is always available to help parents through this most important and difficult decision giving them honest and considered advice based on their unique set of circumstances. With the Headmaster’s years of experience of dealing with senior school and knowing how boys need time to develop and grow this is a very valuable part of the Aldwickbury experience.