Grammar or private sixth form with scholarship?

I currently attend a private girls school, but was enrolled into a grammar sixth form (wallington girls / WHSG). Initially, I was going to attend the grammar sixth form- I've already signed the papers- but my private school headmistress offered me a 50% academic scholarship. Since I've already paid the non refundable deposit for my private school, the fees are not really an issue anymore. So now I'm feeling really conflicted, and I have to decide by tomorrow.

I've read lots of different opinions on grammar schools and how they're sometimes really tough on you and I'm not sure how I'll fare with that. The rank of the grammar school is, however, higher than my private school's rank, and the russell group uni (which I am aiming for) acceptance rate is quite high, higher than my current school.

I have some good friends at my private school but some of the other girls are not the best people... but I don't know how the people will be like at the grammar school. Are students really competitive at grammar schools?

WHSG is a massive school with over 400 sixth formers in total, which can help me make more friends, but this seems quite trivial considering this means that the classes will be massive compared to my tiny private school with around around 150 sixth formers in total. Would I receive a lot less attention from teachers in a grammar school?

This may make me sound like a terrible person (lol) but since I'm also sort of a top student at my private school, I really feel a sense of pride when my teachers use my essays/ papers as examples for other students. No joke, it boosts my ego so much (I write every instance down on my notes app) and these moments seriously motivate me to work even harder. I'm certain this will not happen in grammar schools since everyone is impressive, and this may actually hinder my academic flow.

I have even more to say but I feel like I should stop here. Send help SOS

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 1

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

If the grammar school is more prestigious than your private school, then you might as well go there. It doesn't matter whether or not you go to a Russell Group university. I go to Lancaster which is not in the Russell Group but still find it to be a good-quality university.

Based on my experience of visiting a grammar school, I would say that the students are competitive. That does not mean that they are aggressive, but they are high achievers.

Larger class sizes mean you are competing with more students to get attention. So the amount you get would probably be inversely proportional to the class size. That being said, you can still get to know the teachers outside of the class.

If you think not being the top student will make you do worse academically, you will have to consider your academic performance against the quality of the school and decide what would get you a higher grade overall.

-Kao (Lancaster Maths & Stats Student Ambassador)

(edited 8 months ago)