PERFECTLY BALANCED

P E R F E C T LY B A L A N C E D

St George’s Weybridge: two sites, one ethos, one school – giving

students from 3 to 18 the strength of character and mind to excel

in tomorrow’s world.

A W E L C O M E F R O M T H E H E A D O F T H E J U N I O R S C H O O L

“Young people have stability in the continuity from 3 to 18 at St George’s, which is so important when you consider the complexity of modern lives.”

When I meet Junior School parents who are considering St George’s College for Senior School, I encourage them to look eight years down the line to their child’s first weeks at university and just to visualise their child dealing with that. They will have the strong academic foundation that St George’s provides so well but will their door be physically and metaphorically open? Will they be able to juggle the different demands and cope with all the pressures? Will they slip easily into a new community and know instinctively how to get on?

There are no short cuts to instilling the life skills they will need to compete and flourish as adults. We all want our children to have choices and to be happy – and it is these life skills that prove so vital in achieving those goals. The life

skills young people develop over their time at St George’s are second to none.

There is a real sense of journey at St George’s. By the time children have reached the top of the Junior School, I want them to have grown secure and confident; I want them to have found their voice because they have engaged with us through their formative years and embraced the values of gentleness, kindness and respect.

If they have found that voice and are flexing their wings and flying, you’d have to have a really good and specific reason why you would choose anywhere other than St George’s College to teach and support your child through their teenage years to confident adulthood.

A N T O N Y H U D S O NHeadmaster of the Junior School, 2003 to present

Moving from Junior School to the College was very easy. You get to be with all of your friends and there are so many different systems to help you feel welcome. We had been to the College several times and went into different classrooms. You get a feel of what the teaching is like and we got to see different aspects of the College. It was so reassuring that I didn’t have to look for another school because I already knew that St George’s was perfect for me.

I loved being at the Junior School so much. Mr Hudson always wanted us to feel supported and he didn’t want us to be scared. It was lovely to have such a kind headmaster. He had a really good

connection with the students. Coming to the College I wondered if it would be more formal – and it is but I like that. We all got to go and meet Mrs Owens in groups of five and we know she is there to support us.

What I love is that there are so many things you can do because there are so many different things this school is amazing at. It’s not that we’re just good at sport or we just focus on academics. They encourage people to be good at music, drama, sport, as well as all the other subjects – so you can find something that works for you. For example, I loved hockey in the Junior School and I didn’t think I could love it any more – but I do!

T E S T I M O N I A L

C AT P AT T E R S O NJoined the Junior School in the Nursery and now in First Year

“I was so looking forward to the College. If you feel comfortable at the Junior School you’re going to be so comfortable here.”01


02“If you have a great school like St George’s near you, choose it – grab it with both arms. Why complicate your life if you don’t have to?”

I knew the minute I walked in to St George’s that this was the place for my children. Since then, there has never been a single day when they have not wanted to go to school. To me that says everything.

All my children started at the beginning of the Junior School and we were delighted with it. We did look at other senior schools for each of our children but they were happy and didn’t want to leave. They moved to St George’s College as a known quantity. Staff knew their qualities and their abilities and the transition was seamless.

Children go through so many stages as they develop so if you don’t have to move them, don’t. There is a fabulous sense of community here – of families knowing

families. So many students have literally grown up together and they and their parents have been part of the St George’s family for years. This sense of family, of ‘making a big school smaller’, is invaluable.

Your top 20% are going to be your top 20% anywhere. All four of our children take part in the academic scholar programme but I didn’t want them at a school where the intensity of the pressure takes the joy out of learning. I want them to be more than that. Smart kids will do well anywhere but happy kids will do the best.

There are so many schools around here but as a package, a whole package, there is no school better than St George’s Weybridge.

K A R E N P AT T E R S O NGovernor and mother of Cat in First Year, Lili in Fifth Year, James in Lower Sixth and Maddy in Upper Sixth

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“It felt very natural moving on to the College. I had my friends with me and it was definitely the choice I wanted to make.”

I think the teaching here is great to be honest and I enjoy my lessons. I don’t get up and think ‘oh no, I’ve got this or that lesson’! I wouldn’t want to be at a school where everything’s about the academic and you can’t enjoy things like music and drama and sport because that’s just all about pressure.

St George’s creates the right balance. They understand that everyone shines in different ways. There are so many clubs run during the week. Different students are interested in different clubs and there’s something for everyone. So, yes, there’s a lot of opportunity. It’s very well balanced.

I play a lot of sport both as part of the curriculum and more competitively at

the weekends. I do rowing now and in the summer I play cricket – and basically get to spend a day with my friends playing sport. In school, we get involved in plays and music whether it’s in or out of lessons. I’m about to start learning the guitar and I can’t wait.

Mrs Owens gets things done. She came in last year, saw an opportunity to really add to our facilities and she’s building the Activity Centre. I’ll still be a student here when it’s finished, which is great. I can’t think of anything she’s done that I don’t agree with – it’s all positive change. There’s definitely a motivation among the students to earn her respect and to embody her vision of St George’s.

D Y L A N H A M P S O N - V A U G H A N Joined the Junior School in Year 3 and now in Third Year

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“Dylan is far more aware about right and wrong and how you should treat people than I ever was at his age.”

We didn’t look at other schools when Dylan was in the last year of the Junior School because we’d already made up our minds on a number of things. One: we wanted co-ed because the world’s co-ed; two: the position of the school was really important; three: a former neighbour had children at St George’s who were so balanced and so kind.

I looked into the academic side, which I think is normal when you have a bright child, but quite honestly Dylan has all the opportunities to excel at St George’s so I don’t know how much more academic you need a place to be. After all, you can only get as good as an A* and St George’s not only offers that

but there’s an important balance too because children also have the opportunity to shine equally in the creative subjects or sport.

I wanted my children to be worldly wise. They are very fortunate and they live in a very privileged area and I didn’t want them to have a narrow viewpoint. The school’s values are the ones I want my children to have.

St George’s does live up to what we expected and it still turns out really well-rounded children, which is surely what we all want. For me it’s all about being happy and educated – and the values the school teaches come through strongly from the start. It’s been a really good choice for us.

V I C T O R I A H A M P S O NMother of Marley in First Year, Dylan in Third Year and Lola in Year 2 in the Junior School

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“All the staff want the best for me – not in a bad way but it’s an expectation that is really motivating. It gives you confidence rather than stress.”

I was always going to go to St George’s College. I was awarded an academic scholarship and I’d seen my sister thrive there. The College itself seemed so big and colourful and magical really and all my friends were going, so all in all, there was no question.

The Junior School’s motto is Honesty and Compassion and Mr Hudson led the way on that for sure. I was a School Counsellor and he genuinely made me feel I was doing something important. I met him recently. He knew my name and remembered me at Junior School. I mean, how many people have gone through the Junior School since I left five years ago? That’s what being in the Georgian family is all about. It was just the most amazing thing!

Mrs Owens is amazing. She brought us in to get to know us and she’s really involved. She wants the best from and for the school. Staff don’t limit learning to the curriculum, which is brilliant, because having a balance is key. Every department, academic, creative, performing and sport, has been really well funded and everyone goes above and beyond.

It makes us feel we should go above the expectations because the staff have gone to all this effort. It’s all done to such an amazing level that you just wouldn’t get in other schools. It’s really rare to find a school that excels in every area and where every student has an opportunity to shine.

K AT I E R O B I N S O N Joined the Junior School in Reception and now in Fifth Year

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“St George’s exposes students to many things until they find something they excel at – and that’s what is special about the school.”

We were specifically looking for a mixed day school and one where our daughters could stay right through to Sixth Form. I always saw the Junior School and the College as two parts of the same entity that, while distinct, have a single ethos – a thread - that runs through. That continuity and sense of community was important to us. It was in essence the same school.

We knew St George’s was the school for us, not only academically but because of the values it instils. It couldn’t have been any better as a Junior School. A large part of what made it distinct was the superb academic staff, lead by Mr Hudson. He was the friendly overseer – someone who was always visible, who knew every child’s name

and who was always checking that everyone was all right.

In the upper years of Junior School, the students were often taken to the College, so they knew it and that made the transition to Senior so much easier than if they were starting somewhere completely new.

Now they are at the College they have Rachel Owens as Head. One of the first things she did when she arrived was talk to the parents and students to really understand what they liked about the College – and what they didn’t. She commands a lot of respect from students and parents alike. She is very hands on, very open and not afraid to tackle issues. As a strong, respected women, she is an excellent role model.

S U S A N N A H B R A M L E YMother to Katie Robinson, Fifth Year, and Lucy Robinson, Lower Sixth

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T E S T I M O N I A L S

“St George’s says it wants students to feel like they’re ‘coming home to school’ and that’s really what it feels like here.”

I have been at St George’s from the beginning. There’s a massive sense of family. I’m in the Sixth Form now with some people I’ve known since I was five. The Junior School teach you how to be a better person and they instil the values of kindness, honesty and respect. Mr Hudson was a great role model because he’s the person you should aim to be.

In the College, Mrs Owens has a clear focus on where she wants to go but she listens to the students and she’s really rational with her decisions. The motivation and wellbeing she talks about have inspired people and brought us even closer together as one family.

The idea of going up to the College was a big thing but once you’ve visited a few times, it all just feels like one school. Obviously the

College has a strong focus on academics, which come before everything else, but there are also so many opportunities to get involved in other aspects of the school.

I play rugby and hockey and I play guitar. There are lots of clubs – I remember being in the Movie Making Club in First Year and loving it. Since then, my sport has become more serious so I’ve tended to spend my time in the sports clubs, although now in Sixth Form I’m on the Charity Committee and I’m a member of the Geography Society. I’m also enjoying my Extended Project, which teaches you essential skills for university such as writing dissertations, self-motivated research and presenting.

LY L E R E Y N O L D S Joined the Junior School in Reception and now in Lower Sixth studying Economics, History and Geography A Levels

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T E S T I M O N I A L S

“If you gave me my time again, I wouldn’t choose any other school for my boys.”

When we moved to the area, we looked round quite a few of the private schools and one of the first things that stood out about St George’s was actually the normality of it and the community spirit.

Calum and Lyle had previously been in a single sex school and we found that the co-ed environment created a tangible respect and maturity which was really important.

We had already been through the process of looking at other schools when our older son was in Year 6 at the junior school. He chose to come to the College, and I think it was then easier for Lyle to choose the same path.

In the end we were happy to take our lead from them and they simply didn’t want to leave.

We did the same thing towards the end of Fifth Year for Sixth Form – with the same

result! Something I think St George’s does really well is they make sure everyone is exposed to the opportunities here. I think just having that long term ‘you can do it’ approach throughout your whole school life is fabulous. No one has ever told my sons they can’t do something – it’s always encouraging.

Rachel Owens has had an incredible effect since she arrived last year. There’s an extra buzz around the school, which is tremendous.She added 10 new teachers to the staff and I’m delighted to see some younger teachers the students can relate to.

You need experienced teachers who can be strong role models and there is now a perfect balance in the teaching body: the experience and the enthusiasm.

E L S P E T H R E Y N O L D S Mother of Lyle in Lower Sixth and Calum who is now an Old Georgian

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A C A D E M I C I N T E L L I G E N C E

St George’s is a selective school. We actively seek to accept children who can hold their own in an academic environment while also having the breadth of mind to embrace new experiences. Children are tested at key points in the Junior School and the College both to ensure they are coping academically and to give them the confidence that comes with success. A St George’s education is one where we celebrate excellence in all areas while also challenging our students to step out of their academic comfort zone and use their strengths to support and inspire others.

S U M M A R Y

E M O T I O N A L I N T E L L I G E N C E

The workplace our students will enter will be more competitive and unpredictable than ever before and one where only those who have the essential life skills will flourish. They will need to be adaptable, to be ready to try something new and, at times, to fail and be able to pick themselves up, to face challenges with an open and enquiring mind. They will need strong social skills to be able to fit in quickly in new environments and be ready to speak out confidently but respectfully. Our students learn and absorb these skills from their first day at St George’s so they are truly second nature by the time they leave.

Every parent wants the best for their child; they want to see them happy, secure, mature, academically bright with an integrity that guides both their confidence in themselves and their respect and compassion for others. The three core strands of life at St George’s described here work in harmony and provide the perfect framework for the development of our students to give them the best possible starting point from which to launch into adulthood and all the challenges that entails.

P R E P A R E D F O R A D U L T H O O D

J O S E P H I T E I N T E L L I G E N C E

St George’s is a Josephite school and it is the Josephite ethos and values that lie at the heart of everything we do. They shape our thoughts and our actions and, almost without noticing, they become fundamental to everyone within our Georgian family. They are the values that every parent wants to be instilled in their child: Politesse and Doucer – being polite, being gentle, being compassionate and having respect for others; forgiveness, honesty, happiness and having an open mind and heart. They influence and drive the actions of our staff and students and are palpable in every corner of our lives.

A PERFECTLY BALANCED 3-18 EDUCATION STARTS WITH CORE VALUES

St George’s is proudly and unequivocally a 3 -18 co-ed school where children can learn and grow into kind, polite, respectful adults. There is a perfect balance between the Junior School and the College and between academia, creativity and sport. Most important, though, is the perfect balance between the three fundamental intelligences listed here. Together, these are what make St George’s unique – and what makes the children who leave us exceptional.

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A F I N A L W O R D F R O M T H E H E A D O F S T G E O R G E ’ S C O L L E G E

“If you enjoy school and you’re happy, you will be the best version of yourself.”

I love the fact that St George’s is a 3-18 school. Most of our Junior School leavers come straight on to the College and why wouldn’t they? There is a seamless transition because we already know each child – we know their talents, their ambitions, their quirks. The children already know they are part of a community that plays together and learns together.

Of course, children want there to be some differences when they move to the College. They want to feel they have moved on but at the same time there’s enough they recognise. There’s a great balance between something that is new and something that has continuity.

Since joining St George’s, I have emphasised the two things that really drive me. The first is that the children should be the best

versions of themselves and they should be enabled to achieve that. The second is that children should be happy – there should be a sense of joy about coming to school.

I have also recruited 10 new members of staff, which means there is more time for each child and that each child is genuinely treated as an individual. Yes we’re a big school but everyone’s known and no one doubts that. The key strength of any school is its teachers. I go on learning walks, I drop into classrooms, I’ve encouraged all senior staff to do the same because I want to know without question that the teaching here is as good as you’ll get anywhere else and that an able or super able child will do as well, if not better, here as they would do anywhere – that they will be the very best version of themselves.

R A C H E L O W E N S Head of St George’s College, 2016 to present

St George’s CollegeWeybridge Road,Addlestone,SurreyKT15 2Q

Tel: 01932 839300

Email: [email protected]

www.stgeorgesweybridge.com

F O L L O W U S

Please contact us with any questions you may have

www.stgeorgesweybridge.com

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PERFECTLY BALANCED