In general, the school is very academic, certainly compared to any state school. Though despite the protestations of the current headmaster, much of the teaching before GCSEs in the 5th year is 'to the test', it teaches students to perform well in exams. Individual perspectives, and academic debate are neglected. The sciences (including maths) are notably stronger than the arts, with very technical lab teaching, many MANY chemistry experiments, dissections, and even electronics from the first year (which was exceptional in hindsight). The exam focus is not so much a problem in the sciences as practical skills are also very well developed and individualism is not so important. The History department-despite the exam prep that takes precedence in the fourth and fifth years- is also excellent with very well educated teachers (most Oxbridge) and the provision of many interesting pieces of trivia which still serve me well. From the second year until the final year in the Upper Sixth ( seventh year) students are set in Maths and Languages. Maths has seven sets (for year groups of ~150) so classes can be tailored. My own experience in, gasp, a mid set was of meat grinder style teaching where we were made to do as many exercizes as humanly possible in our 4 hours a week. I know the teaching is far more personalized and developed in higher sets. The language departments use tapes, headsets, and much IT to enhance learning and the teaching in my French classes was excellent. Greek, Latin, Spanish and German are also taught. Art is well provided for, with almost every imaginable resource available, though the teaching was lacklustre and their has been a high turnover of teachers. The compulsory sport, which I hated, is also well provided for, with large playing fields, a nearby city park for running and much equipment. Rugby, Cricket and Hockey are key for the boys, whilst the girls take netball, hockey and rounders. There are House Games from the fourth year onwards and an annual Sports Day. There are also compulsory long distance runs once a year and bleep tests. Around half of the intake come from prep schools and admission is selective, but the majority of students were not overly academic or keen, they simply adhered to the challenging curriculum. A significant minority of the year group (~10%) appeared smarter and generally better than the rest from the first year to the last, and unsurprisingly it was this group that dominated the admissions to Oxbridge. The teachers clearly favoured these types ,giving them personal attention, but if your child is clearly able to perform at the highest level from a young age a more academic school (though there are very few in the county, let alone the immediate area) may be better. There are annual tests each summer from the very first year, and these provide valuable exam practice and are the basis of setting. Teaching style for arts is dictatorial, with rapid note taking and occasional discussions. The natural sciences were far mroe independent with constant experiments in small groups alongside many demonstrations. Maths varies depending on set, but my mid set revolved around initial demonstrations, followed by rapid paced individual work with help provided if asked for. Workload was not huge, with a couple of hours of homework a night which went up slightly in sixth form. Science olympiads are promoted, which is excellent.