“THE decision to move our son, Archie, to King’s Ely was not an easy one, but with the benefit of over a year’s hindsight it was the best move for him educationally that we could have made.
“In November 2020, we were looking for a school which would restore some of Archie’s old confidence. As a reasonably bright student, we were not especially concerned with academic accolades but rather sought an environment where the individual would be nurtured and encouraged to reach their potential in all areas. From our initial private tour of the school with Mr Shaw, through the Admissions process and the reality of Archie moving school mid-term, the support we received was excellent. We needn’t have worried academically as within six weeks Archie had been moved into sets that were attuned to his ability. He was encouraged to take up rugby and to join football club. In a matter of weeks, his confidence had grown and he began to feel fully integrated into school life at King’s.
“During lockdown in early 2021, Archie’s House organised a charity climb of Mount Everest using the stairs, a challenge he fully embraced and succeeded in raising hundreds of pounds. The support of the staff at King’s was pivotal to his personal growth, the pastoral team were brilliant and subject teachers quickly got to know his ability.
“As Archie flourished, his younger sister wanted to know if she could move to King’s too. Iris joined King’s Ely Senior at the start of Year 9 and had a tricky first couple of weeks settling in but once more, the care and encouragement of all the staff meant that she too was quickly moved into sets that would challenge her academically, she settled into her House thanks to the wonderful pastoral support and she had a great time on the netball tour to Bath in January 2022.
“We live in St Ives and have to rely on the school minibus for transport to Ely each day, and I was initially concerned about the long days and the travelling. However, the bus service has been very reliable and it is reassuring that John, the driver, does the journey every day so he has become a familiar face.
“The range of clubs and opportunities at King’s really is terrific. Archie has gravitated to the sporting opportunities, whilst Iris has recently started having textiles lessons, which she loves. The catering team do an amazing job; the first piece of information we get at the end of each school day is what they had for lunch and we haven’t had a bad review yet! We have also appreciated that lunch, clubs, essential trips and so on are all included in the termly fees so this has made budgeting so much easier as we are not faced with unexpected extra expenses.
“For my children, King’s is a happy place, they genuinely enjoy going to school and as parents, we could not ask for anything more.”