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Review
Unique among the many guides available, it sets out to give frank answers to the questions every parent asks. It tells the truth. --The Daily Telegraph
One of the best aids to parents ...informative and witty --Financial Times
One of the best aids to parents ...informative and witty. --Financial Times
One of the best aids to parents ...informative and witty --Financial Times
One of the best aids to parents ...informative and witty. --Financial Times
Product Description
Find out what schools want you to know, and importantly, what they don't! The 25th Anniversary edition of The Good Schools Guide remains the most talked about guide to schools and sells to thousands of parents every year. Fearless and opinionated, The Good Schools Guide gives a completely independent overview of the county's top state and private schools. Find out why parents who value their child's education prize this best-selling guide. The Guide features over 1,000 of the UK's top schools, both independent and maintained, providing a valuable source of information and advice; and, in-depth, unbiased reviews are based on what parents and others say about schools to help parents make an informed choice.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
First thing to realize is that The Good Schools Guide should really be titled "The Good Private Schools Guide with a few State schools in it as extra filler". If you're looking for information about State schools, the problem is that their coverage outside of London is very limited (it's not too bad for London, probably reflecting the location and biases of the editors'). For that reason, I wouldn't really recommend it for people looking to find out about the state schools in their area.
Second thing: the editing is inconsistent, and some editors have a degree of preference for specific schools. I don't want to use the word bias - that's taking things a bit too far - but realize that the editors' are generally parents themselves, and in their reviews they often reflect their own educational preferences. The fact that there are many editors (how else would you cover the whole country!) is what causes the inconsistency.
Third thing: changes between editions are actually. We have both the 2007 and 2011 editions, and apart from noting changes of headmaster and the addition of a small number of new schools, most of the reviews are verbatim identical in both editions. This is surprising as a school can change considerably over four years. The new book looks thicker and much more impressive than the older one, but that's mainly the result of using a larger typeface!
With all of the above caveats, *if* you are looking for private schools and *if* you don't have the book already, I know of no other resource out there which is anywhere near as comprehensive in its scope. It will help you to put together a shortlist of schools to visit, and it will help you to think about what to look for and what questions to ask. It is not a substitute for putting your shoes on and making lots of visits, however, and you probably will not agree with the editors in many cases (I certainly didn't).
If you're new to looking for a private school (as my wife and I were), it is useful to know that there is much more variation in ethos and approach in the private sector than you will find in the state sector - in other words, you have a very real choice about the type of education your child will receive. Academic, sporting, pastoral and disciplinary approaches very considerably between schools, and this means that with some effort you can really find a school which will provide the best environment for your child. The GSG can help you to get a feel for some of this variation, but it is critical to use the visits you make to work out exactly what it is that you are looking for.
Final caveat: the schools in the GSG are, indeed, "Good". Many schools which are not in the guide are also good, and deserve consideration as well. If you consider the GSG as no more than a starting point in your journey to find the right private school for your child, it will serve you well.
Second thing: the editing is inconsistent, and some editors have a degree of preference for specific schools. I don't want to use the word bias - that's taking things a bit too far - but realize that the editors' are generally parents themselves, and in their reviews they often reflect their own educational preferences. The fact that there are many editors (how else would you cover the whole country!) is what causes the inconsistency.
Third thing: changes between editions are actually. We have both the 2007 and 2011 editions, and apart from noting changes of headmaster and the addition of a small number of new schools, most of the reviews are verbatim identical in both editions. This is surprising as a school can change considerably over four years. The new book looks thicker and much more impressive than the older one, but that's mainly the result of using a larger typeface!
With all of the above caveats, *if* you are looking for private schools and *if* you don't have the book already, I know of no other resource out there which is anywhere near as comprehensive in its scope. It will help you to put together a shortlist of schools to visit, and it will help you to think about what to look for and what questions to ask. It is not a substitute for putting your shoes on and making lots of visits, however, and you probably will not agree with the editors in many cases (I certainly didn't).
If you're new to looking for a private school (as my wife and I were), it is useful to know that there is much more variation in ethos and approach in the private sector than you will find in the state sector - in other words, you have a very real choice about the type of education your child will receive. Academic, sporting, pastoral and disciplinary approaches very considerably between schools, and this means that with some effort you can really find a school which will provide the best environment for your child. The GSG can help you to get a feel for some of this variation, but it is critical to use the visits you make to work out exactly what it is that you are looking for.
Final caveat: the schools in the GSG are, indeed, "Good". Many schools which are not in the guide are also good, and deserve consideration as well. If you consider the GSG as no more than a starting point in your journey to find the right private school for your child, it will serve you well.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
There are two critical factors for me when choosing a school: its location, and whether I have to pay for it or not. This book simply lists all the schools alphabetically, so that a school in Edinburgh sits right next to a school in London. There are maps at the back, but they are much too small (especially for the Souith East). I would suggest a chapter per county, with a large map at the front.
It would also be very useful to have colour coding so that it is possible to see at a glance whether a school is state or independent.
Good information, but very poorly laid out - not at all user-friendly and extremely fustrating.
It would also be very useful to have colour coding so that it is possible to see at a glance whether a school is state or independent.
Good information, but very poorly laid out - not at all user-friendly and extremely fustrating.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
This is the only totally comprehensive book out there that gives all schools - state and public - a critique. You cant pay to be in it so the information is totally disinterested and is based on talking to pupils, teachers, parents so it is just such a reliable source to gain information about, gen up on what to ask the head and most importantly to allow parents to start the all important short-list of schools to actually visit. This book gives you the lowdown and helps enormously in what is the pressured decision of educating your children - just buy it!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Biblical
This really is quite an immense tome, of biblical proportions. Extremely complete and comprehensive about most schools - though some exceptions of very good independent schools,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Brian J. Douglas
good schools guide
It comes out every year but doesn't seem to get updated much so you are just as well to get a previous one free out the library.
Published 7 months ago by cookie
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