Peter Symonds College

Student at Peter Symonds doing Chemistry, Biology and French.

Symonds has been great for me- it's a lot more independent work than other schools which I much prefer. My teachers in these subjects have been supportive and I feel very much that I have been treated as an individual. There's a lot of opportunities to get involved in things that interest you by way of enrichments/sports teams etc, and it's easy to make friends in such a big school.

The work is very fast paced- not so much for French but very much so for sciences- by the end of U6, expect to go through a Chapter in 2 weeks (there are 28 taught chapters) in Chemistry. Teachers offer a lot of help if you ask for it- there are "workshops" available constantly where you can drop in for help with particular questions/topics, and I felt comfortable with my teachers.

I've appreciated having study periods throughout the day. You can use these either for study or to meet with friends. There's a lot of study spaces around the college with computers available too. I will say though later in the year (April/May) it's VERY hard to find a space to study since both years are revising for exams. I often would go home in a 3 hour gap then come back in. It can also be hard on rainy days since more people come inside to get out the rain.

Be aware that since PSC does take more of an independent study approach that it will fall onto you to seek help and complete extra work at home/ in the library. It is a bit different than other colleges in this regard, I would say.

Whilst I absolutely recommend going to Symonds for subjects similar to mine, I do NOT recommend this college for more creative subjects. My twin took Textiles, English Lit and Film Studies, and whilst Film Studies has had no issues, English has been appalling with her having 9 teachers in the 2 years. This subject is constantly understaffed. It was particularly bad for my twin and was better for my friends doing English, but my sister only had a couple tests throughout the two years so had didn't have much chance to see what her grade would be. (In biology we did very regular testing- up to twice a month). Textiles was okay, but the room was small and busy, some sewing machines were not adequate, and the teachers seemed to give her a grade then not tell her what she could do to improve it. Also the marking seemed a bit biased to me in that department... All of this of course is told through my sister, so I cannot be entirely sure of the situation, but there are better schools for more creative students.

As a further note, I do wish the college gave more support to students not going directly to university or students going to university abroad. I'm taking a gap year because I'm unsure of my career choice and kept being pressured to apply to UCAS, which wasn't possible for me since I can't tailor a personal statement to several completely different areas of study. I also am thinking of going to uni abroad but when I booked in for a careers appt they didn't seem to know anything about the steps you would have to take and just read off a website that I could have read myself. That being said, the careers department does offer other useful guides, such as inviting members of the armed forces in for 1-1 talks, which I enjoyed.

Teachers and lessons are amazing - a lot of work is set and the expectations are high however it is manageable and can guarantee you a good grade. Not many indoor seating areas in the winter meaning you have to sit outside in the cold.

Good reputation but poor student wellbeing, college is far too big to look after and help every pupil. They always use the "we're too big" excuse when it comes to helping and solving individual issues.