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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary education

LEH OR G&L

62 replies

cristalclear · 26/02/2015 18:46

can't decide between LEH(with music scholarship) and G&L. Any sugestions?

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basildonbond · 26/02/2015 19:03

Which is easier to get to? Does the music scholarship make a significant difference to the cost?

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cristalclear · 26/02/2015 20:20

LEH it's more accessible and with scholarship -a bit cheaper,but
when I'm looking at the leavers from G&L, I'm way more impressed than the ones from LEH.

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RatherBeAnywhere · 26/02/2015 20:43

They are two great schools, congratulations to your DD. We had the same choice for our DD a few years ago and went with G&L. It just felt a more vibrant, intellectually curious school that produced true citizens of the world. Girls who went on to lead fulfilling lives and also put something back into society. We remain very happy with the school, as does our DD.

LEH however felt like just a big country club, isolated and insular. But that is just our view. Other people we know view it very differently and their DD are very happy there too.

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Needmoresleep · 26/02/2015 21:11

G&L offers IB. Would this appeal?

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cristalclear · 26/02/2015 21:39

IB is very appealing, as my DD would like to have options (maybe America where they favour IB ).For us ,getting there is the problem- she has to change 3 trains. She is willing to do that because she likes the school,but as an responsible adult should I put her through this?

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Bazelle · 26/02/2015 21:52

Hmm, how long is the journey? A music scholarship is usually not a lot of money, although I don't really know for LEH, and has a lot of strings attached, i.e. she will be expected to perform for every school event. Is it possible to go and visit the schools again?

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basildonbond · 26/02/2015 21:58

god no .. 3 trains is way too tricky a journey - it would be a hideous commute for an adult and make extra-curricular stuff tricky

It might be just about feasible, though exhausting, when all transport links are working perfectly, but stressful beyond belief when (not if) something goes wrong

I had a horrible bus then train journey for my first two terms at G&L aeons ago but we were always going to move closer in and that made it bearable

You could always suggest that your dd moves to an IB school for sixth form

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cristalclear · 26/02/2015 22:55

what really worries me is that my DD said that the exam for LEH was much easier than G&L. Could this mean that LEH is not as selective as G&L?Is that because G&L ,being a Central LONDON school,is more competitive,so in a way , better?

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amidaiwish · 26/02/2015 23:05

3 trains is not an option

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smischa · 26/02/2015 23:22

It's s balancing act. 3 stops against what is your clear preference for g&l. My daughters are at leh and they love it. The eldest opted for it over St pauls. Your reasons seem

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smischa · 26/02/2015 23:40

Premature post...
Your reasons for preferring leh seem slightly based on supposition and perception. Personally I don't take much notice of league tables as a bright child in any of the top selectives will perform well but leh is consistently one of the top performing schools so the 'easier' paper is an absolute red herring. These schools take the top performing children, an 'easier' paper doesn't mean a less intelligent cohort. The top performing children are offered the places. I've heard that kgs was one of the hardest papers this year.
You have to ask yourself how much more you prefer gl to leh and is your perceived preference to the added value of gl worth the extra travelling time.
Also, why is a more central London school going to be better? Because if you're going for what you think is the 'best' I would argue that there are a number of 'better' London schools.
Personally I even think considering 3 changes is crazy. You say your daughter is willing to do that because she likes the school. Does she love it that much more than the closer school or do you?

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basildonbond · 26/02/2015 23:42

Honestly you're fretting about minute differences between two excellent schools - either will do very well by your dd

The music at LEH is absolutely first class so if your dd is a musician that's a massive factor in its favour

G&L is not much more selective than LEH - I'd have thought both would have an intellectually similar cohort, just slightly below St Paul's

If she's still set on the IB later she can go to a number of schools which offer it - the numbers taking it at G&L are pretty small at the moment which might mean that some subjects will only have a couple of girls in a set which isn't much fun as there's no one to bounce ideas off

It would be madness to turn down a music scholarship at a closer school in favour of full fees elsewhere unless your other option offered something much much better which simply isn't the case here

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cristalclear · 27/02/2015 01:11

I thank you all for your honest and pertinent opinions.You got me thinking now...
Our first choice was Spgs,but my DD wasn't offered a place after the interview,so when the offer from G&L came it was like the next best thing.Why I say that there was greater competition at G&L is because she wasn't even considered for audition for the music scholarship at this school,when LEH offered her this.
Please,don't get me wrong, I appreciate both offers and I consider myself very lucky to have these options,but I don't want to make a decision which I might regret later.

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GJHmum1 · 27/02/2015 06:11

I understand your agony as we have a choice too and time is running out! I have to say I agree with others though that 3 trains is far, far too much. Your DD says she doesn't mind but as a child she won't really understand the implications. I would go with LEH with the scholarship.

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summerends · 27/02/2015 06:26

Although you perceive G&L to be a better school because the entry appears more competitive time spent in complicated commuting is going to detract from what she can achieve there. By the time she gets to sixth form she may be contemplating a move anyway whether at G&L or LEH. If you / she wants to keep that option open check the conditions of the music scholarship to make sure it does n't tie her in to staying at LEH for all seven years.

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smischa · 27/02/2015 06:47

How many music scholarships are offered at g&l? In my time of 11 plus there were around 20 but only 5 academic scholarships at leh. Music scholars receive 10% off and free music tuition but academic scholars only 5%. I think that demonstrates that they expect everyone to be of a high academic ability and that they value the contribution musicians make to enrich school life more. My daughter, not me, chose leh over spgs because of the sporting opportunities. She does every sport going. There is considerable added value to the school.
Unless things have changed dramatically, possibly, if you go for a pecking order leh was always considered a slightly more academic school choice than g&l anyway. As I said I think there is little between all these schools but your thinking that g&l must be a better school because they didn't consider your dd for a music scholarship and it is more central is just plain strange. To then consider throwing 3 changes on your daughter, who you have never once said prefers g&l and hugely so because of these reasons is rather selfish in my honest opinion. Unless she is desperate to go to g&l she will in all likelihood resent you later on for adding what could be quite unbearable journey time to her already long day for no good reason whatsoever.

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grizzlebear · 27/02/2015 06:52

FYI academic scholars at LEH get 10% smischa...

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SouthLondonParent · 27/02/2015 07:04

G&L don't really offer scholarships at all though. They don't offer any Academic Scholarships at 11+ for example, and from memory, I think the website says "we offer a music scholarship" which would seem to indicate that there may only be one available. The exam is definitely a complete red herring as G&L are in a consortium of schools which use the same paper so you actually have no expectation of what the pass rate for each school in that consortium is. In fact, a friend of mine commented that her DD had found the consortium 1 papers harder than the consortium 2 papers (which G&L use) when she sat them both this year which goes against the general belief. It's all relative and personal to the exam taker.
I recall a friend of mine informing me that her DS had found the Hampton exam much more challenging than the KCS exam. Her DS got an offer at Hampton and was rejected by KCS.

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Thumbwitch · 27/02/2015 07:10

Ahh I thought I remembered you from your thread re. LEH and SPGS.

I'm strongly getting the impression you really don't want to send your DD to LEH, which is a shame, as its music and drama facilities are phenomenal; I'm pretty sure it's still as academically selective as it used to be, but also hot on sports.

I don't much like your description of it as a "country club" - whatever gave you that impression?

But again, I'm still getting the idea that you are really looking for reasons to send your DD elsewhere, so perhaps that's what you'd better do. :)

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Thumbwitch · 27/02/2015 07:13

Sorry, just realised it wasn't you who said the "country club" bit - I do apologise.

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smischa · 27/02/2015 07:15

Showing my age... My youngest daughter far more reliably informed me that there are around 15 academic scholars but more music ones in her year!
Hampton/hanworth is hardly country club area!

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Eastpoint · 27/02/2015 07:15

If she wants to do IB she can always leave LEH at 16 and do 6th form at KCS which takes girls at that point. The G&L music scholarship is 40% off ALL fees so is very competitive. Go with the school which is easiest to reach.

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MarsdenMarcher · 27/02/2015 07:54

My daughter was offered SPGS and not LEH a couple of years ago so I don't think you can or should get hung up on which is more competitive or "better" based on one entrance exam.

Two different head teachers have said to us that a child should never have more than one change of transport for a journey which they are taking twice every school day for seven years....I think they are right.

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Needmoresleep · 27/02/2015 08:03

Basic rule. No more than two types of transport.

Play with TFL journey planner. Look at starting a few minutes earlier or later. Look at journey time AFTER orchestra paractice. Consider what happens with a tube strike, a train strike or road works. A crash at the Hogarth roundabout? As well as bad news you might even find that there alternatives beyond the obvious tube, such as the fast bus that goes from Slough to central London stopping in Hammersmith.

Even in sixth form DD claims they wont visit a friend who lives too far away.

Honestly both schools are good. You can't know where your DD will find the close knit group of friends or the inspiring teacher.

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OnGoldenPond · 27/02/2015 08:28

A journey to school involving 3 changes of train is just not sustainable, sorry. I wouldn't consider it as a journey to work and it would be even harder for a teenager to cope with the necessarily very early start. They don't DO mornings as a general rule!

Not sure why you applied to a school which is so difficult to get to unless you are planning to move. You would be setting yourself up with serious problems if you go for G&L. It is very likely that you would quickly be faced with an exhausted DD and you would then be frantically searching for an occasional place at a closer school.

Save yourself the anguish and choose the school with a reasonable commute.

I wouldn't worry about the academic status of LEH. There are very few private girls secondaries in the area that are more selective and it is consistently close to the top of the league tables nationally.