Grey Coat Hospital School - what's it like?

[Minbadger]

Hello, I'm confused about Grey Coat. I've heard great things about it but have also read some fairly awful Google reviews, but you can never tell if some of these are posted by a few disgruntled students. I have heard a bit of recurring theme though about the teachers being bad at listening to the kids in sixth form and having favourites. And that it's really strict in a slightly stifling and restrictive way. One review talked about how some subjects have ended up with no teachers at times, and sometimes there are classes of 40 kids with one teacher. I don't know whether to believe this? I've also heard amazing things about the school. Given it's impossible to visit the school at the moment I'm finding the lack of any sort of 'live' virtual open day options frustrating. They've released a nicely produced 15' photo montage to give a taste of "a year in the life of..." but no video message from the Head teacher or anyone else, kids, parents etc in contrast to other schools out there. I wondered about the layout and feel of the school itself because with Covid I can't visit. I've been given the impression it's quite cramped physically with narrow dark corridors and the canteen area leaves a lot to be desired. There are no photos that really show what the school looks like inside classrooms etc, layout.
If anyone has any advice or insight to offer I'd be really grateful!

[FlissMumsnet]

Hi There Minbadger,

Sadly we're not au fait with this school so can't offer you any pearls of wisdom but we wanted to pop in and give this a bump for you.

Good Luck making your decision.

[tigerbear]

Interested to hear about this too.

[MrPanks]

Hi OP

My DD has just started in Y7, so not sure I can answer your questions as its early days. We went to the open day last year and were really impressed by the then Acting Head, Sandra Young, who is Head of the Lower school. She came across as firm but fair, and spoke a lot about love and the 'family' of school, and very pro young women (as you would expect from an all girls school). My DD loved it. One thing I did like was that on one site they have Y7,8,9 and then the other site is for the older children. This gives the lower school a nice, nurturing feel and not too big a jump from primary. I feel like my DD can still be silly, without the pressure of much older, cooler kids around (she's quite a young 11). She seems happy there so far, has made lots of friends, enjoys the food, likes most of the teachers so far. It is such as shame you cant visit and that they havent included a virtual show round and a Headteacher's talk. I cant comment on the new Head, she only started recently. But Miss Young is still there, so that to me is good news. The school has fantastic results - progress 8 scores are very good, if that sort of thing is important to you. The lower school is in a very old building, so is a bit small in places, but has a very nice feel and character to it. There are some kind of 1980's (I would guess but I dont know), extensions to the main building. There is nice outdoor space, although again, not huge but modern school standards. We know several older girls that go there and they all seem really happy and recommended the school to DD.

[Minbadger]

MrPanks, thanks so much for your reply, it's really helpful. It does sound like a lovely school, and I like the sound of them keeping the lower school bit separate - that must make it a lot less intimidating for the young ones.

[BettieO]

Hi, my daughter has also just started in year 7 and loves the school. She has made lovely friends and she can not wait to go to school each day. She’s happy so I’m happy.

[Minbadger]

Thanks Bettie for your reply, that's really great to hear. I was also wondering about the geographical mix of kids at Grey Coat. I understand there's quite a range, both from central London (of course, the local catchment) but also other corners of London. We're based in Herne Hill and I'm trying to get a feel for how many girls typically hail from South of the river. Any thoughts on that from anyone?? thanks

[BettieO]

Hi, there are loads of children from South of the river.

[Bodelle]

Hi all, wondering how many Greycoats current attendees are church places!? We do attend, but have only just moved back to the UK and won't manage the five years in time. Any insights much appreciated 🙏🙏

[bluebellscorner]

Hi, just checking in to see if anyone has any more insights! We have a Y7 place for September and we know next to nothing about the school, other than what I’ve read on previous mumsnet threads and on their website.

Are the girls mostly local to the school or do they come from all over London?
Does the school have a friendly atmosphere? What do they typically do after school, do they mostly go off to after school activities or home, or is there lots of hanging out in the local area etc?
If you are not a language scholar, do you feel a bit left out or less prioritised if that makes sense?

As we can’t visit the school it’s so hard to get an idea of the place. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[usedtobeboss3]

My experience is very old (I went there in the 80s!) but I can tell you that girls came from all over London then - and I know that's still the case. I lived in SW16, and had friends from Stockwell, Kilburn, Paddington, Ealing and SW1.
I can't say much else that will be of any use to you, but I'm sure someone else will be along soon who can...

[bluebellscorner]

Thank you @usedtobeboss3 so hard as we don’t know anyone who have DDs there and we haven’t been able to see the school.

[Bodelle]

Hi! We live close by to the school and there are a lot of local girls who attend. That being said, many travel as well, as I saw a girl in Greycoats uniform getting on at Old Street, when I was working there recently. It's very highly thought of around here, although some are put off by it being an all girls school. Many opt for mixed these days. Horses for courses though!

[indie123]

I used to go to greycoats and really enjoyed it. As a previous poster mentioned there is lower school and upper school which is really nice as it makes transition easier. The mix of students is also diverse and i had friends from all over London. Miss young who i believe was acting head was an english teacher when i was there and its great to see she is still at the school!

There was a nice selection of activities and we rarely had issues with bullying etc, the school was also strict so we also rarely had fights or huge issues occur.

The school is very popular and sought after and personally from my experience would recommend considering it.

[Bibine]

Hello mums. I heard about Grey coat hospital by a teacher who's daughter attends the school. I was very much interested in the academic aspect but mostly also aa a Faith school. I had the opportunity to visit the school in September 2019 before the pandemic started in March 2020. Yes the school has some narrow staircase very old 300 years . but its is a beauty. In every school good things happen and not such a good one also happens. I believe that after meeting the core unit teaching and some of the girls (ladies) attending the school I felt a sense of peace my daughter felt the same and decided to attend GCH. She studying to her best even during pandemics. And I am sure she will meet some great people but also some not so nice. At the end of the day she is there to gain knowledge in a safe but competitive environment. For myself most girls attending this school are really moving towards their own goals which is success for the future.x

[cjb1212]

I went there from 1971 to 1978! No idea what it’s like now but this post caught my eye

Hated it apart from sixth form where we had a common room and sat around drinking tea and reading new musical express
We used to do activities with Westminster City school - I had a boyfriend there - we met through the inter six activities-
I did like the all girls thing though
Very faith based - I had to attend church to get in
No bullying and uniform was worn sensibly
1977?- was my one of my favourite periods of my life
There are worse schools - my hatred was just personal

[Mmuhuza]

I have read all the lovely stuff about GreyCoat! Can anyone whose daughter has been given a place at the school give me an idea what to write in my daughter's personal statement

[brizzyy]

Hi! I know I’m very late to this thread but I thought I’d post anyway in case any next year mums are considering sending their daughters to GCH. I attended the Grey Coat Hospital until 2020, when my GCSEs were cancelled due to covid- I’m only 19 years old but perhaps my relatively fresh experience of the school may be useful (?!)
I’m going to be completely honest, I did not enjoy my time at that school at all. I’ve read the reviews written by students, some of whom were in my year group, and I do agree unfortunately. The strictness that the school is notorious for is actually abhorrent; in a school where so many students come from different areas of London and rely on public transport to get to school in the morning, making pupils miss half of their lunch break to do litter picking for being a few minutes late (often due to train/tube strikes) is ridiculous. The teachers are very biased and unhelpful and seemingly not trained well in dealing with more disruptive pupils at all, instead immediately resorting to putting the girls on report cards, which rather than inspiring you do behave better, just made you angrier that the teachers wouldn’t actually try to help you.
Detentions were the main form of punishment, and they would dish them out for EVERYTHING. You got no pre-warning if you, for example, forgot a reading book for English, it’s an automatic half an hour detention. The ways that really small problems would get extortionately blown up was incredible- the punishments were a bit prehistoric and entirely ineffective. In fact, I still remember my first week of year 11, when so many people got given a detention that they had to hold it in the canteen because there was no classroom big enough to fit that many girls!!
I also have my own opinions about sending young children to single sex schools for their secondary school education- I feel as though spending all of my teenage years with girls my age who were still figuring themselves out and growing into their personalities resulted in constant arguments for pretty much every girl at the school. Every teenage girl goes through a phase where they are- for lack of better words- quite bitchy (myself included!!), and it wasn’t uncommon to see people falling out with friends and being upset about coming into school because of friendship group drama.
The one person I cannot fault is Miss Young- she truly is one of the best women I’ve ever met and I still have nothing but the utmost respect for her. She is strict, but never harsh, and brilliant fun as well.
I ended up moving schools in sixth form, which I’d always planned on doing- I went to a completely mixed school with a far different ethos, far less strict rules, and a far bigger focus on academia and the future. I absolutely loved it; I almost didn’t understand how such extreme strictness can make a child not want to work hard, as if to push back at the teachers and say ‘why should I try when you’re just mean to me?’ When you’re 11 years old, the future seems very daunting, and the last thing you need is teachers like the ones at GCH treating their pupils so unkindly.
I’d love to list some redeeming qualities, but unfortunately there is none! I really did dislike my time at GCH.

[Bibine]

I just would like to give the best of my knowledge about Grey Coat Hospital. My daughter is in year 8 and she is very happy in general. They are certain aspects of the school she does not like yes the school is strict and I like it. I believe that a strict school is better than anything else. Children need boundaries to enable them to strive in various places and situations. This is what I believed creates better behaves pupils and is able to cope in various situations.

Pupils are coming far away to join the school, I believed this simple act shows how successful the school is regardless of what certain pupils or families may think. Each individual has their own feeling and how their children behaved at home and outside., students, teachers, staff, etc.

I believed that pupils are coming to school to learn and abide by the rules. Some rules are there to protect everyone.

Just a simple question " When choosing a school, what are we looking for? success on the table for the best secondary and 6 forms to send our children?"
We are all looking for the best school which means strictness, and respect towards teachers and students and each other. Also, Pupils are there to learn, not behave badly, like being rude to teachers, or bullying pupils different than them. I despise self-righteous pupils, thinking that they can judge anyone different than them, bullying without mercy smaller pupils or just pupils who may be different than them and do not enter the mold.

Likely because the school is divided into two parts lower and higher schools which separate years 7, 8, and 9 together then the following year to the high school. This gives better safety to new pupils starting in year 7, but still, bullying by year 8 or 9 occurs. My daughter was bullied by a year 9 pupil with a group of pupils (12) of them. I taught her to stand on her 2 feet and to try to take every single thing the bullying person will say to her, to turn it into a positive outcome instead of withdrawing herself, to respond with a smile and thank the person for letting her know for example my daughter was told by this year 9 student I quote " saying the name of my daughter, my daughter confirmed it, my daughter was by herself, and this girl says I quote " you do have a big bum!" I teach my daughter to always reply with a smile and always thank the person trying to make fun of her by responding simply I quote " thank you for letting me know this myself having a big bum" Now I know about and to keep smiling. the girl was choc to see my daughter respond like this and that stop her to be nastier. and she left with her troup.

I reported to the school, the head of the year, and this was dealt with very quickly. Educating children is 2 ways, at home, and at school. If at home the child is looked after depending on the family situation and taught to respect the school people who take the time to teach them maybe a better generation of pupils will be born and achieved greatness.

In conclusion just let us ask ourselves a simple question: Why so many parents are applying to The Grey Coat Hospital single-sex girls secondary school which means that the school is always over-subscribed?

I believe it is because of the higher positive success of exams taken by students attending mostly the Russell Group in terms of universities. GCH reflects success if you take what the school had to offer into teaching and the knowledge of the teachers this is the path of everyone wishing to succeed in learning from others.

I hope this gives a bit more insight into why choosing GCH.