Godolphin & Latymer v LEH

It's a no brainer in my opinion. I really don't understand why you would subject her to at least 1.5 a day on a coach versus 20 min max when the two schools are brilliant and very little between them.

@BruceFoxton thanks v much for the insight - it all helps - my husband prefers G&L and I am being indecisive.

Thank you everyone, you've all been really helpful.

@amidaiwas Thats a really good idea, I'll try that.

@Callicarpa19 - I love the space at LEH, that would be my main reason of travelling there rather than a 5 min journey to G&L

@piecedtogether Yikes! 🤣 Forgot about all the parents evenings etc !!

I work at G&L and can categorically confirm that the majority of students come from west of Kensington, the biggest clump from W4. We also place students in Y7 forms with an eye to postcodes to try to ensure there are groups who are local to each other in each form.

Lots of girls live in Chiswick. We’re in W9 so you’re probably closer to the school than we are! There are sports matches and music assembles after school. Yes friends will live all over London but that’s secondary school and the girls don’t choose their friends by postcode! But they make it work. In my opinion the shorter the commute the better.

PLD11 If you're in Chiswick and like both schools the same then I think it's a no brainer for G&L. Think of extracurricular stuff that requires to come in on weekends or evenings like theatre rehearsals etc. As to being scared of central London playdates yes you are being slightly overprotective 😁 The transport is easier and faster to central London and you will be surprised at how many girls come from West London and even Chiswick itself. We are West London based. We chose LU over Hampton and the hours I have saved for not having to drive a long way to parents evenings and events are too many to count!

From Chiswick? You'd need a very good reason to choose LEH over G&L

Why not ask LEH how many of the current yr7 come from your postcode?

I think if I was in Chiswick I would go for G&L! The traffic over the river is always so horrendous! My DD gets bus from Kew at 7.45/7.50 (and leaves after her sibling at a much closer school who relies on public transport not a door to door service!!!) and home by 4.50/5 (lessons until 4 and long lunch hour for activities) If you find out when coach leaves from Chiswick you can determine how much time she will spend on bus. But if you are in Chiswick you will have transport options to G&L. They are both fab schools but will not be perfect throughout and (if you are indecisive as I am) you might wonder when your DD has inevitable friendship blips, not being on A team etc etc, what if she had gone to the other! So choosing for a practical reason -like its next door -might help! You have a nice dilemma!!!

@Livingwiththree Thank you so much for your feed back. The main thing that worried me about G&L is that most of the girls are from Central London. And as she gets older and finds new friends, shes going to want to go on playdates etc to Central London and that frightens me a little, I guess I'm being over protective!
Also because of its location do the girls head home generally after school or go for coffee etc ? Being a more Urban area I guess thats what worries me. Education wise they're bother wonderful schools. And to be fair G&L is much closes to us.

@Callicarpa19 Thank you so much for your feedback. To be honest the hothouse reputation doesn't really bother me. My DD is academic and sporty, however mentally shes still very much a little girl, (lots of her friends have already started showing signs of being interested in boys, wearing makeup etc) We're in Chiswick, so as much as I love LEH, I don't know if I should be making her travel at least 1.5 a day on a coach to get to and from a school, when she can get to G&L in 20 min max.
Its wonderful that she managed to get offers from both schools, however is sooooo hard to choose, I almost wish she'd only got an offer from one :-)

Hi there, I have a DD at LEH and I wouldn’t describe it as a hot house at all! Very little homework 7-9 and an amazing head that definitely does not believe in hot housing. I think it’s a legacy reputation from the old head. Also lots of kids from Kew who have choice also go to LEH. In fact there is talk of a third bus being required. I would add though that if you had a super sporty kid that can be a pain on weekends!

G&L mum here with daughter in year 7. It has been a great start. She’s really happy and definitely made the right decision to go there over other schools. We didn’t consider LEH because location was too far. G&L goes out of their way to make the transition easy for the girls - mixing the girls and forms and houses. My daughter knew no one when she started and has settled nicely. She’s sporty so it suits her but her closest friend loves the drama department. Good luck. And congrats. Both schools a great choice.

@Calmmumnot Hi Would you mind letting me know if you picked G&L or LEH at the end ? As I now have the same dilemma, and any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks

Having lived in this area all my life, I'm surprised Chiswick isn't as far from Hampton as I thought (altho apparently there's only 5 mins in it).

However, this hairsplitting doesn't alter my original point that from LEH whether your destination is Putney or Chiswick, you won't be home before 5.

A good friend of mine, who lives in Chiswick, sent her son and daughter to Hampton & LEH and they get back around 5.15 (they have a bit of a walk) and now rather regrets not sending them both to Latymer.

I did an hour to and from school growing up and it does take precious time out of your day. A 30 mins journey would have given me an extra hour every day that could have been spent on violin practice or homework or chilling, rather than sitting in a traffic jam.

Personally I don't think there's enough between G&L and LEH academically that makes it worth the schlep. Clever girls will do well whatever school they go to.

Just one thing to bear in mind about how children get to school, the ones who make their own way by public transport do tend to be more confident and streetwise in a good way as a result. Ds1 travelled to his school by train from the age of 10 - there were loads of other boys making the same journey and it really helped him grow up. Dd was on the school coach for years 7 and 8 and was absolutely clueless about the geography of London and how to get around. So partly in a bid to make her a bit more self sufficient (and also on grounds of expense - the coach is £1000 a year, her zip card is a fraction of that) we asked her to try taking the train this year. She's so much more confident about getting around - meets up with friends near school in the holidays and they're all off to Westfield later this week, and she also enjoys the freedom to go to a cafe after school and not be stuck waiting for the late bus.

I know both schools very well (went to one and family members went to the other plus teach there) and if we lived closer I would have been happy for dd to go to either but in your case I think G&L makes more sense

The coach routes and timetable are easily Google-able and reveal that the Putney coach departs earlier than the Chiswick routes.

Chiswick's on the other side of the river though, mileage doesn't necessarily indicate the length of the journey. Going from the Kew side it would be better. Crossing the bridges in rush hour traffic takes significantly longer than it looks like it would on the map.

According to AA the distance from Putney to LEH is 9.3 miles and Chiswick High Road to LEH is 8.4 miles so Putney is not 'significantly' nearer at all, but Chiswick is, Ninon.

pample I agree that girls are encouraged to participate in other activities at LEH but DD told me after she left that she felt under pressure both from the teachers and other students to gain high marks constantly. She went on to take A levels at Latymer Upper and admitted that the standard of teaching at LEH was superior to LU.

I have 2 girls at LEH and can honestly say I don't think of it as a hothouse. I have always been surprised at the reasonable amount of homework and very strong focus on ensuring girls participate in other activities to an impressive level - whether the girl is into sport, music or drama.

Putney is significantly nearer Hampton than Chiswick.

I agree with Alwaysfrank The journey back to Barnes/Putney never bothered DD2 and she made her closest friends on the bus. LEH has long had a good reputation for drama and it was one of the aspects of the school DD liked best.

OP I feel that the main decision really lies in how well your DD might respond to the more hot house environment at LEH rather than the nurturing one at G&L.

Calmmumnot - this is a generalisation, as I said just based on personal observation - but it seems to me that the girls who are drawn to LEH tend to be quite confident and go-getting. Which is not to say that the G&L girls are shrinking violets in the least - they are lively and enthusiastic as a type, and tend to have quite a humerous take on things. I don't know if that helps clarify things at all! FWIW it sounds as if your daughter probably prefers LEH, and the journey doesn't really sound bad enough to spend years wondering what if....

Cross posted with Alwaysfrank who is right about the forms being arranged geographically and has clearly done the Kew to LEH run which I haven't.

In fairness to LEH parents we are quite a mixed bunch - there are some very well off ones but also ones (like me) for whom the fees are a sacrifice. I know it has the reputation for being a hot house but - whilst I wouldn't describe it as nurturing - I haven't found it pushy at all. The students are very bright (just as they are at G&L) and the school expects the very best of them. It has huge grounds and great facilities but I do think that the journey from Kew would be the decider against LEH if I was in your shoes.

I understand you won't want to say exactly where you live, but it doesn't take an hour from Kew to LEH! There are two coaches from Kew and I think they allow about half an hour journey time in the timetable. They are usually home in 25 minutes. Being on the coach is a part of the social experience!

LEH tend to organise the classes on a geographical basis, so if you are Kew/Chiswick there will be other girls in your form from that neck of the woods.