which north london girls secondaries have happy children?

Bumping this thread.

I heard Channing did not do exploding offers this year.
How are the academics there? How is the new headmistress?

Is it worth a 40 minute commute and cost?

@louroo posting the same message on 3 x threads that are no longer active, praising just one school makes it look like you're only on here to promote that school, unfortunately

@louroo that would have been so much more convincing had you not posted 3 identical comments on 3 dormant threads 

Yes exams can be fun and good practice for the rest of your schooling years too. In fact I put the twins in for a series of music theory exams one per term from quite little just so they could get experience of going into a hall, sitting down, working to time, doing answers, getting results and so they could see exams are not a scary nasty thing at all and can be quite fun.

Good point user. And very sensible of the school - I can't imagine how furious parents of an existing pupil would be if the sibling's offer was rescinded!

And good point made by previous posters that ultimately it's not necessarily a case that you get to choose the school. We found the process of applying and taking the exams useful. The one we choose wasn't a frontrunner initially but they were very kind throughout with a super helpful admissions team.

Farewelltoarms I was merely adding some color to your post. It's also a fact that they treated the families who already had girls at the school differently to the families who did not. People can interpret this fact how they like.

I do think you can succeed very well by not being in the most competitive schools. Whether we like it or not, someone is always in the bottom 10% academically. However, what you want to see are many areas where a child can succeed to maintain self esteem. It might be Art, sport, music, drama, organising a house competition, public speaking, DofE - anything that’s available from dance to debating to cooking. If academics is the sole focus, being “less academic” is a strain if there is nothing else to give confidence and success.

I have never found a selective independent school that cannot educate bright children and get the best exam results for them, if everyone works together. The phenomenally gifted are different and their needs are more difficult to meet in most schools.

Every school on that list of 5 has all those things - happy supported children so I would just enter them for all of them and see if they manage to get into one but if they are not that bright then pick the next tier down.

All schools have the vast majority of happy kids and a few kids with issues that make them unhappy.

Agree 100% with the above, no school flogs its girls and even the happiest place will have some unhappy children, there are many factors apart from school that contribute to happiness. My dc are at a very academic school and hugely happy there, though neither is top of the class. You have to see which school your dd likes the look of. And btw I know lots of happy girls at City

@SpicyTomatos - more mixed ability schools to consider in addition to North Bridge are: Mount House, Aldenham, Mill Hill etc.

I was being a bit facetious when I said the least academically selective is the happiest. I think least narrowly academically selective might be true. I think having a very small range of ability can be very demoralising, especially for girls who'd be high achieving in any other setting. Ideally, you want your daughter to be in the top third wherever she ends up.

User149 that's why I used the word might as regards to whether the practice of exploding offers is any reflection of a school's ethos. It's a fact that they use them (and most else we're going on is conjecture or anecdote). People can interpret this fact how they like.

OP, the one school that does seem really happy is Forest. It's co-ed but girls and boys are taught separately. Not as academic as ones on your list but I know academic children there who are flourishing.

spucytomatoes North Bridge House is mixed ability

BubblesBuddy - thanks for the reply. I'm a few years away from having to worrying about it yet, but it is useful to know what it is like.

My naive preference would be for schools to be judged, or want to be judged, on things other than exam results. I have no idea what my kids will be good at or enjoy, but it would be nice to send them somewhere where they might discover this and be supported.

No private school can really afford to be labelled as "non academic". It would generally be like signing a death warrant in London!

From my experience of schools labelled "less academic", people are very adept at getting their bright children to shine at them. They like the slightly smaller pond and slightly lesscompetition. No beating yourself up all the time. Children do not need to be around 100% bright children to thrive.

All schools want academic pupils.They want good results and stellar universities for as many as possible. No school these days can make a selling point of 50% into university of some description and the rest into the local college of FE. Many people want their not so bright children to rub shoulders with the brightest and go to the "best" schools. In order to do that, they have years of tutoring. I totally agree with Xenia that it is the wrong thing to do.

Both mine boarded at Queenswood School in Hertfordshire with no tutoring at all. Not before, or during. They stood (or fell) by what the school could teach them. The great thing was all the other activities they did. I saw one very gifted child there (in 10 years as a parent) who was not stimulated. She was definitely in the wrong school because her behaviour deteriorated and she hated rules. All schools have rules of course, so kicking against rules will always make life difficult!

Do look at Queenswood. It always has enough bright girls and, quite frankly, so much else to offer, there is no need to ever be bored or not stimulated in another way outside of academics. For example, drama, music, sport, leadership, debate, House events. There is a huge array of activity for girls and the brightest are often leading the way! Its a hugely supportive community.

Out of interest, are there non-academic private schools for girls, or boys, in north London?

All schools have the vast majority of happy kids and a few kids with issues that make them unhappy.

They do indeed. Our one who went to NLCS at 7 did not get into Habs at 5 despite a sibling there and despite the fact they could not find a book at 3.5 years she could not read of the reading scheme they tried her on (she was a sitter and concentrator so just happened to be a more advanced reader than her sister although in the end they both have similar exam grades). I agree with FanD, don't be fixated. She was disappointed when not getting into her sister's school very briefly but she went to a lovely school commuting in with me each day on my way to work (Kensington Prep and got into NLCS at 7 and actually the fact they went to different schools other than logistics worked out very well - no one in the reflected glory of another etc). I still think it was a bit mean she didn't get a place at 5 at her sister's school however. There is some luck in it which is why it's best not to put too much store into it.

Channing is great... you should consider that maybe? Very happy atmosphere

One other thing - these schools pick the kids, not the other way around. It is probably a good idea not to get fixated about one or other and instead look at the ones you are ruling out for some reason. Parents with ranked lists are often disappointed.

We had one at Habs and one at North London C and both were as happy as larry. Lots of happy girls.

I certainly don't agree that academic selection makes girls unhappy! Usually those who like working at that higher standard are the ones who get in so they are in the right school for them. I went to a not very academic girls school (private) and it was not a great choice in some ways - no one worked at my level, my essays were read out in class, no one really contributed to debate in class and even going to university was rare. The lack of academic selection was the problem not the converse.

It is probably best just to sit the child for those you think they have a hope in hell of getting into (not all girls can get into them all and even if they might there is still luck on the day involved) and then make them realise whichever they end up with you will be absolutely delighted and let them have fun with the entrance tests. If they clearly won't pass for some of the schools then I would not bother entering them.

"the happiness of the school is probably inversely proportional to how academically selective it is" - I disagree - I have a fiercely academic child and she wouldn't be happier in a class where she was an outlier. There are no hothouses - just schools that suit some girls and schools that suit others. You will hear bad stories about all schools if you look hard enough.
Choose a school that stands out for you and your daughter when you look around and speak to current staff and students is my advice!

Friends daughter is having a horrific time at St Helens, absolutely awful and she hates it. I genuinely think that the majority of girls are happy in the majority of places. What bothers one girl will pass another girl by so. No school will have all girls being happy and you will always hear the bad things as there's not a lot of conversation to be had about a girl who's doing fine and perfectly happy. Personally, I actively went for co-ed as I feel strongly that having boys in the mix is more healthy and breaks up some of the intensity of girls relationships.