Girls School chat, North London

Yes dear
You are absolutely right , the traveling is a mater especially with the rush hour
FHR is just 8 mins away
South Hampstead is the same distance as well but I believe Channing is 20-25 mins

Many thanks again and again for your advice
Well I need to know more about FHR
Many people have some not good points about south Hampstead as each one got his own opinion but I didn’t hear any not good thing about FHR all were positive feedbacks
Waiting list is tricky and we have to focus what we’ve got it
Many thanks

Channing's new Head, Lindsey Hughes is lovely - strong background in pastoral care but quite no-nonsense in person. Previous head was a very strong personality - Hughes seems a bit more low-key. It's hard to get a huge sense of her as we've all been kept so remote with the lockdown but she's done as much as anyone feasibly could.
On that note Channing have managed lockdown and remote learning brilliantly. Girls have been kept in a total routine with good mix of assignments, live learning, google meets and the like.
Journey is important - a lot of Channing are very local - if the length of journey is wildly different that might be a really important factor.

Many thanks dear barristermum
My daughter like FHR but as I told you south in the waiting list but she is not leaning to south
Channing a quite far than FHR as we live in NW8 but my concerned now which is more academic as my daughter is quite academic she came from state school but she like to learn and ambitious let’s say
She like the facilities in regent more than Channing
Anyone who has a daughter right now in Francis as I knew her current headmaster is used to be the duapty head of city London boys which is very good sign
Channing the headmistress is new I believe
And we still waiting for south
I want some feedback about Channing as well if you don’t mind
In the meantime I’m very very grateful you you for caring and reply

Hi Shery82 - Huge congratulations to your daughter and how lovely for her to have a choice.
I have my daughter at Channing and a friend's daughter was offered SHHS and went there in the end having also been offered FHR. Both girls are very happy in the schools they ended up in. I'd say SHHS is more academic than FHR and possibly more intense than Channing - but if your girl is seriously inclined then she will thrive there. FHR seems relaxed but quite wealthy, Channing quite academic but unshowy, SHHS aspirationally seeking to challenge NLCS and St Pauls. But these are huge generalisations.
It seems this year competition was more intense than ever and i have a friend with a child on the waiting list for SHHS and waiting on St Pauls but also offers from NLCS and Channing but total silence from many at her school where they were all competing for same schools suggesting many are absent the offers they had hoped for.
Does your daughter have a gut instinct of where she most enjoyed the interview or the open day? They are all great schools.

Barristermmum
What about FHR we got an offer
Channing we got an offer
South Hampstead waiting list
I need you advice dear
Thanks

Good day to you
We did get some offers for my daughter for year 7 11+ and I really need advice and help to make a decision
We are south Hampstead waiting list
FHR we got an offer
Channing we got an offer and FHS we got an offer as well
I believe south waiting is a bit tricky but any idea about FHR and Channing
Best regards

Not sure if you're asking me or asking generally however I know there have been more applicants than ever this year (which I find crazy but there you go). Some of the schools we applied to are interviewing all candidates this year, some are interviewing none and a couple of the toughest ones only interview a subset after the exam. My DS wasn't offered interviews for either of those but they were both stretch options for him. The whole process has been crazy stressful with major tech challenges for some remote exams (at the school end not ours). We had the last exam today and I'm just so pleased the process is over.

I am but for my DS. And indeed it is hellish

NLCS works the children too hard and incessantly - a true hot house - Habs is kinder and more considerate - if you care for your children's happiness and welfare best avoid the hot house. The mental health of children once damaged can not easily be restored.

I will! I’m new to this! Sorry everyone x

I would start a new thread if I were you, as this is discussing girls secondary schools rather than boys 4+

Hey everyone! Please can I have some advice on boys schools? We are looking at boys school for 4 plus... We live in Hampstead and would love some first hand advice / experiences you’ve had with private schools near the area e.g UCS, The Hall, Arnold house, Devonshire house, Highgate etc.... Covid is posing a problem with visiting the schools to get a really good feel for them so any personal experiences would be grateful appreciated. Thank you

VPKPO1 head over to the independent schools' page of the 11 Plus Forum - www.elevenplusexams.co.uk, they have tons of information about both Northwood and St Helen's.

I need some urgent help/ advice. My DD has been accepted to Northwood College and St Helen's. I am so confused which school I should send her to. She is having a hard time at the current school she attends and want to make sure she gets the right teaching and help to develop her.

Sorry @Huff and @needs - something went wrong with he start of my post there - I began by saying DD wanted to maximise her chance of an offer so we paid the registrations for Highgate and nlcs when we knew they didn't really feel right for us. That was 2 fees we shouldn't have paid and 2 smacks in the teeth for dd right before an interview for a school she DID want when they didn't interview her and it was little consolation to say to her - but you didn't even really like those schools! We should have made that decision for her.

@HuffthemagicdragonI would say choose your dream, choose the one you would be really happy with and then your insurance. If you're not getting an interview at your insurance you will not be getting offers from the most academic - and so there really is no point paying all their registration fees. Top flight are prob City, St Pauls for Girls, Habs, NLCS. Mid range - SHHS, Channing, Highgate. Insurance - Francis Holland, Queens, maybe Mill Hill.
HBS is Henrietta Barnet School. State grammar in Hampstead Garden Suburb.
I think interviews are probably very important for all but the super bright who will be accepted on any terms. Once you are through the threshold set by the exam they are looking at who they want to teach. Highgate do quite an intensive assessment process setting challenges for them to do in groups as well as an interview. SHHS set some problems and philosophical questions to discuss. Channing asked them to look at a picture and used that as a start point for discussion.
Totally agree with @Huff on the length and manner of the journey. You will want to think about ease of travel for you and partner too - getting to parents evenings from work and concerts and the like - the timings are better for working parents than primary but it's still an organisational feat.

There are so many options in north London for girls in both single sex / co-ed schools, fee/non-fee paying. My DD used to be at one of the high achieving schools you mention. She was there for 4+ years and although very happy and doing well academically it wasn't right for us. From experience I would say approx a quarter of the girls there were naturally very bright and needed the challenge of the school. The rest didn't know any different but the constant expectation on the girls, even by the age of 7yrs old was unhealthy. Tests set beyond what they'd learnt in class (I guess because most were also being taught outside of school too) had groups of primary age girls crying in the toilets scared to go home and tell their parents the result. The list was endless and we value mental health above academic results. Results will come if they are mentally happy and have self belief, not being set up to fail by too high target setting. I guess I'm just saying to think whether, if your child was left to their own devices, no tutor etc, would they relish the challenge of a highly academic school. These schools don't get their position in the results tables by luck. Personally I'd rather my children achieved everything they could from inspirational teaching and realistic expectations. They come out well balanced, employable and with happy memories of school.

@Barristermum, thanks for sharing. We felt very similar when visited Habs and NLCS. Overall I get the impression that Habs is more pressure but between these two tbh it's probably quite nuanced and will depend on the child and their peers in that particular year.
Do you not think that applying to only 3 schools limits your options?
It would definitely be my preference as it is 1. bloody expensive (!!) 2. time consuming 3. exams stress etc ..but what if you are not getting offers? Are you thinking it is relatively easy to pass the entry criteria that one would definitely get at least one offer? How much emphasis there is on the entry exams vs the interview in these schools? Channing sounds good in that respect.

Off to see City later this month but the daily commute on the tube feels wrong to start at this age, that really puts me off. AIBU?
And finally SHS, also looked amazing. What's with all the stories about anorexia and mental issues in this school?
HBS? which school is that?

Alternatively the exploding offer just gets the pupils who don't have better options... for example we were waiting on a couple of scholarships for a school that only sent letters out a week later as well as having lots of alternative offers that came on the day of the Channing offers.

I don't think organisation comes into it as you don't necessarily know which is the favourite until you actually have some birds in hand.

Other than that I completely agree with your assessments of the different schools, v observant, and of limiting applications. I'd also add that when making those decisions please don't underestimate journey times/ease. Also don't overestimate the appeal of a 'school bus' type transport option. Really expensive and they outgrow them really quickly. Ideally you want walking or one form of public transport and no more than 40 mins.

Have just been through all of this. We looked at all North London privates and grammars and I would say the most important thing you can do is visit with your dd on the open days, do taster sessions if you can and get a feel for them. Then choose your top choice, 2nd choice and insurance choice and leave it there - or there are a ton of exams and interviews and it's lowering if you're not getting through or stressful making the decision if you get offered everything.
As to tutoring - I'd say there is a limit to what you can achieve, in hindsight I started my DD too early and she began to run out of steam so don't worry for starting late - you're looking to build familiarity with the formats, not bring them up to a standard they can't sustain.
These are my anecdotal, not at all authoritative impressions:
Habs - amazing facilities, bulge year ahead, interesting ideas for schools of the future. Gets excellent results.
NLCS - slightly more of a closed shop - interviews far fewer than any other school, markets far more internationally, again, amazing results, facilities on site and(expensive) bus but least outgoing and quite pressured.
City - very ambitious academically - your DD will love if capable of getting in but less likely to enjoy if shouldn't be there. They do an amazing job of fitting stuff in to a small site, and have a very outgoing feel - all girls arriving on public transport, links with the city, one of the most egalitarian, least interest in your wealth.
SHHS - part of the GDST group, splendidly feminist, also academically ambitious but leavened by a slightly socialite Hampstead ethos.

Channing - very nurturing, more quietly ambitious for their girls. Tries to interview every applicant which suggests not wanting to miss someone who has an off day on the exam. New head coming with strong background in pastoral care.
Highgate - extraordinary facilities. More than any other we got the impression even were we to be expected we would be/feel like the poorest family there. Biology field trips to the Galapagos and the like. Co-ed gives a different feel - and perhaps the feel is that girls are still not the priority - this is a boys school that girls have been invited into rather than a school designed for girls from the get-go.
HBS - an amazing place, not sure the pressure is as bad as people say - I know a lot of girls and staff who have been very very happy there but entrance is a lottery. Might as well have a go but you can't build your entire plan around it.
The exploding offer is simply a way of dealing with the fact these schools are all looking at very similar pools of applicants and they need a way of knowing who really wants them and who is holding out for someone else. You just need to be organised. Or prepared to pay a large insurance penalty...
Hope this helps.

Just to throw in another opinion if your DD is super bright then one of these schools may actually suit her needs better than a school with a broader remit. I always think that one child’s so-called hothouse is another’s stimulating environment! I guess it’s our job to help them find the school that gets the balance right for them. My DD was also attracted by the most academic schools and having been in seniors for some time she absolutely loves it; I can’t imagine her anywhere else. There are many girls in her school who pursue extra curricular to a super high level; so long as your DD isn’t travelling too far (as commuting is v time consuming) I wouldn’t say she needs to worry about that and certainly not in the first couple of years.