Secondary schools state v private sw London

Put Radnor House on your list - academic profile fits alongside Kew (with its heavy bias towards its two feeder preps in terms of outright offers). Lots of kids from Sheen there. Very kind school and can handle SEN. It's directly opposite St C's.

The other thing you could try is the exam for the Girls Consortium Schools. It’s just one exam - all multi-choice and nothing you can prepare for so this takes the stress off a lot. It’s all over and done in less than 2 hours. You can apply for any of the 12 schools (though some are North London), but you could do FHS Sloane Square and G&L in one exam. They maybe are more academic schools, but if they get in, they will cater for mild SEN much better than St Cats or Ibstock (both of these tell you that if you need additional support, you’ll have to do it yourself out of school).

Mind you, for state school catchements, aren't you priority area B for Waldegrave Girls? That's a sought after state school and you might have a chance.

If she's quite bright and prepared then she should get into one of the schools you've chosen.

As someone explained above, you'd need to move now to apply for a good state school as the deadline is 31/10. Presumably not not a problem if you're renting but pretty much impossible if buying.

I agree KGS has become more competitive over the last few years. I think it’s very popular as it’s co-Ed, when so many other schools in the area are single sex. Plus the results are on the up! Having said this, at least 12 DC from the prep mine was at were offered places last year, and they were not all top set English and Maths, so definitely worth a go.

For state you have to apply quite soon. Certainly moving in Feb won’t get you a good state place as you’d go on waiting lists.

Kew is still pretty easy to get into. Ibstock harder than it was. KGS much harder. Other options local to you include Latymer Upper, St. Paul’s Girls, Pitney High and Godolphin but they are all very academic and difficult to secure a place at. Another easier bet is Harrodian but it’s full of ultra rich kids.

Sorry just saw your update. Would RPA be your catchment school then?

Oh ok, they sound like good sensible choices, with KGS a bit more of a stretch. I’ve gone through all this 3 times with girls and boys. I actually have one at St C’s. The only thing I wouid say, is that if there is any SEN, Ibstock or St C’s will not deal with this. I’ve hesrd KH is brilliant though for DC whose profiles are more “spiky”.

I also have DC at LU and G&L. They were both offered places at KGS and Ibstock, so I know the process, but this was a few years ago.

I’m not sure about state options too much, but I do know people who moved to get into the catchment for Coombe Girls and are very happy with it.

I would go through the 11 plus processes with those schools and see how she goes. You will know by Feb where you have offers. You will probably find that the application / interview process makes your mind up along the way!

Also weigh up how much you would be paying in stamp duty and moving fees. This might be more than the school fees!

Hi OP. Can I ask where you are in SW London exactly and which independents you’ve applied to? Don’t worry - there will be thousands in your area doing the same thing. It won’t be outing!