DAO (Dame Alice Owens) v City boys

I believe, DAO is a fantastic school. The people I know who have turned down places there (us included) have all done so only because they or their DC have been put off by the journey, which just felt very long when we went there for all the tests. So, if that isn’t something you or your DS are bothered by (and plenty of people aren’t) then certainly academically, I’d have no reservations about DAO.

If you have got the money, go private. Leave a space in DAO for a clever child who can't afford private school.

I went to DAO then Oxbridge. Good school but obviously it depends on how bright and motivated your child is.

Old QEBoy here whose Sister also attended Henrietta Barnet and without a shadow of doubt I'd pick QE/DAO. QEboy was/is basically a free independent school. We were a congregation of pupils from Middle class homes and in a few cases Upper Middle class homes. Most of us would have either attended another Grammar school(Me) or Private schools had we not been accepted by QEboys so worry not your ward will be surrounded by bright and highly motivated students. Infact a good chunk of pupils in my year attended Prep schools(the first I knew about prep schools was when I started in Year 7) and most of us barring maybe a couple got tutored.

I say Save your money and choose the Grammar option unless you've either got loads of cash to spare or you want the extra curricular activities a private school would afford your DC. Don't get me wrong we had a good amount of sports and extra curricular activities on offer but my privately educated peers simply had more.

OP, I'm sure either schools would be great for your DS.

if I send him to DAO am I compromising on the academic side at all? Are the children in the selective intake challenged?
Re DAO - my DC are students now, but both went to DAO from 11 to 18. I personally think you would have no worry on the academic side. Many of the siblings seemed to be just as academic as their older brothers and sisters, and my DC's friends were all so keen. I was also impressed by the interaction between the teachers and pupils. The teachers seemed to go to endless trouble for music, sports and plays. One of my DC's (rich) friends turned down a place at Queenswood to go there.

I was educated privately, but I really wished my parents had saved the money, and given it to me for a house deposit!

I get the bus home from work with a load of boys from QE and I can assure you the boys who get public transport are from very diverse backgrounds. My friends son went there from ordinary state primary, no extra tutoring and hes a lovely grounded lad. Its a fantastic school.

from a socialisation perspective for boys as well as academic reasons I'd go DAO.

My and DH bought went private but agree state would have been fine and the money would have been better spent by our parents on a BTL 😂
Bar a very good scholarship offer our kids are going state all the way

I agree with orange blossom about the level of analysis required not just headlines. However I'm also not a fan of all these half baked measures the government introduce to assess progress.

I would also say apart from academics it's how you child will fit in. I think city has a wider ethnic mix than QE, not sure about DAO.

City boys is a 100% selective school versus a semi selective.
The progress 8 score for boys are quite a bit lower than girls at DAO.
P8 score
P8 Girls 0.75
P8 Boys 0.52
Some of the boys feel that the girls at DAO are more academic and are praised more at prize giving events. This could in turn lead to loss of confidence in the boys.
Teachers at City know how to get the best out of their boys.

www.tatler.com/school/city-of-london-tatler-school-guide

work, people with old money would not dream of NOT sending their kids to a prestigious private and majority of colleagues are private school educated.

I decided grammar is best suited for my dc but do know others who privates. At work, people with old money would not dream of sending their kids to a prestigious private and majority of colleagues are private school educated.

I think a lot of people choose the school best suited for their DC. The pupils at QE differ vastly from city; the travel time required; money. Many threads here and in Facebook cover this. One debate was Qe Vs. Westminster. The overriding opinion from tutors and others was Westminster if money was not an issue. But there are other debates where people prefer grammar.

@Schoolflapper a parent at our prep school had an older son at DAO, but accepted a place at City for her DD. However a friend rejected Habs for DAO, partly because of the sibling place, money and location.

Also on the subject of the London grammars and whether they are for those who can't afford to pay private school fees...

Parents pay A LOT of money to put their kids through private prep schools and years of tutoring to try to get into those "holy grail" North London grammars. It's quite rare to come across a little 'genius' who gets into those schools with no tutoring or parental money.

@Schoolflapper Glad to help, but honestly in my experience, parents who advise you to reject schools like DAO are those whose kids never got in

City boys don't have better facilities than QE boys I don't think? And yes, they kick out less achieving students after GCSEs, but they are quite open about it. And so do private schools. The neighbouring schools are quite happy to take on and benefit from the "less achieving" QE-boys from what I hear. I don't have a boy, so know less about QE boys, but from what I hear sports is incredibly important to the school. It's an amazing school and one of the most selective in the country, so it's much more prestigious to have got into QE boys than City or any other London independent schools. I'm putting a daughter through private education in North London and if I had the choice I would bite the hand off any of those grammar schools.

It's pretty obvious why DAO's results are slightly lower than QE boys or Westminster etc given that only part of their intake is selective.

I think the private do much better at A levels. If you look at the league tables the top schools are all private
www.locrating.com/league_tables.aspx
City is at rank 20 whilst dao is 91
QE is in top 20 but there is a debate about how they kick out half the kids for A levels

Also private schools do have undeniably better facilities and the contacts made during school feed the 'old school boy' network which is alive and kicking.

However it is about 200k Vs free.

Thank you @XelaM for your advice! And thank you OP, both my DS and I are finding it hard to choose so hearing your experience is very helpful.

@Schoolflapper DAO (or QE boys for that matter) are not schools for parents who can’t afford to go private. From personal experience, parents choose those schools over the top independents even when they could easily afford the fees. Just because you can afford the fees, why would you pay if the grammars are free (and more difficult to get into, so cream off the very best students)?

I have never heard anyone complain about DAO ever and like I say, I know many parents with kids there.

Use the money for a house deposit for your son.

@New21 QE boys! Again, no contest.

You are talking about the best boys grammar school in London (UK?). Why would you choose yo pay hundreds of thousands for a similar experience? Getting into QE boys is more difficult than into City, so those boys are extremely(!) bright. Only the two brightest boys in my daughter’s prep got into QE boys and they are really, really, really bright all-round great boys.

Well done to your son!

DAO is a great school. My daughter and son, plus their cousin all went there. They get outstanding grades and I would certainly save my money over private.

However, all schools have their issues so don't expect any school to be perfect.

Your son also has a say!