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Original poster

Independent secondaries In Herts.

61 replies

Milly717 · 14/01/2022 11:33

Hello,

Hope I could hear some opinions on the independent secondaries in Herts. We live in St. Albans and so far visited St. Columba's, STAHS and Sherrardswood. This spring we will go to the open days of Queenswood, St. Margaret's, Abbot's Hill and RMS and we will revisit St. Columba’s. I'd also like to visit Aldenham (no open day announced yet) and possibly Berkhamsted Girls (open day in September). Out of these which ones would you recommend and why please?

My daughter is academically average in some areas and slightly above average in others. She loves history, enjoys maths and is very much into sports and dance. She loves to engage in extra curricular activities and give new things a go. For personal reasons, it would be a bonus if either of these schools offered German however it's not necessary.

I can't see her in STAHS, as even though the facilities looked ok, I didn't get the right vibe from the school. It seems too pushy where a sensitive girl like mine, who sometimes lacks confidence and needs encouragement, wouldn't thrive. If it's true that they only accept the most academic girls, she likely wouldn't get in anyway and even if she did I would probably not want to put her through the ordeal of always trying to be at the top or feeling worse. I believe there is more to a school than pure academics.

Sherrardswood seemed a bit too small and lacking great facilities. I'm not sure I could justify paying the fee just for smaller class sizes and more individual approach vs state school but compromise on the facilities.

St. Columba's is our nearest school to which she could walk - a massive bonus! Being in the city, the sports facilities didn't seem to be as great, which puts me off slightly. Also, as they have only recently started enrolling girls, they seem to be lacking girl friendly subjects such as textiles, dancing or food technology and my daughter pointed out that they are very much into basketball whereas she loves tennis, swimming, gymnastics dancing and would like to try lacrosse. Otherwise it seemed like a lovely school with great science labs and an overall good vibe to it. I wonder if they're going to become a bit more girl friendly by introducing new subjects to their curriculum and extra curricular offering.

As I mentioned above, I've not had a chance to visit the other schools yet. Based on my research I may not like Berkhamstead Girls if I didn't like STAHS. I'm very much looking forward to visiting the other schools. Ideally I would narrow it down to 3-4 schools to not make her sit too many exams/ interviews but to also give her a fair chance of securing a place in one of them.

Thank you Smile

OP posts:
TizerorFizz · 18/01/2022 13:17

I think pupils look up to a 6th form. They see them as role models and get to see the best drama, music and sport from them. I wouldn’t pay for a school with no 6th form. If would feel like a bit of the school was missing and the ethos would be different.

Mine went to Q. There is so much to do and it’s vibrant. Exam results have not been quite so good as they used to be 10 years ago but they have slightly repositioned themselves in the market. Sadly some parents think brighter DDs won’t thrive there. I feel that’s wrong but the dynamic has altered.

Roloe · 17/01/2022 22:42

Another thumbs up for Queenswood!
A word of caution re: Abbott’s Hill, does not have its own sixth form! Most of the girls move on to St George’s harpenden, a boarding and day state school (terrific school). So bear that in mind.

Original poster
Milly717 · 17/01/2022 14:56

@Zodlebud Thank you very much. Loads of valid and extremely helpful points.

My daughter has her eyes set on Queenswood at the moment. She's excited to see the other ones too, but from watching the virtual tours and after studying the extra curricular options, she seems to favour Q. May well change after she gets to see them of course. Wink

OP posts:
Zodlebud · 17/01/2022 14:28

“Oversubscribed” is a bit of a dubious word. Of course they have far more children apply than there are places but most children will apply to between 2 and 4 schools in the area. So whilst there might be four applications for every place, realistically only a quarter to a third really WANT that place and the rest are just using it as a backup in case they don’t get another school.

I don’t know of a single girl to not get an offer from Abbots Hill. I only know of one girl to not get an offer from RMS. Berkhamsted has this bonkers system of offering only to those who do extremely well in the entrance tests a place first off with everyone else going on a waiting list. Once the offers from STAHS, Habs girls and NLCS come out (and they turn Berko down) the list moves. It then moves again once the Bucks 11+ places are offered. I know people who had to wait until April to get an offer (bottom sets at primary school) but they got a place in the end.

St Columba’s is getting more popular due to a lack of coed schools in the area, and I see the same happening with St Margaret’s.

Queenswood has to “compete” against not only STAHS, NLCS, Habs but also DAO and the north London schools like Channing and South Hampstead High. They are becoming increasingly oversubscribed though as parents realise that actually they don’t want a pressurised environment for their daughter, they just want them to achieve their personal best. For the last few years they have had a waiting list but the entrance exam is designed to select those of average ability and above. I wouldn’t be too worried about the entrance exams for any of the schools you mention. Herts parents aren’t into the whole intensive tuition thing you get in London.

Original poster
Milly717 · 17/01/2022 12:03

@boysmuminherts

Your daughter sounds similar to my son. We visited Berkhamsted, St Columbas, Aldenham, Sherrardswood, St Albans and Haileybury.

We applied to St A, Berkhamsted and Haileybury and he had offers to the second 2. We discounted St Columbas due to religion and facilities and Aldenham due to travel. Sherrardswood is lovely but just didn't seem worth it.

Thank you. I couldn't agree more about Sherrardswood which is a shame really.

At the moment I'm very much looking forward to seeing St. Margaret's, Queenswood, Abbot's Hill and RMS (not heard much about it unfortunately).

I wonder how hard the entrance exams are to any of these? Is there anywhere I can see what the pass marks are for English and Maths. My daughter's Maths skills are really good so not too worried here, but when it comes to her English, she does struggle a little bit with punctuation and spelling which her teachers say is quite normal at her age, but it makes me a bit worried nevertheless.

How oversubscribed are these schools does anybody know? The head of St Columba's said they are getting 4 applications per place on average. Wonder how it compares to the other schools.

Thank you Smile

OP posts:
boysmuminherts · 17/01/2022 11:27

Your daughter sounds similar to my son. We visited Berkhamsted, St Columbas, Aldenham, Sherrardswood, St Albans and Haileybury.

We applied to St A, Berkhamsted and Haileybury and he had offers to the second 2. We discounted St Columbas due to religion and facilities and Aldenham due to travel. Sherrardswood is lovely but just didn't seem worth it.

Glittertwins · 14/01/2022 13:21

Abbots Hill is not an aggressively pushy academic school, it's more nurturing in that aspect. It's a lovely setting, nice facilities and did well over lockdowns.

Original poster
Milly717 · 14/01/2022 12:55

Thank you. Queenswood indeed looks lovely. Very much looking forward to visiting.

OP posts:
Zodlebud · 14/01/2022 12:07

Queenswood without hesitation. Their sport and dance are fabulous (offering scholarships in both) and their co curricular programme is extensive - here’s the spring term programme

www.queenswood.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Co-curricular-timetable-Spring-2022.pdf

It’s a school that gets results without the stress or being a hot house. They do select but it’s only really girls of average ability and above so not too taxing to get a place. They are also very supportive of SEN issues like dyslexia, dyscalculia etc. Their results are fantastic considering they are not ridiculously selective.

A school that very much works around the individual child as opposed to creating a “product”.

The fees are more expensive but you are paying for a boarding school environment even if you’re a day girl. Days are long (just after 8am until 6pm every day) but packed full. The door to door transportation makes everything very easy. Lots of girls use the flexi boarding and stay one or two nights a week - huge amounts of fun. Pastoral care is brilliant.

Original poster
Milly717 · 14/01/2022 12:02

Thank you very much! Yes we are going to the open day at St. Margaret's on 5th Feb. Really looking forward to it.

What I forgot to add earlier, my daughter also likes music, she plays clarinet and would definitely want to continue so a school with good music provision would be nice.

OP posts:
JessyCarr · 14/01/2022 11:53

I think you will like St Margaret’s when you see it (have you signed up for the February open day?). They have excellent art including textiles, a sprung-floor dance studio and food tech among many other things. Languages at GCSE are French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Latin. No lacrosse, I don’t think.

Most importantly (to us when we chose it): the vibe is warm, inclusive, kind. Everyone we met was lovely and we could see our child happy there, with space to grow and flourish.

There is a very recent Good Schools Guide review - PM me if you are interested in seeing it. Actually there are two, one each for the Junior School and the Senior School.