CLSG or G&L

Yes! 🤣.
Anyway, should have read 3 A stars or 2 A stars and an A. (Not to mention the IB pupils or those taking more than 3 A- levels).

The stars thing is really annoying, it's a formatting shortcut - putting stars either side of a character puts it in bold!

NB. Not sure why the 'stars' in my post did not post correctly!

About 20 to Oxbridge this year. And others actively choosing Imperial over Oxbridge, as well as the multitudes heading overseas in preference to Oxbridge. Others with AAA and AAA* not bothering with Oxbridge and electing for eg. Bristol, Durham, Exeter depending on courses.
Times are really changing.

Spending 30k+ for 7-8 years and not aiming at Oxbridge/Ivy for a better fit, then should just go to the Afrikan High. It all sounds like excuses to me. McGill and the likes are very easy to get in, many idiots (including myself) got scholarships

I don't know what metric you are using to compare but to me those results look very good indeed. Describing it as mediocre sounds frankly like you have an axe to grind. It is worth noting that Oxbridge is not always the best place for some courses. One needs to look beyond the name. It depends on what courses are taken as mentioned by someone else above in the thread. Some can be a backdoor entry. The same way it used to be for some colleges (the snobbery at Oxford is high and there is a hierarchy) before they changed the system, although it still exists. Things are never as simple as looking at a list of results. It is more complex than that.

@ACavalierDream I don't think US universities is the answer, even it is a decent record. Latymer Upper sends about the same to similar US names, but it consistently does materially better in Oxbridge too. Even Sevenoaks sends a lot more to both US and Oxbridge, even accounting for its 2x cohort.

Taking US schools into account, the placement record is still mediocre.

I work in the private school sector and in my experience, the ones who can afford it will go the States and not apply to Oxbridge. The ones that cant afford US but have an EU passport will go to Europe. Fewer are now applying to Oxbridge. I would look at any uni results (particularly G&L) taking the US into consideration. Eton has most of their top tier students going US at the moment. For G&L and Eton there is a strong international intake therefore going international is a given. I went to Oxford because I could not afford Ivy. That was a while ago.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that G&L is not as high on the league table as it should be because only ALevels are taken into consideration. They also offer IB, which tends to be chosen by the stronger candidates and is more favoured by unis outside UK.

Trump policy and pressure on Ivy Leagues would benefit students who have green card or US passports, plus legacy admissions where parents are alumni. US universities have no limit to how many you can apply but are now having to reduce international students.
It is not just the numbers going to Oxbridge but what they studying there. In the current job market a person with a degree on Data Science from Warwick is more employable than a First in History from Oxbridge, unless they have work experiences.

A interesting read….’Forget Oxbridge. For today’s gilded youth, Ivy League is the goal — and parents will spend a fortune to get them there’

https://www.thetimes.com/article/6699402e-1e1c-11ec-b8f6-2f9fbbeddc5b?shareToken=5cf05d700998eb56326e2d71cc45e332

G&L send lots to the USA as has quite an international parent body who can both afford Ivy League & don’t think twice about having kids on different continents. Early offers were accepted this year to Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Penn, and Yale. Many also go to Bocconi.
Things may change with Trump in power & this year’s leavers destinations will be interesting. Anecdotally, the Oxbridge offers are up this year

Why is G&L so mediocre in terms of Oxbridge offers? Been checking its numbers for a few years, it used to send 15-20 per year, but been declining to 5-10, which is low compared to similar London schools. Latymer about 25-30, City Girls 15-20, even Putney is higher.

So we just sent acceptance to CLSG and turned down G&L. Hope someone on the waitlist can get relieved.

I posted last year - we finally selected CLSG and never looked back. Daughter very happy, loves the school and found nice friends. Transition was gentle - not too much homework (compared to G&L and similar schools) and school seems keen that students have a positive experience in Yr 7. In our case, the deciding factors were conversations with parents (past and present) and the offer holders days - the schools have a different vibe (not better or worse). At the end of the day both schools are fine so hard to make a massive mistake.

The Museum of London will be used by the sixth form which will free up space in the main building. I am sure the school will be happy to provide more colour.

Hey, we are being stuck in the same situation now. DD got offered a place by both GLSG and G&L. It's so hard to decide. Would really appreciate it if anyone has fresh comments on both.

PS: I heard GLSG is going to expand the space by using the museum building?

Hello everyone, please can I give my perspective of CLSG as 2 of my dds were educated there.

My dds loved CLSG and are confident, happy, healthy young women. Both schools are academically very strong and nearly all of the girls leave with exceptional grades in every subject. To this end, there is vey little difference between the two schools academically.

At CLSG there are no sets apart from maths, which occurs in year 8. Even though there is a bottom maths set the girls will still achieve the highest grade at GCSE, but are taught at a slower pace.

We found the pastoral care at CLSG very good and the school is very sensitive to the needs of each child and will not hesitate to contact parents if there is an issue. There is a good mix of girls from different backgrounds at CLSG and the school takes all year 7s on a bonding week which the girls love.

CLSG is more socially mixed than G&L and while there are a lot of girls from wealthy backgrounds at CLSG, up to 25% of girls at CLSG have a bursary award and I liked that. Nobody will know about bursaries unless the child discloses, but even if they do the other girls will not judge as none of them care about it.

Please don’t worry about your child entering either school from the state sector as once they arrive at secondary school they don’t give a jot about their primary school. My dds have a solid bank of friends, some of whom were educated in the state sector.

The girls do travel in from a wide area to both schools but they cope very well with that; and it is you that will need to get used to driving or taking public transport all over the place collecting your dd from parties and friend’s houses. At CLSG a lot of the Jewish girls have their Bat Mitzvah as they turn 12 and the whole class are invited. The girls at CLSG are also often invited by the boys at CLS to their Bar Mitzvah’s as they turn 13. The children love the celebration but if you choose CLSG be warned as there are a lot of parties!

The facilities and extra curricular activities at G&L are outstanding and better than CLSG on that front. That said, CLSG does have excellent provision given its location. I liked the fact that CLSG have strong links with many City firms and the girls are introduced to those firms as part of their career development lessons in year 10 and 11.

You will be given a comprehensive uniform list at CLSG but they have a good second hand sale. I did make the mistake of buying a lot of new uniform for my girls, but they kept losing stuff, so we bought second hand and they lost a lot of that too! All lost uniform is placed in a giant bin and parents are able to rummage through it with their dd to look for lost items, so name tapes are essential.

Can I plz know reviews of parents whose girls are studying in Godolphin and Latymer. Is the high fee worth the opportunities?

I went to G&L but it was back in the days (left about 20 years ago!). I grew up in a council house and had a full bursary and while the school wasn’t as diverse as my local streets, I wasn’t the only one from my part of west London. TBH I didn’t enjoy my time there on a personal level as I was going through so much at the time but I also wouldn’t have changed a thing given the people I met and opportunities I had from my time there. I enjoy going back to visit on Old Dolphins events days and marvelling at how much money has been pumped into the school since I left!

G&L is clearly very academic, yet hugely supportive of those who find certain subjects more difficult than others. 'Tutoring' goes on at every school, perhaps less at G&L than others in my long experience.
I do not understand the incorrect, negative comment made earlier about G&L sport: this is incredibly strong, despite the school not offering sport scholarships. The hockey is schools' Tier 1; in the first few years they play matches for A to E teams. Netball and tennis are consistently strong, as is cricket. For the more minor sports: national champion fencers, etc etc.

Hi, thanks for sharing your view. We are actually coming this September and would really appreciate if you could share a bit more? do the school mix a lot between classes? and do they have tiers since the start?

Many thanks!

We considered G&L but did not apply at the end. Distance was a reason. The other reason was that we also heard the unpleasant pressure on girls as you mentioned.

Still in the same position - the schools have a different feel but DD likes both. Same distance to the schools so location also not a factor. I like the IB programme but am worried about some bullying stories I heard about G&L, also a lot of external tutoring - CLSG felt friendlier although I know G&L also known for nurturing environment and both bullying and tutoring might happen at all schools.

OP/Lolakath19 - what did you select and why?

Happy with G&L. I think it is more diverse now at G&L than before. We were in a similar position before and chose G&L. DD is not too sporty, but is thriving really well.