Queens College vs Channing vs out of London school

Anyone in for a meet-up before September? Message me in pvt with your number!

Yes, agree on finding a match for independent thinkers and free spirits - it was the main draw for us too :)

We thought Queen’s vibe would be a better match for our free-spirited girl, and the offer holders event was a notch above because rather than a tour they offer the kids a taster of three lessons and the parents unfiltered access to 7 current students, one for each year.

See you all soon! @SameBoat2022 what helped you decide?

ME too! Queen's over FHRP and Channing... see you all soon.

@AMagny thanks, this sounds like what we hope for with the school. The open events and application process has left us with a good impression so far :)

Apologies for being a bit late with my reply. My daughter had offers from a few London public schools, including a Church of England school. In the end we choose Queen’s. I can speak personally from the financial diversity perspective as she came from an outstanding state primary school. I spent the summer worried she’d be singled out, but I needn’t have worried. The school is incredibly welcoming and I haven’t had a single conversation on primary school or any attempts to identify wealth or social status. I’ve asked her many times if where she went to school has come up and she’s replied that it hasn’t.

My next panic was would the fact we can’t go abroad every school break (we both work full time) make her stand out. Again, it wasn’t an issue. I haven’t sensed new money or old money TBH. More so a lot of working professionals and creative types. And there is absolutely no discrimination towards bursary pupils. The fund is a credit to the school and the efforts of the head.

Finally re extra-curricular activities (including sports), the school is very clever at using rooms in different ways, using Paddington Rec, Regent’s Park and other local sports facilities so the girls have access to a lot of different sports.

Being an ex pat and this being our first private school experience in the UK, I can honestly say the school has been as wonderful as we thought/ hoped it would be. Happy to answer any questions you might have.

We also chose Queen’s over Channing! Our daughter decided!

@Kittylondon we decided on Queens too! :). Our daughter loved the school and we did too - so all votes swung the decision.

We had the same choice to make and it was very hard due to the differences in the schools. In the end I chose Queen’s due to the welcoming nature of the school and felt it would provide my daughter with a more personalised approach to her learning based on its excellent pastoral infrastructure and the Head who has an invested interest in every student they select . My daughter also identified that Queen’s felt more diverse to her, which she felt was important.
I am happy to say that we are so pleased with our choice, as my daughter is thriving academically and personally, and really feels part of a special school. The head is so incredible at getting the balance right and leads a school which creates a happy, kind and thriving learning environment where all the girls feel seen and valued- what this school lacks in space and amenities, they make up with their amazing sense of community.
There are lots of girls on full bursaries and a full range of families from all over London, which is a benefit of its central location- which makes it a diverse and integrated community- we have a vast range of friends and there is no segregation at all - we absolutely love Queen’s and so happy we chose it in the end.

@Kittylondon curious on what you decided? We are totally torn between FHRP and Queens!... Still have a few more days to decide but feeling confused. Travel time is quite similar with 5 - 10 mins between them.

Re the recent 4+ offer holder event at QCPS: I was one of the parents on the panel. I certainly was more dressed up than my usual 'school wardrobe' as I was heading straight from there to a work event. The other two parents on the panel I know well (and have known for years) and they are both quite shy; one of them even said so when she spoke in front of everyone. It can be quite nerve wrecking to be sat at the front of a big group of people.

From my perspective from that event, it was quite a mixture of how people who attended were dressed; from jeans to more dressed up.

From all the 4+ and 11+ events I have attended for my own children over the years as well as participated at at my children's different schools (they are different genders so combined there have been a number of very different schools and areas), the mixture of people and clothing are very similar to the majority of other schools I have seen.

It is important to note that the prep school (QCPS) also has a number of bursary pupils (from Reception and up), and from when my daughter started there, there has been a continuous change socio-economically there too (i.e. not just at Queen's College) including more families where both mums and dads work full time which increased after the introduction of their wrap-around care a number of years ago. (I was a class rep and later was one of the parents running the parents committee at QCPS so I got to know many different families across the entire school over the course of most of my daughter's time there.)

@suresure what were the Channing ‘difficulties with leadership’? Please PM me. We are choosing between QCL and Channing.

Well done to your daughter on gaining two offers! I think there are super wealthy outlier families at any private school to be honest. We chose Queens in the end and there are many many ordinary hard-working families, plus a number of bursary pupils. It is a very good mix and my daughter is very happy. I know that Channing had difficulties with leadership during Covid but the headmaster at Queens is brilliant. Being easy to get to is a big plus in your life and your daughter’s life - thinking preschool clubs, after-school clubs and independent travel. Good luck with the choice.

Hello. Good luck with your decision making, it's a super stressful time! I have 2 daughters at QCL and couldn't be happier. To your point about wealthy parents. I think you'll have this at any private school to be honest. There will always be pockets of wealthy families, and I'd be willing to wager that's the case at every other school as well. QCL has a fair number of girls on bursary funding (which is set to increase), quite a few who went to their local state primary schools and then of course there's the ones who get dropped off/picked up in nice cars every day. I'd guess that Channing/SHHS/etc all have the private car drop off/pick up group as well.
To your academic point, while Channing may appear to be more academically selective at the 11+ entry, I suppose it's how the girls do throughout their career there that's more important, which unfortunately comes down to test scores! In all honesty, my girls were not hitting their academic stride at 11+, but QCL saw something in them and gave them the opportunity. And they are doing amazingly well now. I think we all want a school that can help our children grow in their own way and be well rounded adults. But given we're also paying fees we want them to do well at school, from my experience that has been the case at QCL.

I'd encourage you to go to both offer holder events, and see how that feels. Not sure what your daughter's view is, but after the event and the afternoon/morning they give to the girls you may both have a better sense of where you think you'll be happiest.
Good luck!

My daughter is at Queen's College (QCL) and it's the most wonderful school. (She went through the Prep School too which was also amazing.) There is much more diversity than its reputation and the Principal Richard Tillett is focussing on the Bursary Appeal to ensure there is a broad socio-economic intake. It is definitely not a school just for the wealthy. Academically, results at QCL are steadily rising, but not achieved at the expense of pupil welfare. They have a lot of PE and go to Paddington Rec to use proper sports grounds. (It is easy to think there is not a lot of sports just because there is no actual facilities on site.) There is also a huge sense of community which you often don't get in a senior school. It is a really special place.

@BuruI don’t know what it involves. I called to ask if we could tour and they gave me details of 4 offer-holder sessions to choose from, for those who, like us are tossing up between multiple offers and want to look around the school again. I think your best bet is to call them up and ask your questions.

Thank you so much. This is very interesting. Can you please PM me what the event is? We are ready to release that offer but wanted to understand their sibling policy first, as we have two other daughters who we need to find a junior school for