QEB v Wilson's - which is the leading/best school

You can't be serious about numerical strength? 😁

One doesn't have to be numerical to manage people (~corporate leadership).

Congratulations to your son OP, he must be very bright indeed to have offers from both those schools. I'm not terribly familiar with either beyond they are both great, so I'd say just go with the one that you and your son like more (and also which part of London you'd prefer to live in!).

Judging from your post I'd guess you're an immigrant to the UK (I'm not saying this as a negative - I am, too!). In many other countries it's normal for parents to do everything possible to get their children the best possible education, it's totally accepted and understood. Given the complex class history in the UK, attitudes to education vary widely, and there are certain people who don't understand why parents would do something like relocate just for an educational opportunity (and many of these people are on Mumsnet).

They also resent anyone trying to get their child a "better" opportunity, and will inundate you with stories about how private school teachers aren't qualified, grammar schools aren't better, just stuffed with top test-takers, etc. "Just go to your local state school, they'll be fine, I went to state school and turned out fine." Probably true! But that doesn't make it the best choice for someone else.

Good luck - there's lots of good advice on here but don't let the anonymous internet naysayers get you down

Because cause it shows the gap between expectations and reality, which is as a fact very unpredictable. Many jobs that will not even exist anymore when Y7 will be at a Univ level, and new will be created.

Instead of choosing a school based on the child's personality and interests, parents rely on rankings, as if a school ranked 5th offers less chance of a good exam result than one ranked 1st. It’s the students and youth who make the school. Not the other way. For me, the absurdity also lies in the fact that, in many grammar schools, the teaching and teachers don’t necessarily represent the high level that these children deserve, and the school rides on its reputation because, thanks to the number of applicants , it stays at the top of the rankings.

Why is it worrying?

Competitive private schools have an advantage over grammar for corporate leadership, not the other way round.

It is kind of worrying that the parents assume that getting into grammar school is a ticket to success. My friend and another acquaintance of mine are above 50, both are grammar graduate and both are job seeking at the very moment. One of them has even PhD at Chemistry.

I have spent all of my life working in very large corporations. I work in 70 k large corporation now. Before in one of the world top 10 in terms of no of employees. The assumption that the top management went mostly to grammar school is wrong.
Actually, most often they are not even British because the corporations are international. My e.g. ex boss from P...had only GCSE. He started from lowest position, worked hard his way up to the head of Sales ( I'm not in Sales)

Also, as AI says grammar graduate tend to study traditional STEM subjects, Social sciences and business is only on the 5th place

How is that racist? I never said they're not bright, it's full of very clever kids yes. But if there's very few kids that look like you it can be hard. It's no fun being the only Asian kid in a school full of white kids either. Works both ways. Some kids don't struggle with this, some do. Its important to know what you're getting yourself into.

I know a boy with a very "challenging" , to put it diplomatically, behaviour who is at QE. Of course his parents are Indian. And tbh I was asking my son to stay away from that kid.

They are surely quite bright and used to hard work but not necessarily all incredibly bright. Only some are. Not brighter than many other kids. What the are incredibly is ...tutored...from the early age.

The fact is that most of the selective grammar are full of South Asian kids. An intelligent person can easily observe it and definitely such observation does not equal racism. Simply, parents of Indian kids value selective and grammar education.

What a ridiculous thing to say @Foxesandsquirrels . The children who go to QE are incredibly bright. You would want your son to be around people like that.
Racist much?

This☝️

Of course public transport is safe! Plenty of kids commute around London. However you may prefer a shorter journey.

I don't know Wilson's but QE boys is not very diverse, if your son isn't of a SE Asian/ Indian background they may struggle.

QE I’m told does not teach computer science at GCSE or A level, or offer much/any football. These may be deciding factors if it were my son, but it’s not!

They are both amazing schools so I would personally now focus on where I would rather live.

And getting public transport is a brilliant way of building independence. Mine took public transport - a 45 minute journey door to door, from day 1, accompanied the first couple of days. They made “train friends” they dealt with the occasional delay/cancellation/diversion, and they were completely comfortable doing the journey within about a month.

QE is in Barnet, no? That’s pretty safe. The vast majority of secondary school aged children in this country get public transport to school, apart from maybe some very rural areas.

Honestly, they have identical budgets per head, teach an identical syllabus, have identical demographic of kids [both well on the way to being exclusively attended by mostly Indian kids who've been tutored since the cradle], the differences between the two are not worth giving a second thought. UK schools, especially state schools, are nothing like universities, where the very best places teach slightly better courses, have stronger academics in their teaching departments, and so on - they're broadly all the same, certainly two 'similar' schools like two super-selective grammars, are identical.

Honestly, most children will take public transport. So look at where your son can get to by tube/train/bus.