Habs boys vs st albans boys vs John Lyon 13+

Hoping to get an idea about the wrap around care particularly regarding food options for year 9’s onwards. I have heard there is breakfast club and vending machine options for staying late but no hot meal availability, is this correct? The website says there is a sixth form cafe but I would have hoped all children would have access to this if they stat for after school clubs too.

Would greatly appreciate any information! Thanks!

its hard to know what numbers of applicants up means in reality once acceptances of offers are made as lots of students are applying to multiple schools - independent and state

I know from a friend that a large proportion of applicants at St Albans this year were made an offer and so if they want to keep their academic level up going co Ed seems a sensible decision to widen the pool especially as lower birth rates kick in down the line

St Albans has some good state schools too as does much of their catchment like Harpenden and Barnet

many schools are doing this though including Westminster

According to the school numbers are up - I think there was a slight dip on applicants this year (280 compared with 300 odd in previous years) but they have said that in September they’re expecting the highest pupil roll ever.

They got approval back in 2022 to expand by around 40 places. I don’t think they have yet used up all that extra, but it’s TBC whether they will increase next year’s Y7 intake or effectively reduce the spaces on offer to boys. I think female applicants will be low for the first couple of years so they may save an expansion for a few years’ time when it picks up.

I think this is a smart move from a position of strength- like all private schools they are facing strong headwinds with VAT/CoL and also falling birth rates (although that’s mitigated a bit by plans for a lot of new housing in St A, including on land owned by the school next to their playing fields).

Better to act now than to wait for numbers to fall - as naturally they probably will - and then it risk looking desperate and an attempt to stop a sinking ship.

Meanwhile, STAHS yesterday (coincidentally or not) put out some comms confirming their commitment to single sex education and to leading the way for girls schools.

My son really enjoyed being in all boys environment at St Albans. Disappointing for boys like my son too. Agree it must be fees related. Don’t think there’s adequate space to expand numbers significantly.

Yes but would think not good news for the High School as some girls that would have gone there may now go to St Albans

St Albans Seems to be another school where numbers are down and VAT and low birth rates are biting

They already had girls in the 6th form so it’s been partially co-ed for a long time, but it’s obviously still quite a shift.

@AppleKatie That's good news, at least there will still be the girls-only school. Shame to lose another boys-only school though.

Just googled it seems admitting girls from year 7, not a merger

@herigoagain When you saying 'going co-ed', are they merging with the independent girls school (St Alban's High school for girls) or they're going to be admitting girls?

For info, not sure how common knowledge this is, but St Albans will be going co-ed from September 2026.

My DC are in a high achieving ‘outstanding’ state school and I can tell you, it’s more than an hour a night!

I don’t think you’ll find many academic schools who won’t expect an hour of homework a night. Don’t forget it can be done in chunks- 20 mins before school or half an hour at lunchtime can add up quickly. I suppose it depends on the commute

It’s a feeling about the academic leadership but I must stress it’s just an impression, I’m afraid I don’t have anything concrete.

Habs kids are busy and there is a huge array of extra curricular. I genuinely think they have made moves in the last 5 years or so to be a much more nurturing school than was the reputation before then. The boys is a bit ‘tougher’ thank the girls but the opportunities are undeniably vast.

st Albans is not I think on the same positive trajectory as Habs. JL is an odd choice if you’ve got a place at Habs.

I think you need to decide if 1hr homework a night is reasonable or not for a year 9/10 student and what your acceptable baseline is.

Good grades need hard work along with natural ability so you need to decide what you and your son find acceptable

what does your sons grammar do? I know friends at a london grammar and they do 1+ hrs a day or homework in year 9 onwards although they do say the marking / review of the work is more relaxed

friends at a N London comp with good results have 45mins a night from yr8

many schools publish homework policies. Have you had a look online?

why not ask the schools about this directly

@Mumooooof1 you seem to have a list of negative points for Habs - this would certainly put me off. Wherever they go will always be a leap of faith. Make no mistake though that it's no coincidence such schools achieve stellar results.

From personal experience a couple of years back, I can speak highly of St Albans. My son enjoyed his time there and was heavily involved with sports and he made several life time friends. It's not for everyone but he speaks highly of the school even several years after leaving it. Some of their supervised study/ detentions were a bit heavy handed, in my opinion. There is a new head there now since the beginning of September 2024 ( I believe)

@BarqsHasBite When i visited the school, the only extra curricular that they emphasised was Choir and singing events that take place at the nearby cathedral. This is confirmed by those i know who went there who once there, dropped the extra curriculars they used to do at prep because there was so much emphasis on academics. Almost every private school will say they do extra curriculars but what happens once you are there is a different story. This my direct experience St Albans school is not the school that all rounders who want to give equal weight to extras go to and my dc school sends lots of boys there, a particular type of boy. I'm sure Habs has a long list of extra curriculars on their website too but locally they are not the school you go to for an all rounder education.