Godolphin & Latymer

Maybe their rejection to my daughter is a blessing in disguise. But I do feel that unfortunately this issue is in a lot of schools in London. I really worry about their mental health by the time they get to year 10 but I hope things will be different or better by then..💙

Pastoral care is GL's main selling point. They need it to differentiate the school from SPGS and LU nearby, and other contenders in the larger area. It seemed nice and we liked the school but in the end didn't choose it as we didn't fully buy the pastoral focus based on similar feedback from friends (though not as intense as @Rimini 's but enough to raise concerns).

@Rimini
That sounds extremely difficult and distressing for your whole family.
Have you got options to move your daughter?
And do you think this is limited to G&L or is it a widespread issue in similar schools?

I had always wondered why people praise GL for pastoral care so much …..we chose another school but seriously considered it a few years ago. The atmosphere on our look around was very tense and it didn’t feel friendly or positive. Girls schools particularly struggle to manage this kind of toxic bullying unfortunately and social media makes it that much worse .however I do think there are schools that do more than others. I’m sorry to hear your daughter suffered so much. You’re not the only one, I know a few parents that have shared similar stories …. Really hope the school steps up the pastoral care.

@Rimini I’m so sorry to hear that.. is your daughter ok now? How is she feeling? Are you considering a change…

TBH my daughter didn’t get into G&L, and the only reason I wanted is for the IB program. But to be honest, the most important thing right now for you is your daughter and her mental well-being. I hope you and her are both okay. 💙

As a parent of a daughter currently attending Godolphin & Latymer, I feel a duty to offer a candid perspective, especially for those considering the school.
The culture among the current Years 10–12, regrettably, is deeply toxic. A climate of insidious and at times overtly vicious bullying pervades the student body. Girls are openly and regularly nasty to each other within the school and weaponise social media to deride and exclude their peers. In response, a large number of girls self-harm, suffer from eating disorders, and isolate themselves in bathrooms at lunchtime to avoid the ritualised social humiliation practised by a powerful ‘mean girl’ hierarchy.
The pastoral care team, in theory designed to provide support, has in our experience proved either ineffectual or willfully negligent. Reports of bullying are often met with skepticism towards the target rather than urgent inquiry into the behaviour itself. Unless a specific perpetrator is named — a dangerous prospect for many girls who fear escalation — no meaningful action is taken. The result is a culture where cruelty goes unchallenged and vulnerability is punished.
No school is perfect, and adolescence is never easy. But it is impossible to overstate the damage that an environment of indifference to bullying can inflict, not only on individual well-being but on the broader moral character of a community. For us, G&L has tragically failed to live up to its duty of care.
I share this not to sensationalise, but to offer the clear-eyed account I wish I had encountered before enrolling my daughter.

Do any of the Godolphin parents have any experience of how the school accommodates ADHD or autistic children? Any thoughts on the SEN support?

Great news!

We are in Wandsworth and accepted.

Thanks @ happymumhappygirl - super helpful,
@littleredpot - fantastic news, congratulations on your choice! Expect a travel buddy for your DD, I think we are just about there with our decision.
I've been so impressed by the school and the girls (and with two consecutive years of 11+ I've now seen a fair number of them)!!

Tiffin Girls or G&L... We have 18 hours to decide now.. Receiving unexpected result, we are struggling to make decision now..

We just accepted a place at G&L and our daughter will be taking the district line from one of the stations you mentioned!

My DD is at D&L. The school understands the parents concern and they always look into the travel direction and put girsl travelling from similar direction into same Form at year 7. This means the gril would at least have another girl to travel with. There are many grils on the westbound district line so I would not be worry at all. 😊

Hi, Anyone on here accepting (or already accepted) an offer from G&L for their DD who live in Putney/Southfields/Wimbledon? We are down to the last two schools and G&L is our favourite but just having a last thought on commute. Would be great to know if any others are planning on using the district line. thanks!

@ACavalierDream echo your feelings. G&L girls were simply amazing and very grounded, confident and smart. They had clear ideas on what they wanted to achieve in life and looked very happy in their school. Also the parents and girls I have seen in the open day all seemed to be genuinely nice people that we felt we could connect with. I was really impressed, DD chose another school but would have been very happy with G&L as well. So congratulations to all who accepted the offers. Wishing all the DCs many happy years in their respective schools.

We have accepted g&l too. We really liked the girls we met at the open day for offer holders. They were very sparkly and smiley. We went for gut feel as at the end of the day, they are all schools.

So glad everyone is coming to a decision! It is such a relief to finally be focussing on the future! GHS is a great school and if we lived closer we would have applied!

We have now decided to go ahead with Guildford High and will be dropping G&L, Wycombe Abbey and JAGS. Mainly because DD preferred Guildford High over G&L. G&L was our preference mainly because of IB but she has a strong opinion so we are following her lead. She got to spend a full day at GHS during the assessment day and had a fabulous time so that has strongly swayed her decision. I am not going to complain as we were in a very fortunate situation but that wasn’t an easy decision at all. All fabulous schools. Good luck everyone!

I have older dc’s and it keeps them from going too crazy on Friday nights out! Also, I like going to watch and meet other parents. I work during the week so weekday sports don’t work for me. Also, the best sporting schools tend to be boarding and they play at weekends.

I quite like the no sport on Sat at G&L. DD is in year 8 there. I was suprised when looking at schools now for DS that they do sports sat morning.

That easily? 😃I cannot think of a single question that would help me choose in between the two.

Ok that's decided it then!! Thanks for the information. I much prefer the girls do school sport on a Saturday than during the week :) Glad the decision has been made!