St Marylebone or Greycoat for secondary, which to put first choice?

Both are excellent schools. We put St M first and Greycoat second, as we felt St M’s slightly more relaxed atmosphere and emphasis on the arts were a better fit for our DD. We have been offered a place at St M. I did also like Greycoat, but it felt a bit more regimented and I didn’t warm to the headteacher as much as I did to St M’s. However Greycoat gets slightly better results and gets more people into Oxbridge, if that’s important to you.

It really depends on your DD’s personality and interests as to which you put first.

We have only considered Greycoat and my daughter will start in September - logistically GC is easier to reach for us and we value the language focus which is also a plus. We were not terribly impressed by the facilities but we loved the vibe, it is strict yes but not in a way that seems unreasonable. My daughter did not feel intimidated by the speech, rather empowered, so felt was the right choice for her. Time will tell, for now she is extremely happy she got her first choice, and so are we!

It’s so important to visit the schools to get a feel for the school and how it fits with your values and expectations. You can’t read about that stuff. And if possible visit during the school day as well as during the open evenings.

Hello!

helpful information.

I heard the head is leaving St Marylebone- is that true?

We have a place at St Marylebone for DD in September. I haven’t heard anything about the Head leaving. There is a new parents’ information evening in June so I guess we will find out then if she is.

Where did you hear this please? DD is currently at St M and we haven’t heard this!

A girl who attends the school told daughter (no idea why they were talking about this!).

Thanks @Nkmama15 , my DD knows nothing about it - which isn’t to say anything as she could be oblivious!

I would think if was true it would be known to all students tbh. For me this would be big news. I did query my daughter when said but she was adamant . Again , not really sure why they would be talking about it as seems so random!

How has your daughter found the school so far?

My DD started in year 7 at St M in September and we are very happy with how things are going so far. She has settled in well and made a nice group of friends. We haven’t had much contact with the teachers so far but DD seems positive about them all. I appreciate the fact that the school is more relaxed/less regimented than some of the other local secondaries - the girls can have any hairstyle, any backpack and are able to decorate their exercise books, for example. One thing to bear in mind re friendships is that girls come from all over London so you may end up travelling quite a way to collect your child from friends’ houses! Happy to answer any specific questions if I can.

Thank you so much, did your dd have friends that started with her? Or did she know anyone already there? My dd takes a while to make friends so I suppose im anxious about that. Where do majority of girls live? Is it mostly north London? I’ve read that it can be quite competitive between the girls?

She only had one other girl go there from her primary school, but has made friends very easily - it was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. A lot of them do come from north London but I have heard of others coming from south west London and elsewhere. We haven’t had any real competitiveness so far but that may kick in as they move up the school - I know girls’ schools often have an element of academic competition.

Thats great to hear, how is the strictness? I heard it’s not that strict- is that the case? Would be a bonus!

See my earlier comments - definitely less strict than some other local secondaries (although they still do enforce behaviour rules).