Choosing an independent school in London

[Marieco]

Hi all, hoping to get some advice for sending DC to an independent school for the first time. Will be moving to London next year in time for DC to start Y7 (no particular area in mind yet).
I'm really looking for help with where to start on narrowing down school choices and wondering how parents choose which school is best?
If anybody has any advice it would be much appreciated. Or recommendations for any other independent school parents' forums or groups for support and advice.

Depends partly on your budget and whether you are looking for a selective school, coed/single sex' sporty, musical ... They will be running entrance tests before Christmas or shortly after. Bear in mind London schools can be very competitive and some may have already closed their applications for 2018 entry.

Is your child a girl or a boy? It might be worth getting hold of a copy of the Good Schools Guide (for north London and south London).

I know that you've said that there is no particular area that you need to be in but is there a particular area that you would be commuting to every day? Do you have a preference for, say, central London over the outskirts?

Are you from the UK? If not, would you want an international school or a British senior school?

Is your child extremely bright, musical, creative, sporty etc?

Open Days are coming up very soon for a lot of the London Independents and some closing dates are soon too ie; Westminster Under School. As others have said, you need to narrow choices down to single sex/co-ed, academic approach (ie highly selective or takes all comers),sports and extra curricular and leavers destinations.

There is also the ISI website where you can search by area / type of school etc...

But closing dates for 11+ will come around very quickly - Open Days usually in September.

Good luck.

How smart is your Dc. Boy or girl?
Many schools in London are very selective and many kids are very prepared for the exams
Top top schools
St Paul's boys /girls
Westminster/under for 11+ boys
Goldolphin and Laymer girls
City of London boys and Girls

Then area I know
West London
Hampton boys LEH girls
Kingston Grammar mixed
Latimer upper mixed.
GDST schools.
Radnor House and Kew House mixed, maybe lees academic but both newish schools and smaller than others
Emmanuel mixed used to be a backup school now often a first choice
St Benedicts mixed loosely catholic
More House catholic.girls easier entry.

St James girls/boys an individual ethos
It really depends where you are, what you want, how bright your child is.There are many excellent schools but lots of people want them. Saying that most people seem to find a school that suits their child but just because you can pay doesn't mean you will get a place

We'd be hoping for co-ed, selective. Central London preferable but not essential. DS is very bright, would need preparation for entrance exams. As you mentioned time is limited, we might in fact be looking at a 2019 entry.
Will look into the Good Schools Guide and ISI, any other recommended guides/websites?
Much appreciated advice, thanks all.

How old is your child? The main entrance points are 11+ and 13+ (going into Y7 or 9). Outside those you're looking at occasional places if someone's left - it does happen but you can't guarantee the school you want will definitely have places.

Co Ed selective schools in London that I know of are:

Forest (but that is east London rather than central)
Highgate (but this is in north London)
Mill Hill (although it is in north west London)
North Bridge House (there are senior schools in Hampstead and Islington so still north London but far more central than the ones above)
Portland Place (this is in the west end and is the only really central co ed school that I know of)

An alternative could be City of London - the girls' and boys' schools are separate though.

Alternatively, out of the international schools, both Southbank and the American School are very central. Both are co ed.

Other co-ed schools:

Latymer Upper
Alleyn's
Kingston Grammar
Ibstock Place
Harrodian

LU and Alleyn's are the most academic on the list, however the rest of the schools should be able to accommodate a range of students.

LU the most central and easy for transport. although it is in Hammersmith it is just across the street from a district line tube station and well serviced by busses.

Another option would be very academic boys schools which are co-ed for sixth form - Kings College And Westminster.

I forgot about Highgate school in North London.

If you're not too fussed about which bit of London you live in, and can afford central, then I'd be looking to move to the Battersea/Clapham area, because them you get good connections to

Westminster and KCS Wimbledon (you need to check about transfer to senior department, and when you need to register by, plus exam timetable). Single sex, but girls in the sixth form.

Dulwich College would certainly be worth a look, if inky for a point of comparison, Alleyns is the co-ed one of the Dulwich foundation schools. They're competitive 11+ entry, you just need to register by the deadline. BTW these schools run a joint coach service, so they are easy to reach from whole swathes of south and central London

Emanuel is changing its entry procedures from Sept 19, and all those who enter within the application should window (will be some time in the autumn of the year before entry) can sit the exam, but they no longer guarantee to interview all applicants. They have a new system of capping attendance at open mornings at 2000, so book!

Ibstock isn't that well served by public transport, so only consider it if you want to live somewhere handy for it. Harrodian slightky better served.

Portland Place has a fairly mixed reputation, but is very central (stone's throw from Oxford Circus)

lots of good advice. basically, for the top selective ones (habs, highgate, UCS, city etc) you don't choose them, they choose you. 11+ will be in January and deadline for entry is quite soon for some schools. you said 2019 entry - do you mean into year 7 or year 8? there is no such thing as a year 8 entry so you'd be after a chance vacancy.

It would be better to apply for the large intake for year 7 rather than miss the boat and have to apply for an occasional place (which may not even be available) for year 8 - so get your skates on, continue your research and submit several registration forms over the next month or so - registration deadlines differ! If you have not registered in time, he can't sit the test - so don't miss the boat. (You can always skip him sitting that test if you change your mind about a particular school)

You should also register for one or two "easier" (i.e. only moderately selective / less popular) schools to ensure you get at least one offer - because schools like Latymer Upper (a selective co-ed in central London) are extremely popular and heavily oversubscribed, and you really can't take an offer for granted even if he is bright.

If you are pressured for time, consider moving him to a prep school and having him sit common entrance at 13. This would buy you some time to look at and get a feel for the right senior schools. A good prep school will steer you in the right direction and provide you with plenty of assistance.

Entry should be less complicated and possibly less competitive because schools will loose pupils in Y7 to 11+ schools.

So much will depend on where you live too.

Fab, thanks so much for all the tips. Will get started with registrations in time for Y7 entry. Will look into registering for a few less selective schools and consider prep schools too.

If you're looking at prep schools too, this might be helpful.

www.londonpreprep.com