STAHS vs JAGS vs Wimbledon High

[4plus]

DD was very lucky to get 4+ offers from St Albans, Wimbledon and JAPS/JAGS which for us means facing a very difficult trilemma. I'd appreciate any info from local parents to help us decide.

A bit of a background: DD is reasonably bright but not exceptional, she is confident and sociable and already shows quite strong competitiveness, wants to be the first all the time and can get upset if she doesn't, though not too much. I think it should be managed somehow.

She has English as SL and is not fluent yet so I assume she scored high enough to get through because her other cognitive abilities are quite strong (though it's just my guess, we didn't get detailed feedback). She has an exceptionally good attention span for her age e.g. she can sit 100% focused through a 3hrs long ballet performance and can concentrate on reading/writing/colouring tasks for an hour.

She is very much into ballet now, has been doing it for 2 yrs and has an aptitude for it so is rather advanced already and absolutely loves it. I think we will continue until she's at least 13 but I wouldn't dream of a professional career in this field for her and we wouldn't like to look at a full time dance school even though we were advised to do so. She also does gymnastics.

She's been doing music for 2yrs and is very keen on violin. We as a family love music, go to concerts every week and several times a week on holidays (Southbank and Barbican are our usual places), and would really like the school with excellent music provision and results. However, we will do 1 on 1 tuition outside school anyway as no prep does violin from Reception and I'm not quite sure how it will fit into the school's music stream afterwards.

She also goes to a Saturday school in Camden which we want to continue.

All in all, at the moment it seems to me we will need a school that leaves enough time for outside extracurricular activities OR does music (possible?) and ballet (unlikely) to a very high standard comparable to the outside clubs and conservatoires.

We want to avoid 7+ and 11+ and really need to understand the actual situation with the cull at these three schools. This is one of the most important factors for us.

We're comfortable but not loaded so probably prefer a school with down to earth professional families.
I work from home and quite flexible so drop-off/pick-up is not a huge problem.

Sorry, long read but I thought I need to give an idea of our circumstances as we are trying to find out which school would be a better fit, overall.
Any ideas?

Now to the schools, just my impressions from open days so I'd be grateful for any info and local knowledge.

STAHS (№18 GCSE, 59 A Level) - the best facilities by far and I loved it so much it's actually difficult to look beyond it :) We would need to move to Barnet and get her on a school bus from Y1 to keep our extracurricular music, ballet and concerts in London. Staying there will keep our options open if she turns out to be very academic and we want to try for NLCS or Habs at 7+, and we could also commute to our Saturday school. Maths books on the tables in Reception class were Abacus end of Y1 so 1-1.5 years ahead, looks very academic. Is it difficult to keep up with the pace? Junior choir was good. No idea about violinists level. Only two girls were not transferred from prep last year, but the offer letter highlights the fact that transfer is not guaranteed, unlike other offer letters. Girls seem to be quieter type. I didn't visit the senior school, any comments on it?

Wimbledon (№12 GCSE, 53 A Level) - feels like a very down to earth place. Senior string quartet was good but no violin in prep (?). Smaller and shabbier classes, but the labs and sports facilities are good. Junior and senior schools are on the same grounds and I got the feel of both so it's easier to decide. Very enthusiastic teachers at the senior school. Very nice administrative staff, excellent communication during the assessments, lovely teachers at juniors. Open days were noticeably more chaotic than at STAHS (is it like that every day?). All types of girls personality (and ability?) wise. Mixed reviews on MN, including 'dismal' and 'not very academic'. The headteacher particularly stressed the fact that they do not manage girls out (is that true?). Looks like a safe bet to stay until 16 but not the highest standard?

JAGS (№15 GCSE, 30 A Level) - I didn't visit senior school and it makes it very difficult to decide. I haven't seen the girls at all, what types are they, generally speaking? Prep doesn't have any facilities to speak of. There was no music performance at the open day so I've no idea how good they are (and why didn't they think it important to show?). A very nice lady providing extra support for girls who might struggle academically, and they were open about the fact, not all top schools easily admit that, I was impressed. Not such a huge drop in exam results between GCSE and A Levels. Looks like the most academic school of all three?

Where do you live or will you move near to the school you choose?

We will move but we don't want to move to St Albans, just to Barnet to be a little bit closer.
Wimbledon and Dulwich are fine.

First A levels are a long way off, so not too much can be read into performance now. Second you don't seem to have allowed for movement at sixth form. Girls who have been at WHS since 3+ may be very tempted by IB at Kings Wimbledon, etc.

They are all good schools. I would go with what feels right for your child now. And if that changes, change school at 11+.

And if you are really keen on music (or sport, drama etc) expect to do some of it at least outside school. Individual music lessons in schools are a pain and involve missing other lessons. Plus you don't to choose the teacher.

Thanks Needmoresleep, I agree A levels are far off so not the most important factor. I want to avoid 11+ though at all cost, 4+ was a nightmare and I won't survive 11+ it's too much.

So no point choosing schools based on music provision, it seems...

@4plus where were there maths books on the table in reception? Wouldn't be habs. Do you mean NLCS?

It was St Albans Habsmummy :)

Your dd is only 4, possibly 3, yes? And yet she’s doing ballet ‘to a high standard’, gymnastics, violin, and Saturday school? In the nicest possible way I think you need to chill ... a lot .... let her go to a local school where she doesn’t have a massive commute every day, let her try different things without having to be super-serious about them, let her be a little girl.... if she’s as bright and motivated as she sounds she will be fine at any of those schools (and a myriad more besides).

To answer your question about culling, JAPS/JAGS definitely does - I know more than one family who’ve been told their daughter would not get a place at the senior school. And all single sex, all-through schools lose a lot of girls at sixth form - by that time many of them desperately want a change after having been in the same environment since they were tiny and the lure of boys at co-eds gets stronger

Thank you for info re culling noitsnotteatimeyet
DD enjoys her activities, that's why we do them. She didn't like swimming for example and we stopped it after a while. She would have been very sad if we had to drop ballet and music.

Have to agree with @noitsnotteatimeyet kids need to be kids. Did you talk about all these things at her 4* interviews? Wouldn't imagine habs liking that as they are all about kids playing at home and being kids hence the no homework rule

No, the interview was very structured with their lead. They wanted to know what is challenging for her and how does she respond to challenges and what are her next objectives at her nursery etc. Didn't sound "all play and no work" to me at all, rather the opposite (objectives and challenges? for a 4yo? oh well...)
It's rather nice of you to say they couldn't have liked us :)

Honestly, your DD sounds a little hothoused. Totally agree that you need to calm down a little.

This thread is about choosing between three schools. Not about Habs. And not about parenting in general.

@4plus didn't think they wouldn't like your DD. Just know they don't like all those extra activities. Prob more suited to NLCS

Habs is all about kids wellbeing etc

Well, Habs in nowhere in my OP, nor NLCS. We are choosing between three other schools we have offers from.

If DD appears to be 'hothoused' it's JAGS then? As more of a hothouse of all three?

I understand wanting to avoid 11+, but I don't think you can predict that far in advance.

Pick your best Plan A and then allow for Plan Bs. Perhaps your DD will turn out to have significant dyslexia (DDs was only discovered at 7, and this is early) and the school is unsupportive. Perhaps your child will turn out to be super bright and confident and thrive best in a super-selective environment like SPGS (easily reached from Wimbledon). Perhaps they will have friendship issues and you decide that co-ed might provide more breathing space. Perhaps they are bumping along the bottom and you decide they might do better in a less selective environment where they are in the middle.

It depends slightly on the child. DS was studious and happy to be with really clever friends who shared his interests, and not at all bothered if he was not performing near the top of his class. DD was bothered, and was better of in a less selective school where she could be expected to be in the top third but where there was a wider range.

My personal view is that WHS is a nice school which does what it says on the tin. It does well by bright girls, and there is always KCS for sixth form. From a teenagers point of view, Wimbledon has better transport links and a better town centre. But it is personal. JAGS was not us at all.

Head of wimbledon is fab...

If it’s just about picking a school then just pick the one which is nearest to you and cut down your dd’s commute as much as possible. If you’ve not had a child in reception before, you will have no idea of quite how tired they find it, especially in that first term. Most sensible schools strongly advise against over scheduling such very young children as it doesn’t give them any advantage and has many, many downsides. From the vantage point of my youngest soon to do GCSEs I can assure you that you have no idea how your child is going to turn out - maybe she will be a ballet-dancing violinist doing the splits at 14, maybe she’ll have got so sick of her long, long journey to school plus multiple extracurricular activities that she’ll be completely burnt out... or maybe you’ll relax a bit and let her have a slightly more chilled childhood

Thank you Needmoresleep. Yes, a very difficult decision at this age. DD already reads in her 1st language so probably not dyslexic but there might be other issues, it's impossible to predict anything. But it's always easier to go to a non-selective school from a very selective one, not the other way round.

I really liked Wimbledon and the head too, it's probably the facilities that are swinging me towards St Albans... But I cannot make up my mind yet.

What is it with JAGS you didn't like if you don't mind sharing? I understand it's all personal preferences, but I failed to form my own gut feeling about it for some reason...

I have an older DS who's through 11+ and GCSE so I know the reality of it all.
DD is at an academic pre-prep and is not tired at all, I wish I had her energy :) She might tire of it later, you never know, but for the time being I just go by what she wants.

Yikes, STAHS is absolutely lovely but it sounds like you're South London? It's hardly worth moving for if you have other options.

Anyway, even if you move to Barnet, STAHS really isn't THAT close either. Distance really must be a consideration, esp since you seem like you will also want to fit in a lot of extra-curriculars. What time will DD get home, then what time does the other stuff start? If you want her to excel in the violin, you also need to factor in practice.

The time saved from being stuck in traffic can be much better spent elsewhere. That is one of the most valuable lessons I've learnt after all these years.

If you do pick STAHS, might see you there!

One thing that put me off JAGS on the assessment day (though it's not the school's fault at all) was when a lady in Louboutin over-the-knee boots entered a room and I said hello and she didn't reply . Is that common for JAGS parents?

Hi Stareyed no we're N10 but are planning to move to the school :)
Agree, Barnet is not ideal either... but I'm having a hard time to persuade myself to move out of London :( I know of one girl who went there from where we live, apparently doable but difficult, I know.

I'll ask STAHS about school coaches and times on Friday.