Help - School Recommendations - 4+ Assessment - Reception Sep 2022

[Atri]

Hello there.

(Sorry for the long post) .

I'd really appreciate some help and guidance from Mums here.
Both DH and myself studied abroad and hence do not understand first hand the intricacies of school life in the UK.
DD has received offers from the following Schools after the 4+assessments:

1. Guildford High School
2. Putney High School GDST
3. NottingHill & Ealing High School GDST
4. Chigwell School
5. North London Collegiate School
6. Sutton High School GDST

All of the above schools have great reviews, infrastructure, their own Sports team, extracurricular activities, aftercare, Pastoral care etc. making the choice(elimination) worser, in the fear we might reject a School that could have done wonders to our child's personality & overall growth.

We live no where close to any of these schools and are happy to move closer to whichever School DD lands up into.
Both DH and I work in Central London and currently live about 40 mins door-to-door from work.
We fully appreciate that a move closer to any of the above Schools is not going to give us the same convenience of travelling to work. However, we do not want that to be a deciding factor.

When we registered DD for these assessments, we didn't know we'd have so many offers. Our intention was to apply at all the good schools in the hope atleast one of them might click. But now we are in a situation where we really want to make the right decision for our LO.

We will be grateful for any advice, experiences, reviews, recommendations to help us make the best decision for our daughter and ourselves as a young family in the UK.

Many thanks.

Following with interest

Well done to your dd!
She no doubt will be happy at all these schools. Guildford High and NLCS being the most desirable. Have you considered wrap around care, drop offs, care during the holidays etc as well as house prices and cost of commute? A happy child has happy parents and it's important that the school fits into your home life too. Living in Guildford is different to living in Putney or North London or Essex. For example do you drive as by choosing Guildford or Chigwell your dd's friends may live in homes not accessible by public transport and of course all dd love play dates, parties etc. Your weekends will be spent taking your dd to various classmate events.

I'm sure you will be able to shorten the list of options but looking outside the schooling.
Also are any of them accessible from your current home?

Also to add if you go for Guildford High and move to Guildford there isn't really anywhere to go to that's better / comparable if for any reason GH doesn't work out whilst if you stay in London in a tube zone you have the option of Bute at 7plus and St Paul's as well as the mixed schools at 11.

I’d want to be able to walk to school / easy public transport at that age so I’d go for where you want to live. If you want to live in London ditch Chigwell, Sutton and Guildford. If you like W London- go for Notting Hill and Ealing. If you like Putney/ Fulham etc go for Putney High. North London go for NLCS.
Certainly wouldn’t want to move again at 7+ but perfectly possible to move from all those at 11 - girls often want a change/ co- Ed/ less academic/ more sporty etc etc.

Where do you commute into? Do you prefer living centrally or somewhere more suburban/commuter belt? Do you plan on independent schools throughout?

For example Sutton has good state schools, including superselective grammars. There are decent trains into Victoria, Blackfriars and London Bridge (a bit slower). Houses would be more affordable than areas further in. However the area is more suburban, and possibly less desirable than some. The school itself has a good reputation and is meant to be good for pastoral care. The academic reputation is probably not quite as strong as others you have listed.

Are NLCS results out for 4+ already? I thought tomorrow was the day.

I have 2 DDs at GHS, now in the senior school but who started in the junior school. We’ve been really happy with the senior school in particular. The head of the junior school has changed, so my experience of the junior school is out of date. From an academic perspective, GHS and NLCS are the strongest academically on your list, with PHS next.

For commuting to the City, Guildford is more likely to end up being 1.15h to 1.30h door to door, even if you live fairly centrally. Living in Putney would be more expensive but more convenient for the City.
If you think your DD is bright and an academic school would suit her, then I would choose which of those three areas you want to live in, and then one of those three schools. (League table wise PHS isn’t as high as the other two, but if you lived in that area there’d also be quite a few other options at 11+ if you wanted to change schools at that point).

PM me if you have specific questions about GHS and Guildford I could help with.

@mrspotatohedz

I’d want to be able to walk to school / easy public transport at that age so I’d go for where you want to live. If you want to live in London ditch Chigwell, Sutton and Guildford. If you like W London- go for Notting Hill and Ealing. If you like Putney/ Fulham etc go for Putney High. North London go for NLCS. Certainly wouldn’t want to move again at 7+ but perfectly possible to move from all those at 11 - girls often want a change/ co- Ed/ less academic/ more sporty etc etc.

I'd echo this. Being able to walk to school is important and so is living someplace you will all be happy. There isn't enough difference between these schools to make the decision based on anything other than where you'd prefer to live and a gut feeling regarding fit / ethos.

Guildford High School year 1 assessment

Our daughter is in reception at a nice private school in Surrey but we want a more academic+sporty school for her because she’s quite into both. We’re keen to get her into Guildford High School in year 1 (Sep 2026). GHS said they will do an assessment in January for it. Any advice on what the assessment entails and how I can prep her at home would be greatly appreciated.

Bump