Highgate vs Kings Canterbury

[frankintense]

DS has offers from both (very different) schools and we really can't choose anymore. I loved the vibe of Kings, the cathedral singing, the campus, the setting outside London, lovely students and teachers, etc. But it's been very very hard to turn down Highgate. DH thinks it's the ranking and brand name that ultimately matter, and DS will find his comfort zone if he goes to Highgate.

Are league rankings taken that seriously in the real world? Would a very academic child do well at Kings Canterbury and potentially have the same opportunities as he would at Highgate? Any advice would be very helpful as we can't seem to make a choice now!

It's a lovely choice to have.

I wouldn't worry about league rankings. Bright children will do well at any of these schools. I think you just need to consider what type of education you're after.

I do not know either school as a pupil or parent, but I am familiar with Kings and I would suggest that there are probably very few places in the world, let alone the UK, that can match it's beauty. And I know it sounds naff, but that really is the appropriate word; beauty. Youngsters will obviously not appreciate it at the time (why would they), but that experience should not be underestimated. To have the opportunity to spend your formative years around that history is incredible.

As a youngster, I went to Merchant Taylors School and then, at Sixth Form, attended Sherborne. So not quite the same, but it was a switch from a typical London academic school to a far grander establishment (which, at the time, was nothing like as academic). I loved both. Would I have done better if I stayed at Taylors? Probably. Did Sherborne educate me in a different way and open my eyes to opportunities that aren't reflected in league tables? Absolutely.

That said, both your options are academically fantastic so you don't even need to make that compromise.

Just go with what feels right. Think about where he'll be happiest - that's all you can do.

Someone told us recently that Highgate was quite a new "upcoming school"; they've done well to allow girls in and to expand, but this has been the drive for why they are up there as well (in this person's eyes). It did resonate with me quite a bit. We have many friends with children in Highgate - mostly doctors children, and they've all been very happy there, although all day the Junior School provision has been better than the senior school.

KC has a huge and wonderful history, and although we don't know it we do have one set of friends with a child there who love it. There are advantages to a boarding environment, and there are disadvantages.

Both are exceptional schools so it really depends what you want other than rankings.

@Talbot53 Thank you, it’s indeed a lovely choice to have. KC probably has the best looking campus we’ve seen. There’s an ‘edge’ to London schools in good and bad ways, and it’s really hard to see what boys suit that atmosphere. DS is still so young! I think he’ll be happier at KC for sure, though he will go in with no friends from his current school.

@PandemelonFelon KC fulfills our criteria more, but we are unexpectedly finding it so difficult to turn down Highgate. Every friend/schoolmom thinks I am crazy to turn it down for KC. Rankings don’t matter to me as I went to a terrible comp and yet found myself a decent career, but I have a feeling that things have changed for the current generation. There’s so much pressure for exams and university admissions and I am worried our choice may make it a more difficult process.

I know quite a few people who turn down Highgate for UCS, Habs etc - it's got good PR but it's nothing more special than the other local private schools.

DS left King’s a couple of years ago and is now at Cambridge. He had offers from more academic schools higher up the league tables but we much preferred the atmosphere at King’s - the music, thr historic setting, less hot house than some some other schools, and what we saw as a fairly grounded, ethnically diverse student body. The academic range at King’s is wider than that at some other selective schools but the top sets compete very successfully with the top sets elsewhere - so I would not worry about positions in the league tables.
Given that you are also looking at Highgate, I imagine your big choice will be between day and boarding. We wanted full boarding, so King’s was an obvious choice - and we were also happy that there was not a mass exodus to London every weekend which meant DS remained better insulated from the London party scene until he was old enough to deal with it.

I don't think there is enough between the schools' rankings to consider that as a deal breaker. The main issue is which one DC prefers and whether you are happy about boarding.
It would be a very different life from being a metropolitan day boy to a full boarder in Canterbury.
I know Kings a bit and my DD had a scholarship offer but did not like the idea of boarding away from home or of losing her freedoms and as they age through their teens this is important.

I would add that while full boarding, King’s does not lock up the students. Outside school hours, they are free to go out into town, go to movies and restaurants etc with friends. And because the school is in the middle of the city they can actually do this quite easily unlike some more rural schools. Younger students are kept very busy so tend to go out less but by the time they are in sixth form they spend a lot of time out and about. DS never complained about losing freedoms - though admittedly we are not Londoners so Canterbury probably offered him much of what he wanted.

I think your key decision is day or boarding- I’d put getting that right way above which school is higher in the league tables.

We have DC at Highgate and are very happy with the school in every way- our children are very happy, well taught and it’s also what we wanted, which is a day school within walking distance of home. But if we were simply going for the school we liked the best and didn’t care about day or boarding, we might not have picked it.

Very happy to answer any specific Qs on Highgate.

Thanks all, we are ambivalent about boarding versus day. DS suits boarding very well and he is the type who will pick extra clubs and activities just to spend more time with friends.

The whole vibe at KC was a shock to my system, it was so relaxed and peaceful! I don't know if DS will find it too slow, moving from the middle of London and a very busy school. Overall I think it's a good thing for teenagers though.

@DenmarkKastrup thanks for your feedback, I'm not sure if DS will end up in the top sets, but he definitely needs a bit of challenging and nudging to do his best. Hope KC will be able to provide that. It's also more international than the other boarding schools we considered, which means it's incredibly diverse.

OP,

You and your dilemma both sound lovely. I would let DS lead on a choice like this one with no wrong answer

His mental health is obviously the most important thing so while planning ahead is important, if his placement in the top sets is iffy then I wonder whether his DF may have slightly grand ambitions? Many of the mums at the gates of your current (independent ?) school will find in a few years that they did. At that point people like me are the personal tutor to their DC who have been rejected from Oxbridge and it is very sad that some of these wonderful young people feel they have badly let their parents down

poetryandwine Thank you, and yes the dilemma is even worse because DS can't make a choice! He says he likes both equally.

He's a smart boy, he is also waitlisted at one of the London top 2 day schools and we did it all without any tutoring. DS is clear he doesn't want this school though, it was too small and cramped according to him! Who knows where he'll place in the senior school, but my only fear is that he gets challenged less than what he's used to. He seems to thrive under pressure so are we then doing him a disservice not going for the super-academic school? It's hard to predict these things, but am happy to go with the 'happier' school if his results will be more or less the same.

DS sounds lovely, also. And more academic than you first presented him. Do you think he really cannot make up his mind or do you think he might prefer KC, but knows his DF prefers H? Perhaps he also feels DF must know best about the advantages of H. From the perspective of a former university admission tutor, I doubt there is much difference and suggest you research university placements if you have any concerns.

DS left King's a couple of years ago and is now at Cambridge. Highgate's superior results are probably less to do with superior teaching than with having a more narrowly selective intake. King's is definitely a comprehensive rather than a grammar but there are plenty of bright and talented children there and the fact that there are two of us here with sons currently at Cambridge suggests that they do something right. Your son sounds as though he would do well at either, so I think you should focus on whether he would benefit from boarding or day and the ethos of the schools. We're a London family and I'm really glad that he was kept away from the London hothousing and "scene" for a few years

From our recent consideration of different schools, King's Canterbury has a rather more selective admissions policy than is being suggested here.Less so that the major London schools along with the leading co-eds Brighton, Wellington etc but not much different from Marlborough, Rugby, Teddies etc and probably a bit ahead of rest of the pack.It's true that King's is readier than some others to admit average children.The King's headmaster is leaving shortly and whoever is appointed will send a signal whether there is an ambition to remain a leading academic school.

Thank you @Aethelthryth I feel reassured after hearing so many positive stories.

Agree @Chakri that the new Head will be looking to make major changes, and I wonder if it'll be in a more academic direction. I do hope they don't lose the relaxed ethos though. Brighton, for example, has 95% A*-A - I cannot imagine what they must do to achieve this. KC does have a higher Oxbridge % than several schools on your list, so they seem to be doing something right for sure.

We found the KC admissions process 'interesting' and completely different from that of any other school. They seem to value cultural fit and well-roundedness rather than interviews or tests, which I liked.

This link from the Spectator gives Oxbridge entrance stats for 2020 for the top 100 schools in UK.

www.keystonetutors.com/news/oxbridge-which-schools-get-the-most-offers#

Only a snap shot but Kings comes in at 93, Marlborough 90, Highgate 29 just behind Winchester at 28.

Lots of State 6th Form Colleges doing very well - but these schools are often more selective than the big private schools.

Would be interesting (though not possible due to Data Protection rules) to see a subject break down - as there is perhaps a difference between a place to read Economics and Management at New College and one to read theology at St Benet‘s Hall.

OP,

I hope your DS has made some progress in his thinking.

@Canyouengineerfreespeech , thank you for your useful link. I just wanted to highlight that aside from Westminster, with an Oxbridge acceptance rate of 50%, it shows that most applicants everywhere will not be admitted. So surely other criteria are more important in school selection.

Also, 52 of the 100 schools with the greatest numbers of successful Oxbridge candidates were state schools including No 2 and No 4. Only 22 of these were grammar schools, the highest ranking being No 14.

@poetryandwine we are still nowhere close to a decision, though we may have to take one day and one boarding place and then decide towards the end of Y8.

I don't know if DS will want an oxbridge subject or not, but what I want is for him to not lose opportunities. I was a brilliant student at a terrible school, and the school actively discouraged me from applying to Oxbridge. It took me years to recognise my academic ability. If he does decide he wants to go to an Oxbridge or Ivy League he may have a slightly higher probability at a higher ranked school, but it's hard to predict these things especially with boys so young who really don't know what they want to do.

Hi OP,

I hope we haven’t had a misunderstanding.

I would never want to discourage a capable pupil from applying to Oxbridge, if they genuinely wanted to and could thrive there. But I do not like to see 18-20 year olds feel they have failed because they didn’t get in, and O and C aren’t even necessarily the best choices for all who attend - no university is. Having been educated in a somewhat more egalitarian country, I find their disproportionate influence on the power centres of the U.K. troubling.

DH is a Cambridge man and did not thrive academically until his third and fourth years, although he had a lot of fun also. Much of that may be down to the fact that his personal tutor, a famous professor, was an alcoholic with no interest in his pastoral duties. There was virtually no academic feedback. That would not be tolerated now.

My opportunities were also constrained so of course I understand your determination to do better by your child. It is very sympathetic. But looking at the numbers in that table, I suspect the difference between H and KC is largely down to the selectivity of their intake. I also firmly believe that within reason a happy child is more likely to do their best. Exam performance is included in this but so is being quietly confident and well spoken, developing and demonstrating originality of thought, etc - incidentally the qualities of mind prized by Oxbridge admissions tutors. Between H and KC I think you can’t go wrong and wherever your DS is happy he will do well.

@Chakri @frankintense I have been following this thread and I'm also interested in what direction that you think KC will take with the appointment of the new head.

From the KC website "Ms Lowson has exceptional academic credentials, having worked in some of the UK’s top performing schools.
She is currently the acting Head of King’s College School, Wimbledon. Prior to that, she was Deputy Head, Academic at Putney High having started her teaching career at Whitgift School. She holds an MA in History from the University of Cambridge."

Is this a hint that they are going to move more academic?

@makeitsonumber1 definitely seems like it. She was only in KCS for a year so would love to hear from parents at Putney High about her approach.

I attended Kings’ Week and met several parents and students as part of my research, and now am even more confused! The international ethos is great (it’s the most international school I have looked at, including the likes of Eton) but it was too quiet/relaxed? Anyway we will keep thinking.