St Helens Girls Northwood Vs North London Collegiate School

[Mysillymummy]

hello parents,
I have recently moved into London , my DD is going to turn 4 in January and we are trying to understand what private school options we can have. We live in Ruislip, with some research we found that St Helens and NLCS are good options for her, st Helens is just a 10 mins drive away and NLCS is more of a 30 min drive. We are trying to understand what is the difference between the two, my partner is favors St Helens as it is a quick drive away but I see the reviews for NLCS are amazing , so my mom brain won't allow me to settle. Please help !

If you went to NCLS (assuming you get in- it’s very competitive) you could be a very long way away from her friends which will impact play dates and parties etc. I also think 30 mins is optimistic for school run travel. It’s a fantastic school but very far away from where you live and getting in isn’t easy.

St Helen’s is an excellent school. I’d look at Northwood College too.

Can only really speak for the secondary but obv long term planning. Both schools are excellent. I would say NCLS is more of a "pushy" school and St Helens is more "nurturing". but others may have other experiences.

Depends what you want for your child either. honestly if they're bright they'll probably thrive in either way.

I also think you'd be lucky to do that morning run to NCLS in 30 minutes even not in rush hour

Please don’t listen to the ‘pushy’ vs ‘nurturing’ comments. It is such a tired myth. School with great results - must be pushy. School with less good results - must be nurturing. It just isn’t that simple! On another thread someone will no doubt say St Helen’s - pushy but XYZ school with less good results - nurturing.

The idea that schools with clever pupils must somehow be pushier (automatically) suggests that clever people are inherently pushier. Surely clever people have to push less hard to get where they want to get?! You’d have to push less bright students a lot harder to get great results.

My comments about being pushier is not based on results at all. The difference in results between st h and NLCS is so negliable anyway that as an individual you're likely to get the same results regardless of which school you go to.

It's based on the experiences of myself and my friends. Pushier is not always bad and it's not always for less bright kids. Lots of bright kids want to be pushed and stretched too. Some thrive under that..others don't. It's horses for courses

Go for the local school for primary - your DD’s life will be less stressful - and revisit at secondary school age.

Hi @Mysillymummy !

The biggest difference is at Secondary level and Sixth Form: people generally consider that St Helen's is less academic and has a broader ability range; North London is more academic.

Having read the post , we are in a similar situation and need help in deciding between NLCS vs St Helen’s for secondary.

St Helens is more local - less travel and DD has got an academic scholarship

NLCS - will take around 40 mins travel - coach or public transport

DD is a keen and sincere in her academics with interests in Art, part of school netball and athletics team. Hasn’t shown any inclination towards music or drama so far.

So trying to know which would be the better choice

i am tilting towards St Helens as it’s closer , we know the area and there is a scholarship.

but I often hear a lot about being a one sided crowd without diversity , results are better in NLCS as it’s better ranked etc

would really like to hear from parents whose children are in the schools, or just passed out , especially with the recent headmistress changes