Sarah Bonnell or Harris Science Academy – Have I made the wrong choice?

[ThatBreezyFox]

My daughter has been offered a place at Sarah Bonnell School, which was our second choice. The school I initially preferred — Harris Science Academy East London — was actually my third choice. I put it lower on the form at the time because I wasn’t completely sure, but after submitting the application and looking into it more, I’ve realised it seems like a really strong school academically.
All of my daughter’s friends are going to Sarah Bonnell and she is very keen to go there. She feels happy and comfortable knowing she’ll be with people she already knows.
I’m torn because I’m wondering whether the Science Academy might offer stronger academic opportunities, but she wouldn’t know anyone there and would be starting completely from scratch socially.
I’d really appreciate hearing from any parents with children at either school. How have your children found it — both academically and socially? If you were in my position, would you prioritise friends and familiarity, or the school you feel may be stronger on paper?
Feeling very conflicted and would value some honest experiences and advice

I used to live in the area and always heard good things about SB. My friend's son went to Science Academy and she was not at all happy. I would not upset your daughter by a. Rejecting the school she's been offered and b. Taking her away from her friends. Often the Harris look good on paper but my DC went to school which looks bad on paper and yet they did much better than my older son (who went to a 'better' school) and also better than friends and family at private school. They were very happy in the school and I think it made all the difference to their success.

Thank you for your response. To be honest, we’ve had a long think about this and I’m getting a lot of mixed feedback about Sarah Bonnell—some positive and some negative.

It’s a tough decision for us, and we still have a lot to think about. I really appreciate your feedback and I’m hoping more people will comment on this post so we can hear more experiences and reviews.

Experiences are definitely much more reliable than ofsted or exam results. If your daughter has any particular interests or things which are important to her, check out which school is stronger eg.
DS1's school v bad with Special Ed needs, this is widely recognised in the area
DC2 & 3 school not strong on languages (this is important to me so we had to supplement with tuition)
DS1 school very supportive parents but also competitive and 'average' kids rarely celebrated and I think so less well as a result
DC 2 & 3 school, encouraged self improvement and doing best, average kids do very well and are celebrated as there are very few very clever or overly tutored kids.