Secondary private schools in london or greater london

[Daniel123456789]

Hi guys and gals, my son is currently in Year 6 and we’re currently thinking of applying to future schools. The school goes up to Year 8 and we’re not sure which are the hard and easy schools. We have visited a couple such as St Albans, Merchant Taylors, Haberdashers, St Pauls, Westminster, City of London and John Lyon, Aldenham, Berkhamstead for back up. We’re thinking about these. Can you please tell me about which of these schools are the hardest and the “best”. We have been given information by the head, but want to know more.

Aldenham and John Lyon aren’t in the same class as the others in your list. You don’t say where you live but presumably that will have some influence on your choice? Why don’t you look at the exam league tables?

There is no one 'best' - it depends very much on what you value most in a school and what your boy is like.

Also if not already registered, you have missed the application deadline for Westminster 13+ entry for 2024, and may have missed others which pre-test in year 6.

Also, I notice that you have given quite a geographic spread of schools. Is that because you are contemplating moving house? Do not underestimate the negative effect of a difficult school run - whether too long, too complex or too unreliable

@AnotherNewt no, currently our priority is to get into the schools and then choose. For the city schools we can get the train. And for the others, coach or drive will be no problem. My most important question is how hard are these schools compared to each other. I really don’t want to put too much pressure on my son, but equally it has to be a school that has a good campus, facilities, achieves good results and gains places at top universities. Reputation, history and tradition are aspects that we’re not prioritising at all, but it would be good for a school to have a good reputation and history as a side benefit.

I need to clarify that my son is finishing year 5. I thought it was appropriate to call him year 6, but clearly it only brings up misunderstanding.

You may get a better response if you ask for the thread to be moved to the secondary education section (this is for tertiary education), and if you set out a short profile of the needs and aspirations of your son (because no school is all things to all children).

His current school goes to 13. If it is a prep school of any worth, they will be advising on senior schools to best fit your son. Have you discussed this with them? I ask this because your list is unusually diverse, and it isn't at all obvious why they have been listed together.

@maryso These are the schools that my son’s current school feeds. We like them the most and they are the schools which will be the easiest to apply to because of the connections from my son’s current school.

I assume that when you say "easiest to apply to" that means the school knows how to match the boy to the school. So ask them, that's why they're called "prep schools".

It has been a while since mine, and then there were a handful of schools (two of which are listed here) that always interviewed on the same day so there was no way you could apply to more than one of them. Any other applications would be insurances, and almost always unnecessary, because a competent prep school would almost certainly know whether they would get in, if you take their advice.

As you have chosen not to say what your son is looking for, people will struggle to say much more than what you can find by looking up the school websites. It would be unusual to apply to all of them because they cater for different types of boy. Again, this section is for tertiary, not secondary, education, so asking for he thread to be moved will be more productive for you.

Your prep should be guiding you on this but in the May of Y6 surely you've missed lots of deadline for pre-test? What have the school said?

If you’ve recently visited the nine schools you listed then you will be at least as well-informed as most people on here.

In terms of “hardest” to get into (most selective/competitive), the top group would be Westminster, St Paul’s, City, Habs.

Then Merchant Taylors’, St Albans.

Then (after a bigger gap) your “backup” group: John Lyon, Aldenham and Berkhamsted.

“Best” is only ascertainable by reference to fit with your DS. There’s a world of difference in feel between the very urban Westminster and City, on the one hand, and the green-belt Hertfordshire schools, on the other. I have a DS the same age as yours and it has long been obvious which of these “habitats” would best suit him. Your instincts are well worth heeding when visiting a school - I have definitely had strong gut feelings (positive or negative) when visiting potential schools for both DC and listening to their Heads’ presentations.

Current Y5 were born in 2011/12 which was the peak birthrate year in London so far this century. Expect competition to be tough, listen to your prep school’s advice and apply to a range of schools. And good luck to your DS for finding his perfect fit.

Mill Hill is one which isn’t on your list, but which you might consider.

This is our area. This is the order

Westminster
St Pauls
Above very similar.
Haberdashers - had daughter there in girls one
Merchant Taylors - had son in this one
[not sure about City of London but probably level pegging with the 2 above or similar but never looked at it as we live too far out]

John Lyon

St Albans

Aldenham if you cannot get in anywhere else and are fairly intellectual challenged.

(Dont' know about Berkhamstead - it is not that great from memory)

Aldenham is superb for kids with dyslexia - they have a wide range with a top stream for those looking at Oxbridge and will also support those for whom vocational courses are good. Friend has two kids there and they have been excellent at supporting each child to meet their different potentials.

I would only recommend Habs if your boy is the 'alpha type' - confident and sporty - wouldn't send a shy boy to Habs. Your issue is that 13+ entries have shrunk recently (e.g. UCS doesn't take at 13+ anymore). If your child is in year 5 I wouldn't rule out doing the 11+ as there are many more places available.

OP, it's sounds like your son is in a prep that prepares them for CE at 13+?

Or are you thinking of moving him at 11 plus (ie going into Year 7)?

Surely the school are advising you?

Look at the Best Schools to get an idea of rankings by exam results..

But don't get to hung up on 'the best school' because a) admission is fierce and b) the differences in exam results that determine those rankings are minuscule (eg a decimal percentage figure between the 'top' school and others in say, the top 20). Eg. If Westminster gets 98% A and a school like Highgate gets 95%, it's hardly a great shakes is it? Even if a school achieved 80% A, as long as your child's grades are in the upper 4/5ths of that cohort, it's the same difference.

If you are considering 11 plus entry and are prepared to move house, you could look at the 11 plus 'super selectives' such as Highgate (co-ed), Latymer Upper School (co-ed), City of London Boys or Hampton School. Bear in mind though that these are super- competitive entry with around 10 applicants per place.

For 13+ entry, don't they tell you what his scores are from a whole series of mock pre-tests and then advise you accordingly? Different schools will be asking for different scores in pre-tests.

What are the current school saying?

As for university destinations, there is no such thing as a any school "getting them in" to Oxbridge or whatever. All uni applications are strongly contextualised.

For 11 plus or 13 plus entry, another 'top' school is Kings College in Wimbledon.

Basically, off the top of my head, the top (academic) schools in London for boys (inc co-ed options) are -

Westminster
St Paul's
Kings Wimbledon
Latymer Upper
CLBS
Highgate
Hampton
Haberdashers
Merchant Taylor's

Those are probably the 'top tier' and an able child will probably do equally well in any of them. At that level, it's more about the atmosphere in the school and whether you like it. Also, whether you want a co-ed sixth form because some boys schools become co-ed at this age (ie. Kings and Westminster).

Also, Kings Wimbledon offer the IB as well as A-levels if that's of interest.

Also, some of those schools have withdrawn from the league tables as they don't believe in them and think it's a nonsense, so do bear this in mind. Look in the websites fir the above schools and you'll see the results are within a few percentage points of each other, year on year.

Sorry, where it's gone bold type above, the A was meant to be A*

Hi we loved St Albans. It’s particularly known for its science and maths facilities as well as its amazing music. It achieves fabulous results. At the moment, my son’s choices are St Albans, Westminster, Harrow and St Paul’s. We have been told that St Albans is harder than Merchant Taylors, easier than Habs but its academic scholarship is extremely hard. We know a few friends who went there and they didn’t get an academic scholarship to St Albans but also got into academically focused schools such as Latymer. The headmaster said that Harrow is in between Merchant Taylor’s and St Albans in terms of difficulty and also said that he could get into St Pauls. He said that Westminster is a bit of a stretch unless he works his socks off.

The school that my son currently goes to was established as a Harrow school feeder, but kids primarily go to Merchant Taylors and John Lyon with some kids also going to St Pauls, Westminster and Haileybury.