Nurseries and North London Collegiate

[tlat]

HI, It's just been suggested to me that I need to start thinking about nurseries for DD! DH and I are quite keen for her to go on to NLC at 4+ as she has a cousin there who loves it and we have heard nice things from her parents about the school, plus it's soo close to us. I think I read somewhere on mumsnet about NLC having some feeder nurseries, not officially but just where a lot of the girls attended? Do any of you ladies know which these are? Thanks so much for all your help in advance!

I'd like to congratulate horsemadmom on raising such an apparently vile daughter. I could be equally vile at that age, and thought I was better/cleverer than my (state school) teachers. However my mother would have gone berserk if she had know I was indulging in such behaviour, rather than boasting about it on an internet forum. Although she was obviously a terrible mother as I grew up to be a teacher at one of those 'crappy' schools. I mean I must be awful at my job, what with teaching a child who is expected to get a full scholarship to a leading independent while simultaneously teaching a 10 year old who cannot yet construct a written sentence due to his severe special needs, shitty home life and lack of English.

I went to a selective girls' school (not quite as high achieving as NLCS but almost). I think it's probably worth pointing out that Horsemadmom is not an official spokesperson for the school and to be honest probably doesn't portray the school in its best light. If the school management saw her comments they would quite likely be a little miffed. Clearly she is extremely enthusiastic about the school but maybe she has taken some of their ethos and internalised it a bit to fit in with her own values?

Fwiw, I was always towards the top of the (narrow) ability range at my school and we did have one teacher who struggled a bit in our top set further maths A level classes. She had come to teaching later in life and it was her first year working. Sometimes she would try to work through a problem on the board and would get stuck, standing back and saying "oh dear, I think I've made a mistake". She would get quite flustered and would clearly be mortified but this was her own pride causing her feelings, definitely not the girls! We never ever ever made a comment about it. I moaned a bit to my parents as I preferred my other maths teacher who was more experienced but I would have been given hell for being rude to her.

Finally, my brother also went to an extremely academic private school. He was always close to the bottom of the ability range and was never, ever, ever threated with being asked to leave. The teachers made extra time for him, and celebrated his slightly lower achievements every bit as much as the other boys' slightly higher achievements.

if you ask me the whole admissions process to NLCS is completely flawed.

Its simply not a level playing field, so many children go to nursery, some go to get extra tuition and some have specific preparation for the assessments.

there is one woman tutoring kids who actually replicates the day of the assessment each week for 3 months before the assessment, and says she has great results on getting kids in.

From my research into the good nurseries, Stanmore Montessori came pretty much at the bottom of the pecking order, they havent a clue what they are doing and you can see that in their offsted along with the fact that recently they have barely had anyone be successful at getting into nlcs.

I know this thread is very old but I just had to comment. Seriously ladies - the way you have all ganged up on horsemadmum isn't so different from the way the 8 year olds ganged up on the teacher, and you're all grown ups! And on that note, the girls in my state school had the teachers in tears on an almost weekly basis!

OK so the 2% comment rubbed up people the wrong way, but who cares if someone thinks there is a way of discerning talent and everyone else thinks it's flawed? How about we all respect each other's opinions and choices and not get so self-righteous.

I went to a state school because my parents couldn't afford a private school and I didn't know about grammar schools until I got to year 11. I then went to a selective sixth form. We still had a fair mix of excellent and rubbish teachers in both schools but my experiences were SIGNIFICANTLY different. At the state school, I told my teacher I wanted to become a doctor and he laughed and said "do you know how hard that is to get into??" Talk about encouragement! At the grammar school, I was given all the information, encouragement and support I needed to apply and get into oxbridge, where I got a first. It has made every stage of my career so much more straightforward that I have that to fall back on. And yes, it was all thanks to the selective school that I went to in the final two years of my education, for once I didn't have to struggle to achieve on my own against the current that just wanted you to settle for being average.

I hope for the sake of all children that most state schools are not like my old one (which was actually above average results wise) and are continuing to improve. But I am not sure I want to take that risk with my daughter...

If it helps, we read most, if not all, of Horsemadmum's posts (including ''the 2% ability one'') and they did us a lot of good. Without wishing to raise a sleeping dog, the ''2% ability'' theory truly galvanized us. So, soldier on, Horsemadmum!

Aw, thanks Randy and Zorik!
I really just ignore the people with tall poppy syndrome. I think that if their attitude wasn't so prevalent, my kids would be strolling down to the local comp (which would still be a grammar school).
Hope it all goes well for your DDs!

horsemadmom,
I just stumbled on this thread and am really glad that someone reopened it recently. Your message of Tue 24-May-11 14:26:50 caught my eye: "the girls that they take at 4 do as well those who come in at 7 and 11." Where did you get that information? I've been looking for this sort of thing for quite some time and I've not been able to find any hard data.

Hi! That's actually from the school itself and the reason that they expanded the 4+ entry to 2 forms. They had to turn away a lot of girls at 4 that they would have happily had. Some came back at later entry points but many were lost to other schools. NLCS is very good at tracking this stuff.

horsemadmom,
Thank you very much.

I just saw this thread, as my DD has been offered a place at NLCS.
I feel the comments about horsemadmom have been too harsh.
She just wants the best for her child and it is great that she found a school for her DD which suits her so well.

Private schools are after all businesses and not comparable to state schools, which provide free and universal access.

Some children, which may have been asked to leave, may have truly struggled. I believe it is much better for these children's self-esteem to be in a less academic school where they are average rather than always be the very bottom (even with additonal support, which in fact NLCS provides according to my headmistress of a non competitive school).

Also, some children just get in because of heavy tutoring and then struggle. This means they are just not at the right school.

In any case, everyone's choice should be respected. I agree with horsemadmom we all would like to send our children to state schools if they provided an excellent education but they often don't and particularly the very able children are left behind the most.

Congrats,Lilly! I'm sure your daughter will have a fantastic time. Reception is a really exciting year. Top tip- get your DD to do as much for herself as possible between now and September. Eating with a knife and fork, using the loo, getting dressed, carrying her own bags (very important if she's using the coach- her chaparone will not be allowed to do it for her). You'll be amazed at how much confidence it will give her when she starts school.
My DD and I had a little moment this morning discussing her IB choices and realising how little time she has left at NLCS. We'd happily do it all again!

My daughter has actually done 7+ and will start year 3 in September. May I ask if you have any further advice? We have to accept by tomorrow. Although I know DD will do very well there I remain a little concerned about the amount of work she will have to do (obviously the results are amazing!).
As someone who comes from continental europe where children only start school at 6-7 years this remains one of my concerns.

Sorry for the confusion! Homework is sensible and the girls are gradually eased into assignments due on different days to encourage them to manage their work. 30 mins a night is about all it should take. If it takes longer than they advise, STOP! write in the homework diary. If your DD hasn't understood something then chances are she won't be the only one. The homework reinforces what they have learned or is research to get them fired up about a topic. Glance over it but don't do it yourself or prod too much. Encourage good habits from the start (home, snack, homework with no distractions and then PLAY) and your DD will find it easy to be organised for the rest of her school career. Those results have a lot to do with the culture of the school as well as selection. Learning to revise painlessly, keeping track of your work, doing it neatly and enthusiastic teaching which encourages the girls to investigate topics further bears fruit when they get to Senior School. My DD is significantly less stressed than my DS. I promise that she won't feel overloaded. In fact, my DD was usually pretty excited about her homework and projects (like hopping up and down excited)- I just had to learn not to comunicate to her that I thought she was bonkers!
The junior school is fantastic and your DD will find it very easy to make friends. The girls who have been there from 4+ are really excited to meet new people and enjoy being helpful to the new girls.

This has been very helpful advice. It has helped me to get quite a good feel about NLCS and homework. Thank you very much!

My daughter goes to Mulberry House School and almost all girls will take the 4+ to move on to schools such as NLC. Her best friend was admitted to this school this year. It's not true that they were born in Autumn/Winter as somebody said. I can confirm that one of the girls admitted last year was born on 30 August. During the test they take the month into consideration to create a balanced intake.

Appreciate this is an old thread, but.....
Considering NLCS at 4+ and the nurseries that would enhance chances, people have mentioned Mulberry as well as some other West Hampstead based nurseries. I am wondering are there any in Stanmore (where NLCS is), Pinner, Harrow, Northwood, Bushey? Basically I am in Stanmore and can't imagine a one hour morning commute to get her to West Hampsted etc. Parents have mentioned various Montessori's but the exit results aren't published and bascailly I doubt the chances of success are as great as the West Hampsted nurseries. Can anybody recommend nurseries local to NLCS whose leavers get into NLCS? (Also, we would prefer non-faith and mixed-ethnicity nurseries.)

@nwLondonDad we are local and went for Habs over NLCS but personally would not recommend one particular nursery specifically for NLCS.

When visiting nurseries, look at how they teach children, which schools children tend to go to and my personal experience would be to go for a nursery that is familiar with prep schools and 4+ as a whole, not a specific one. They will be able to honestly guide you whether your child is suited to school you want and also suggest alternatives if that is not the best place for your child.

You don't say how old your child is but the most important thing in my opinion is what parents do with their children and this starts from a young age. These schools are not looking for children that are reading and writing at 3, they want children with developed gross and fine motor skills, imagination, an interest in learning, willing to take part in new activities. Imo these are all things we should be doing with our children from early on.

My children have both had access to scissors and knives (in kitchen setting for latter) from when they were 2 but shown safety and supervised appropriately. At 4, my eldest was able to chop a potato unaided with ease. We encourage them to run around, climb trees and high frames at the park so they learn their limitations with us there. We also do sports such as football, gymnastics, yoga, dance (some taught, some at home via YouTube). When reading books, we look at pictures and describe what is happening, consider how the characters are feeling, predict what may happen next, make up our own end to the story....
If you are doing all these things and they are capable, they will get the place. A knowledgable nursery is good with advising you where is best and writing reports for the schools (I have seen some shocking ones which really do not do an excellent child justice) Some children are not ready at 4 and that is fine, they will get there in their own time.

If possible, try take them to drop off classes so they separate with ease for assessments but schools understand that may not happen and they are still little.

@nomoreusernamesplease thanks for your comments. Can you reveal what nurseries your children went to?

My child is 10 months, and we hope to send her to nursery in Sept 2022, when she is approx 2 years old. I have contacted many nurseries and they all mention waiting lists and taking deposits now. With respect to all, their fees are somewhat similar, but I'm interested in selecting nurseries with a successful history of sending kids to NLCS, that are located in Stanmore, Bushey, Pinner, etc.

As mentioned, you are going to struggle there as there are no feeder nurseries for NLCS. You will find a range of nurseries in the areas you have mentioned that have sent children to NLCS over the past 5 years but I imagine you will struggle to find one that consistently sends multiple girls there.

Have you even viewed NLCS yourself if your child is just 10 months and was born in the pandemic? Why is that the only school you are considering? You have no idea how academic or social she will be at 4 or if she will be ready for the assessment and you are absolutely right that it makes no sense at all to commute to West Hampstead for nursery just because you want her to go to NLCS.

Look at nurseries that provide the kind of environment you want for her - what you look for when a child is starting at 2 is different to when they start at 1. Like I said, consider how they approach teaching, do children choose their activities? How do they steer them into something structured? What do they do when a child does not want to participate? And if you are set on private education, start looking at other schools - there is a huge range in the areas you mentioned and lots of them provide an excellent education. You may find you like some more than NLCS and a good nursery will help direct you to the best school for your child.

FWIW my eldest started at Stanmore Montessori at 2.5years old. I did not have my heart set on private education, it was only when it was clear that academics were her strength, I considered applying and this was after she turned 3.

@nomoreusernamesplease Thanks again for your comments. NLCS is walking distance and given its national reputation, it's what we are striving for. I am not set on private education, and if we aren't accepted into NLCS, then it won't be private education.

I honestly recommend going to see the school and getting a feel for it first, most definitely before choosing a nursery solely based on whether their children end up there or not. See it on an open day (usually a weekend), meet the girls as they show you around and then see it on a school at work morning.

If you have the finances to cover NLCS fees from 4-18 then go and see other private schools and compare. As you see more schools, you will discover more about exactly what you want for your daughter. You may well end up deciding that you are happy with state sector which is absolutely fine too but to have your heart set on a school with such a high academic focus (when your baby is just 10 months old) on the basis of reputation alone is completely bizarre to me.

(I grew up on the Canons Drive estate so NLCS was quite literally at the end of my road but not the school for me. I am so so glad I did not get in there - I was academic and left school with multiple A* GCSEs and all A at A-level but I know I would not have survived there)

A piece of advice. It’s is not healthy to set your heart on NLCS when you have a 10 month old child. Whilst a wonderful school in many ways you need to see it and talk them and make a decision based on a bit more knowledge. Personally there are few schools I would less like my daughter to go to for primary. It is hardcore academic and the pressure is relentless. My son has a number of friends who have been at NLCS from the start, now lost to the end and nothing I hear about it, makes me feel any different. The girls need to be robust, super smart and resilient and you simply don’t know that at 10 months old. They may thrive and many do but you could be setting yourself up for real issues if you set your heart on it.

I would strongly encourage you to look at Habs, it’s a far gentler start for the girls as I believe is St Helens and the mixed ability private schools also do a sterling job.