Need insider's perspective - Francis Holland, Queen's Gate, Glendower, Falkner House

[ballerinamum]

This is my first post so forgive any faux pas (and the oft-repeated topic for that matter).

We moved from NY 16 months ago. DD is entering Reception this Sept. She's in nursery in Notting Hill. We registered for Pembridge Hall, Chepstow House and Norland Place. No chance of getting in though as we registered 3 years and 2 months too late.

DD is accepted to Francis Holland, Queen's Gate and Glendower and wait-listed at Falkner House. Deposit is due on 2 Feb. We need serious advice on schools. Are there any mums reading this with DDs currently enrolled at these schools? If so, please share your opinions. Specifically, which school is best academically? Which is more concerned about the whole child? Does the wait-list at FH move at all and should we work it or ditch it? Do the on-going schools (i.e. QC and FH) have any incentive to place their girls elsewhere for secondary education? Which school has the best maths and sciences teaching (for me, a litmus test for academic standards, especially for girls' schools)?

FYI, DD is very smart, verbal and social. But I don't sense a scholar or genius in her. She is more charming than bookish. She LOVES ballet and I see she can be good. She is a mid-Sept baby (i.e. will be one of the oldest in her year).

I would be most grateful for quick responses because of the timing imposed by the schools (not because I want to be pushy). Thanks!

Really? But I heard from a number of parents last weekend that they have made their minds up and have told the school they chose and the ones they rejected what their decision was, so I assumed that there would be some movement in the waiting lists this week, before the Feb 2 deadline.

Dina, I think that a lot of parents are also waiting on Knightsbridge and Garden House offers / waiting list places, as letters are out this week...so I think tomorrow and Thursday may be the days with list movement.

yes, sorry dina, I didn't mean to seem gloom mongering- just on basis of OP who holds 3 places but wants the waiting list place, completely understandable, so important to make the right decision. But it just seemed to me that if there is another person in the same boat except different offers and different waiting list they both will rightly leave it til the last minute to see if place comes up at first choice school. then you take your second choice last minute. So then for example there are four new places up for grabs - unless the schools over offer...but these places dont come up before the deadline
and garden house are still interviewing - I know this cos I have a friend who is desparate for garden house (girls) but not interviewed til friday, tho they have other offers - so no doubt they will accept one of them (by the thurs deadline)to make sure they have a back up in case dont get gh. yet there is probably someone sitting on a garden house place desperate for one of the places she holds. But if she gets garden house the place she takes up will be free - just not til earliest next week. IYSWIM...
Long and rambling, sorry...all a bit of a nightmare from what I can make out, need some sort of pooling system!!
good luck to all!

anyone with any views on Knightsbridge and Garden House at all?

Today is the day! Good luck all with decisions and movements on the waiting lists. The thing I keep telling myself is that we are so fortunate to have these options and that you really can't go far wrong with any of these schools.

BTW: any school can change head, and it is normal for thereto be pretty big staff churn about 1year after.

The SW London school which has the "buzz" about it at the moment is co-ed. Are you set on single sex? If not, look at Newton Prep too. Head (rather a Marmite figure) is shortly to be head of IAPS.

Sorry about the long silence. I wrote a long response to london555's post about the timing issue with acceptances and waitlists. But the system logged me out when I tried to post and I didn't have time to rewrite the response.

Anyway, we have accepted Falkner House (or rather they accepted us). I dropped DD off at nursery in Notting Hill and was about to hop onto the Circle line to Sloane Square to drop off the Francis Holland contract and deposit. Falkner House called and told me to hold off 15 min (we kept a short line of communication over the past days and they knew my timing). I did and, sure enough, Mrs. Griggs came back with good news. So I got off at Gloucester St instead to complete the paperwork with FH. Thank goodness I brought a blank cheque.

I did release the spots I knew I wouldn't take a couple of days ago but had to keep one. I am certain, though, that FrH simply called the next person in line on the reserve list and promptly filled my spot within a minute of my call.

I understand the merit of having a common timeline (notification period, deadline for acceptances) for schools in a consortium. Unfortunately, there is this inevitable game of musical chairs right up to the last minute.

This is a possible solution:

• Maintain a common deadline for deposits but establish a 6-12 hour grace period after the timeline during which candidates with definite offers are allowed to keep their places as long as they tell the schools that they need the grace period.
• Any acceptances made during the grace period will be honoured but for higher deposit amounts (say 25% over the normal amounts).
• There is monetary incentive for parents to accept places by the normal deadline.
• Parents who are waitlisted at their first choice schools know that they can hold spots at their second choices for the grace period, during which they get a chance to find out if the reserve lists have moved in their favour. They need to pay a premium for this extra timing, but this beats having to pony up an entire deposit for another spot. Also, in the current system, many parents do end up paying 2 deposits. Some of them may not even bother telling the "unwanted" school promptly, figuring that if they have paid the full deposit, they are entitled to sit on a spot and maybe take more time to make a firm decision. In this scenario, there is still movement in the reserve lists until perhaps May / Jun when the first term's fees are due.

I've got to think this through but don't you think that the basic grace period concept should work to allocate spaces more efficiently? I told Mrs. Griggs at FH about this and she seemed to think there is merit to it.

Right now, I sense the frustration from so many mums on this thread. I myself was also very distracted and a bit stressed. I also feel very bad that I could not let FH know until the last hour before the deadline.

I'm pleased you got your school of choice, Ballerinamum, and like your idea of a grace period with a financial penalty attached.

Other thoughts on the process;

Think that all local schools should also agree to have the deadlines on the same date; Garden House and Knightsbridge were working to a different timetable to the all-girls' schools, causing much confusion and stress.

Can't think that it's a fair process when people are being offered places at schools whilst interviews are still taking place; would be better to agree that all interviews take place in January, that all offers are made on the same day 3 days later, and that people have another week to make up their minds, knowing exactly what offers they have.

Schools could offer deposit reductions for people who are able to accept the offer within e.g. 2 days rather than the week.

Congratulations! Am so pleased it all worked out for you - as quantitativeeasing said all these school have great reputations but if you have a gut feeling great to get the one you like.
I hope you didn't take offence at my post, I didn't mean it as an attack on you at all - you have to go with the system that you are given IYSWIM, but as you say is a messy system...and I am sure there are some parents who are very grateful to you for one releasing your 3rd and 4th choices early and two for calling francis holland as soon as you could. Let's hope everyone else has been as helpful and upfront as you. A friend told me that at her child's school people just didn't turn up on the first day, empty desk with child's name on it!! Incredible - ok you have given that school a large sum of money so why shd you tell them, but think about the child that could be sitting there!
Yes, seems to me that once you are at waiting list/offer stage there should be no stigma to people saying this is first choice and this is second. Surely it is in the interest of the schools longer term to have the children whose parents REALLY want the child to be there to have the place?
Anyway again I am so pleased you got your first choice!

Thanks for all the kind words.

london555, why would I take your observation the wrong way as it is so correct and astute? Please don't worry! I strongly believe that fellow mums tend to be very supportive of each other - motherhood is a great equalizer! It does (and should) weigh on my conscience that I was taking so much time to compare schools when I think that intuition counts most.

BeckyBlunt, completely agree with your suggestion that there should be financial incentives for early decisions. Just because one has the right to mull over multiple offers till the deadline doesn't mean that it is decent to sit on all of them once one's mind is made up.

Don't know what to do about schools outside of a consortium. I heard that Thomas' actually requires parents to commit way back in Nov. And of course they would commit for sheer peace of mind. But can Thomas' actually be sure that they can finalise their Reception class before parents hear back from other schools? I think requiring parents to commit before other nearby schools even begin their assessments simply lulls Thomas' into a false sense of security. But it is a means to generate revenues...

As someone who moved to London only a year or so ago, I think it's only fair that I point out that the "musical chairs" phenomenon is not unique to London. I don't want anyone to think that I am an arrogant outsider who is quick to chide and slow to bless. I can tell you from first hand experience that it's equally nerve-racking in NY (and possibly in any other big cities).

Before we moved to London, we applied to a few preschools for DD. Preschool years are the 3 years before kindergarten (2+ to 4+). Many of these schools have a common deadline (I won't go into the intricacies of the NY independent schools system but suffice it said that there is an association that governs the timing of application process, notification, acceptance etc.)

We were waitlisted by our first choice school but got other offers. During the 2-3 week period between the offers and the response deadline, we kept in touch with our first choice school and kept our second choice place. As our second choice was just 5 minutes from our home, I reckoned that I could have sprinted over with a cheque any time so I could afford to cut it close. 20 minutes before the noon deadline for deposits, I called our first choice school. The Director of Admissions told me to hold. She eventually came out of her meeting and offered us a place (and a grace period to execute the contract). I I emailed our second choice school immediately and, to my surprise, got a very warm understanding response. I guess the schools are used to this 11th hour madness.

Absolutely, it must be the same anywhere there are a lot of people chasing a few schools. It would be nice if a better system could be worked out to save parents (and their children) a lot of anxiety and wasted deposits!!

Bizarrely, Thomas's in Fulham only make their boy offers now; well after all deposits have been paid for Knightsbridge, Garden House etc back in November.

Not sure why they'd do this, but I know that this is also causing headaches for some, who are now wondering whether to switch after they've already shelled out for a chunky deposit.

Also, it wasn't ideal doing DD's interviews in 2 stints, with 3 schools wanting answers in November, before she did most of the interviews in January. Believe that many will have done what we did, and reject the first batch of offers, holding the low-deposit Hill House as a back-up option.

Hello Ballerinamum
I am sorry I never saw this post as I am an insider in QG junior school and we are in-love with it... but I am glad you got your first choice. I hope all goes well and your daughter has a lovely time

Does anyone happen to know when the letters for Bute House will be sent out?

I noticed the discussion about central London schools, and I understand the concerns about finding the right school for your particular child. The stress is increased when you suddenly hear of a change in headship or key staff leaving, so I thought it might be helpful to introduce myself: I am the Head designate of Francis Holland, Sloane Square, and will be taking over in September. To reassure you, (I hope!), I have a family of four children, two girls, two boys, and have been Head of a Montessory pre-school, Director of Studies at two prep schools and Senior Mistress of another, before becoming (via two other schools), the Senior Leader and Head of Sixth Form of Downe House, a girls' boarding school in Berkshire. I'm privileged, therefore, to have taught and led at every level of education and in every type of school (boarding, day, co-ed, single sex, city and country). After a degree at Cambridge, I had several other jobs before becoming a teacher so hopefully I have a little understanding of 'real life' too. I am passionate about providing a vibrant, exciting and holistic education for every child, and forming a partnership with parents in the care of their child. I'd be delighted to answer any queries and I look forward to welcoming anyone who would like to look round from September.
Lucy Elphinstone

You mean Montessori I presume...

How many places are available in 4+

in fhs (francis holland)