SHHS vs NLCS

[itiswhatitis2]

Hello, DD got offers from both and we are now trying to make a decision. Main confounding factor for us is that SHHS is a 5 min walk while NLCS a 5 min walk + 40 min coach. NLCS has of course a better academic track record but is it different enough to warrant the extra 1:30 commute time that could be used to do other things, if not just resting?? Wouldnt any reasonably bright girl do equally well on both academically anyway (maybe it just happens that NLCS has a larger portion of even brighter girls)?

SHHS no question! Why would you put that commute on a child from 11yo (I’m assuming, even though this is in Primary Education) for at least 5 years? Also don’t underestimate the hassle for you when it comes to parents evenings, school events, location of DD’s friends. The academic results aren’t so different between the schools that it’s justified.

Just out of interest, I thought offers didn’t come out for another few weeks?

It is for year 3 entry...so even more years!

What I have been told by a few NLCS parents is that the coach time shouldn't be seen as 'lost' time as they end up socialising a lot and the girls don't really dread it. Not sure if that just isn't an optimistic perspective of it...

Oh! Sorry - no way would I do it. I think you are right in that they don’t resent the coach time, but it makes the day so long. If you have the option of an excellent school 5 mins away that is an utter luxury you shouldn’t underestimate. Our DS is doing a similar commute and started at 13, to us it feels like too long a day even at his age and he does get tired. He was ill at school on Monday and it took me nearly 1.5hrs to go and pick him up!

And DD (10) is at school 2 minutes walk from our house - lots of local children also there which makes life very easy for play dates, emergency assistance with pick ups etc. Much more of an issue at primary than secondary.

It's not as if SHHS is crapsville academy - it's a great school and I'm really not sure that academically it makes much difference where you go once you're at this level (I suspect the marginally better results at NLC are due to the intake). I think a school with a wider ability range (relatively speaking, it's still pretty titchy) is preferable anyway.

Parents always say their children love their bonkers long commutes, 'such fun'. But if you talk to adults who've had them, they frequently give a different story. I know I loathed my 50 minute journey to school and had a really acute sense that my life was being wasted on the bus. I promptly made best friends with a girl who lived next door to school and spent at least two nights a week at her house, kind of estranging me from my parents.

I wish my children had the option of a five minute walk to a comparable school.

Also don’t forget the cost! The bus could add £2k+ pa.

Both my DD socialised on the coach (usual seat decorated for their birthdays, watching TV on their phones, finishing homework together) and in the older years got 45 mins more sleep. DD1 took the coach from age 4 and loved getting to know the 'big girls'. It was very cool to have a sixth former say hi to you in the halls.
About emergency pick ups- We had the same choice at 7 for DD2 (plus another) and when I factored in traffic and trying to find parking, the fast run up to NLCS maybe added 10 mins. No parking issues at the other end which has been a great help with, for example, carrying a projectile vomiting DD (sorry to be gross) .I loved never having to deal with parking wardens again! But I'm guessing that we're on the other side of the Heath from you.
Whichever bit of the Hampstead-ish area you are from, there will be lots of local playdates. Intake at NLCS is very heavy on HHS and Mulberry House.
Do also factor in that this is a decision that will go to 18. DD may be tiny right now but these years go by in a flash. At 11 or 16, will you have made a different choice?

Am i wrong to assume that there are groups of girls, when at senior school, that would just take the jubilee line up to canons park and use shuttle?

Other comment i got was: go for NLCS, and if you feel that it is not working for any reason (commuting, too academic, etc) it will be always easier to move to SHHS later than the other way round.

Madness, when you have a great school five minutes away.

Re trying NLCS and switching to SHHS, that’s making a big assumption about how easy it would be to get into SHHS later! It’s highly competitive!

I don’t know the schools but I’d go for shorter commute. We love rurally so not as much choice but DC have 45 min school bus journey and it’s really tough. The bus is mostly fine, but it’s the round trips out of hours that means they can’t take bus - plays, orchestra rehearsals, matches, open evenings etc etc that happen more than you think that are killing us! This is a prep and distance will play a big factor in choosing the next school

Above all this, which school do you see DD feeling happier/more at home at?

She liked both schools and so did we. Couldnt really figure out any factor that would make her a lot happier at one over the other tbh....(maybe i am missing something here). NLCS though has the benefit of the grounds while SHHS will be at Lymington Rd for 2 years due to the refurb of the junior buildings.

Does she know any of the children already at SHHS?

Do you know any parents?

She doesnt know anyone and none of her current friends are going to any of these two schools (she doesnt come from a typical feeder/prep). We have friends of friends who are parents at both schools and we are in the process of talking to them to get some further info.

I’d take SHHS and move at 11 if you feel your DD needs more. As a little one she will get so much more out of schooling locally and it’s a great school anyway! We did this. We had to do some prep ourselves but the decision to take on that extra commute for a top school when she had a great school down the road was made by her, as she had to endure it. It’s not always easy to have a commute even with a bus!

I went to SHHS, loved it and came out with excellent results. Obviously this was a while ago but I’d choose SHHS, no question.

coach time shouldn't be seen as 'lost' time as they end up socialising a lot and the girls don't really dread it.

This is true for most girls. From where you must live, there should be several girls in your DD's year on the same bus.

In the morning you'll have to leave home around 7:35 to catch the NLCS coach. What time would you have to leave home for SHHS? 8:25? Which is more convenient for your family's schedule?

don’t underestimate the hassle for you when it comes to parents evenings, school events, location of DD’s friends.

NLCS will ask you to come by at least 2-3 times a term. In year 3, I'd expect only 4-5 birthday parties a term, but likely more inconveniently located for you than with a SHHS class. NLCS's catchment area is quite large, even in the Junior School. I suspect that SHHS's is not as large, but ask your friends there how many girls really live locally.

You won't be able to do any 4pm activities around Hampstead. Your scheduled drop off in the afternoon will be 4:22, and that bus usually runs late, so 5pm is the earliest realistic time slot.

I’d take SHHS and move at 11 if you feel your DD needs more.

That might be easier said than done, from either school. Afaik, neither NLCS nor SHHS spend much resources preparing their junior school girls for the 11+ process. If you want or need to change at that point, you're going to have to do a lot of preparation yourself.

Wouldnt any reasonably bright girl do equally well on both academically anyway

This is a point of tremendous contention.

(maybe it just happens that NLCS has a larger portion of even brighter girls)?

I have direct knowledge of only one of the schools, so I can't compare. That said, I have no reason to believe it; I'm skeptical about how accurately schools can evaluate the ability of 3 year olds. I do, however, suspect that the average NLCS parent might value academic achievement a bit more highly than the average SHHS parent. However, this belief is also controversial.

@horsemadmom "DD may be tiny right now but these years go by in a flash. At 11 or 16, will you have made a different choice?"

The commuting may be easier to handle as they grow (as I suggested, I can't see why they couldn't go on their own in the tube to Canons Park when at Senior School) but it is still time that could be used for other things. And other posters do have a point with the extra time involved on getting to all other school events and a wider geographic area of friends.

I am really divided.

Sounds like you need the offer holders' days. That's what they're there for. No bad choices here and congrats to your very bright DD.

Honestly, this board at the moment (understandably as it's offers time) is full of parents contemplating insane commutes for their children and weighing up tiny differences between excellent schools. As someone who lives 10 minutes away from dcs' school and has seen the whole family benefit hugely from this (and other families suffer from long commutes), I can't urge you more strongly to go for SHHS. As someone said, it's not exactly crapsville. Some of the cleverest, most successful, nicest people I know went there.

I agree with you Edwina. It is worse than ever this year.
Having said that my own DD moved at 11 and has a commute because we found a school that suited her (even) better. (The commute still makes life much harder for her - and for us - than if she’d stayed local. She was on board with this and she absolutely didn’t require a huge amount of preparation because she had been taught the basics very well at her through school and she was/is super smart. If a girl requires a huge amount of prep additional to a private school junior education then surely she’s better off staying put and taking advantage of a guaranteed senior place where she is.
I would not put a 4 year old on a bus when there is a good choice not to. I also would not do it for a 7 year old and I would avoid it wherever possible even for older ones!

I agree. Why would you put a small child through a long commute for a marginal difference? And all these people who are willing to move to whichever school is best! We just lived where we wanted to and then chose what we thought was the best school near that. And actually there are so many things that you can't know in advance that will have a far bigger effect on her day to day experience than small differences in GCSE results - who will be in her class? will it be a nice cohort or a difficult cohort? will her best friend move to China in Y5?

Take the school that is 5 minutes' walk away. Your life will be easier. Her life will be easier. Her friends will, generally, be closer.