Best out of London girls school

[Frenchmummy27]

We are debating whether our daughter should move to an out of London prep school. She is 7 years old at the moment and avoid the whole St. Paul’s girls school wish list. Our daughter is very bright but starting to think London day schools don’t give children all the amazing extras an out of London school can provide. Is there any out of London girls or co-Ed schools that provide a bus back into London daily or good boarding option

Take a look at Lambrook OP. They bus from London. Otherwise Feltonfleet / Aldro (recently co-ed)

Godstowe too. Not sure if they have a London bus though

Depends where in London you live. Many preps do not have London transportation routes as the journey would be far too long each day for a young child.

I would also discourage boarding at seven unless it’s one or two flexi nights a week so more like a sleepover. I speak as the parent of a boarder there. By age 11 they are fully able to appreciate the impact of what it means to be away from home and have a proper and meaningful discussion about whether it’s right for them. Any younger and children often feel that they are being sent away.

Options at 11 for London based parents are so much greater so why not wait until then? Wycombe Abbey, Roedean, Benenden, Heathfield and Queenswood all have London transportation options for weekly boarders.

Haberdashers girls' school is from age 4 and provides transport from north / NW London.

Where do you live in London Op? I wouldn’t want a king journey for a 7 year old!

Why not stay local for prep and then board from 11. The girls schools do take from 11 and are often flexible boarding too. Or you could apply to board at Godstowe and go to your choice of senior school at 13. I would stay local at 7 but get out of the London day school madness at 11. I’m with you there!

Travelling back and forth is not a good idea

Lambrook is the main one with daily minibus. Along with Feltonfleet. There are less options for girls than boys.

Getting into boarding at 11 is significantly easier than getting into most sought after London schools. So you could leave her in London for prep but know you can be relatively relaxed about performance. The teaching at those schools tends to be strong so you can more leave it to them and let your DD be.

Other option is moving to more relaxed London preps that aren't as focused on the trio of hammersmith schools at 11+.

You are considering boarding your 7 year old to avoid the pressure of west London preps with St Paul’s aspirations?!

Just send her to a prep not in West London or better yet, a through school. I’m assuming you are looking to avoid the pressure and competition but there really are less drastic options than long commutes / boarding for a 7 year old.

Through schools can be rather claustrophobic. Your child and you knows what they are getting but there’s little need to strive for much. There is something exciting about moving up to a new senior school.

You can always switch at 11 if you want to in a through school if it’s feeling claustrophobic but with much less pressure than if you are in a prep.
There is usually a very large influx once secondary starts that significantly outnumber the junior school students and makes it feel new socially.

I really don’t think there is anything endearing about the 11+ process. In fact it’s pretty damaging IMO.

A stage of early education that should be all about enrichment and developing a love of learning is distorted for those who choose to participate in the 11+ into an over focus on exams, competition and premature intellectual ranking/ sorting.

Depends on the school you choose regarding how onerous the application process is. Fairly straightforward at many schools! You can lessen pressure by avoiding London day schools and only applying for one school!

Some people like DC to do well where fewer DC are top students. So you could choose Wycombe Abbey, but you might choose Queenswood for easier entrance. Exam results would be the same for the DC. Bright children don’t have to be with 100% bright children to flourish. In fact this can produce pressures of its own!

Thank you everyone for replying. I appreciate then options you have shared. I also understand that this age is very young to boarding, we would be looking at weekly boarding later on in age. Ideally a school that has a bus but it is good to hear your opinions on maybe taking different options instead. Merci