For what it’s worth, we have absolutely loved St. Mary’s Hampstead. It is well known for its nurturing environment, athletic program, and facilities (eg STEAM center, outdoor grounds). It also has great 11+ results and placements considering it is is non-selective, i.e., the school is not selecting/students and families that they know are most likely to not only do well on the 11+ but to actually target the most academic secondary schools. So there’s some suggestion that the “treatment effect” of St. Mary’s is strong. That said, it’s also important to note that families for whom strong 11+ placement is a priority end up getting tutors no matter where their children go to school—even the most academic students at a school like The Hall, for example, will get 11+ tutoring.
What we’ve loved most is how the teaching staff makes the effort to understand each child’s gifts and challenges—from academics to interpersonal to extracurriculars—and finds individualized ways to help her to both nurture those gifts and tackle those areas that are more challenging. The teachers clearly delight in watching each girl take on and meet a new challenge, which is lovely to see as a parent. We really have seen a commitment to the school’s “4 R’s”—Respect, Risk-taking, Reflection, and Resilience. They also sensitively find ways to make sure each child is being pushed while maintaining cohesion and unity in the classroom. For example, the girls progress in their reading at a pace that works for each individually without any sort of rigid “tracking.” As a parent with a career in education spanning different countries, St. Mary’s was the clear top choice for us.
Of course, if you do not want your child in any sort of religious environment for school, then it is not the right school for your family. It is a Catholic school, and, understandably, that is a non-starter for some. But it’s worth noting that only about 50% of the girls are from Catholic families, the religious messaging is focused on love and understanding (we specifically did not want our daughter in a rigid environment or one that would instill “Catholic guilt”), and they do a good job of introducing other religions and cultures, including having day-long workshops throughout the year in which members of other religions come to share their traditions with the girls. They also give girls of different religious backgrounds the opportunity to share their traditions with their classes (if the girls want to).
The schools in NW London are generally excellent, and you can find someone singing the praises of each of them here on mumsnet. I’m sure most children would thrive at most of them. Each school also has its challenges—eg, I know some wish the music programme was a bit more robust at St. Mary’s. So I really share all this just in the spirit of providing some additional information, as I know I scoured these boards for insight when we were looking at schools. Overall, we’ve found St. Mary’s to be an incredible community with wonderful teachers and have delighted in watching our sensitive child find her voice and thrive there. To end on the shallowest of notes, the uniforms are adorable :)