LEH or G&L

[Undecided3]

Hi, we are deciding between LEH and G&L. Location wise we are between the two. LEH has a coach and G&L it's a tube and bus ride. LEH is in the middle of nowhere but G&L is in Hammersmith which doesn't feel that safe and isn't that easy to drive to. Academics seem very similar but G&L seems to have better outcomes for university places. I'm tempted by the grounds and facilities at LEH then she can always move for sixth form. I've lived in the area a while and LEH was always the more popular school however I feel this has changed and G&L is seen as more prestigious. But is it actually a better school? Does it have better teachers and provide more opportunities? Thanks!

They’re both decent schools. I’d go for the one that is easiest to get to from your home. Last thing your daughter needs is spending ages travelling when she doesn’t need to. As you say you’re in the middle .. bit awkward to get to g&l, tube, bus could go wrong delays strikes etc. I’d probably choose leh, based on a bus direct door to door (almost) and on their green spaces and facilities. Academically they’re pretty much the same. They also share a bus with Hampton, so you get mixed sex buses but single sex school. Ideal in a way.

Thanks Kitty. Yes I’m inclined to go with the school coach as it feels so much safer for an 11 year old girl. I know they grow up fast but 11 seems young to me compared to travelling on the bus/tube age 15. I’m just pondering if G&L outweighs any negatives on the travel issue?

I'd say that a school bus is actually quite restrictive and means it's trickier to socialise after school etc. Hammersmith is super busy with kids from all the different schools all pouring out of the bus and tube station. If it's a fairly straight forward journey it's fine. It also means the girls get used to using public transport on their own which is important as they get older and socialise more out of school.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I do agree but I'm wondering how much socialising an 11yr old needs to do after school? Is it that vital?

They won’t really socialise like that after school for the first few years at least. There are also clubs after school (I’m talking about LEH) so you can either get one of the late coaches if they stop close to you or you’ll need to pick up. In older years the girls would go to Kingston or Richmond to hang out but again, usually only on a Friday if that.

@Undecided3 - bit bemused by 'Hammersmith isn't that safe'? I went to G&L in the 90s when the area was a more run down than it is now - it was absolutely fine. Girls would walk to and from buses and tubes on the broadway from Year 7 onwards. It's pretty busy, yes - but I'd never classify Hammersmith as an unsafe area, certainly not for London...

Hammersmith isn't unsafe at all! What a funny thing to say. Between the Ravenscourt Park and Hammersmith stations are some of the best schools in the city, if not the entire country: SPGS, SPS (across the bridge), G&L, Latymer Upper, alongside brilliant state schools like West London Free, Sacred Heart. It's pretty much teen central wonderland, especially with Westfield just up the road.

I personally don't think it's an unreasonable thing to say. Hammersmith is unsafe compared to Hampton. Richmond upon Thames is one of the safest boroughs. Looking at the Met Police Crime Stats with their latest figures. There were 290 crimes reported in Hammersmith and 152 of those at Hammersmith Station in December 2024 versus 34 crimes in the whole of Hampton during the same period. A quick google search shows Hammersmith is 6th in London for the highest crime rates. A quick AI round up shows:

Westminster, Camden, and Kensington & Chelsea have the highest crime rates in London.

Westminster
The most dangerous area in London
Home to many popular attractions, including Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament
Has a high crime rate due to tourist traffic
Has a large police presence and CCTV coverage

Camden
A major tourist attraction with many markets, music venues, and the British Museum
Has a high crime rate, including theft, burglaries, and violent crimes

Kensington & Chelsea
An affluent area that's attractive to criminals
Has a high crime rate, including burglary and theft

Other boroughs with high crime rates

Hammersmith & Fulham: A small but densely populated borough with high rates of violent crimes, theft, and burglaries

Hackney: A popular area with tourists, but has a relatively high crime rate, including violence

Southwark: Has had high crime rates in the past

Of course you have to be unlucky to be a victim of crime but hanging around Hammersmith is undoubtably going to raise the chances you will be a victim of crime. I don't think the fact there are lots of private schools and good state schools in the area has anything to do with the crime rates.

But @Undecided3 - but you are generating results across that take into account a whole borough! Hammersmith and Fulham also includes Shepherd’s Bush and some parts of Fulham which are far more ‘rough’ than Hammersmith.

It’s just a slightly silly way to look at it, to be blunt. I live in a North London borough in an area that is leafy and safe and great for families. 2 miles down the road in the same borough, it’s a completely different story. Had I typed the borough into an AI machine, it wouldn’t get the nuance…

Hampton might be a safer borough than Hammersmith, yes. But misguided to worry about safety as a deciding factor between the two schools. It’s all about what’s right for your daughter and where she’ll be happiest - but if you are going on academic reputation, G&L tops LEH.

I was simply stating that Hammersmith doesn't feel that safe. I broke up the crime figures above to single out Hammersmith station which had 152 reported crimes in December. Hampton station had about 5. Posters said I was silly to say it was unsafe so I was just pointing out that it isn't safe compared to Hampton. It isn't a deciding factor just something to bear in mind when considering the two schools. Who knows where she will be happiest. I think that is impossible to ever know as you can't go to two schools at the same time and you have no control over her peer group and which teachers she has. I was asking more about academic reputation and if G&Lis considered that much better than LEH and is it worth travelling on the tube/bus for.

You say you're geographically half way but how long would each journey be? That would be the deciding factor for me

Sorry OP, my "funny thing to say" comment comes across as dismissive and rude, which I didn't intend. I was just surprised to see that view. One of my DC is at a school in Hammersmith and it really has done wonders for her confidence and social life. There are children from her prep at all of those schools so it's been easy to keep in touch/meet up with old friends alongside new. They aren't 11 forever and having an independent social life becomes important to them fairly quickly.

Don’t forget that every time there’s a parents evening or any other event you have to get to LEH. Can’t stop there on the way to work, you have to either go home & drive or catch a bus from Hampton, Kingston or Richmond. Everytime she’s invited to a party she’ll want to go, the school is the centre of the bus routes, girls come from Cobham, towards Windsor etc. The parties won’t be late to begin but she will want to go to them. What is the difference in number of people using Hampton station compared with Hammersmith?

Thanks for all your replies they are all very valid points. I think we will do the journey again during rush hour on Monday and she can decide. I only mentioned Hampton station as a comparison. The area in general is a lot safer.

Are fees much different? Adding in lunches, travel etc. Is one much cheaper than the other?

As a parent of a daughter currently attending Godolphin & Latymer, I feel a duty to offer a candid perspective, especially for those considering the school.
The culture among the current Years 10–12, regrettably, is deeply toxic. A climate of insidious and at times overtly vicious bullying pervades the student body. Girls are openly and regularly nasty to each other within the school and weaponise social media to deride and exclude their peers. In response, a large number of girls self-harm, suffer from eating disorders, and isolate themselves in bathrooms at lunchtime to avoid the ritualised social humiliation practised by a powerful ‘mean girl’ hierarchy.
The pastoral care team, in theory designed to provide support, has in our experience proved either ineffectual or willfully negligent. Reports of bullying are often met with skepticism towards the target rather than urgent inquiry into the behaviour itself. Unless a specific perpetrator is named — a dangerous prospect for many girls who fear escalation — no meaningful action is taken. The result is a culture where cruelty goes unchallenged and vulnerability is punished.
No school is perfect, and adolescence is never easy. But it is impossible to overstate the damage that an environment of indifference to bullying can inflict, not only on individual well-being but on the broader moral character of a community. For us, G&L has tragically failed to live up to its duty of care.
I share this not to sensationalise, but to offer the clear-eyed account I wish I had encountered before enrolling my daughter.

@Rimini am so sorry to hear this. We all choose schools for our kids with best of intentions, and put our faith in the SLT to do the right thing. It just takes strong leadership and experience to stamp out. It’s sad to read that girls with so much privilege and opportunity don’t wear it well.

this is terrible to hear @Rimini. I sincerely hope things have improved for your dd. if not, where did you both decide that she consider? I know of many SPGS and G&L girls who attended and loved Westminster for their last two years

Rimini's post is sad and difficult to read. It is awful that her daughter is having such a hard time. But as a G&L parent for many years (and with a daughter in the current year 11), I am afraid that I do not recognise this description of the school at all. G&L has a reputation for excellent pastoral care and kindness (see many, many Mumsnet posts passim). This has certainly been my long experience. However, obviously nowhere is perfect and the behaviour of teenage girls can be difficult. The SLT and pastoral care team at G&L have deserved reputations for responsiveness and sensible actions.
I feel very sorry for Rimini and her daughter and hope that the issues were sorted out.