City of London Girls? - Is it worth it?

[mommyofthreeSE]

Hello,

My DD got offer from City for 11+. She loved the school in open day and enjoyed in each assessment. She is naturally bright didn't have any tutor or didn't do prep - just practiced the format few times. Her current school is 15 minutes drive away.

Door-to-door travel to City of London Girls would take about 40-50 minutes 1 train: 20 minutes + 5-10-minute walk to the school. Is it worth it, is it hard for secondary stage?

Thank you.

It's a great school and plenty of girls do similar or longer journeys to secondary. For us we wouldn't want to travel that far to a school, especially with the potential for rail disruptions and having to carry musical instruments and gym kit. Your dd has done very well to get in without tutoring and will probably do well anywhere. It really depends on the other options. I wouldn't want to rely on dd being driven to school at secondary as they will want to be more independent at that age.

Yes take the offer. She is clearly very bright and she likes the school. She will flourish there. We have done similar commutes for good schools!

@birtydertie thats what everybody tells around me! 🙏🏻

It’s a lovely lovely school!

You should definitely accept the offer. The journey you describe is nothing and she will soon find friends to travel with.

@getsetdad @Rocknrollstar 🙏🏻 thank you

I was thinking about the curriculum difference. Do you think having 1 Humanities and 1 Language as compulsory (like at City) is actually an advantage? City makes it mandatory, but our local GDST school doesn’t. I’m trying to decide which system is better overall x

What other subjects would she be doing instead? Most bright children (as your daughter clearly is!) will do a language and hard to avoid doing a Humanity as well - if compulsory then everyone will be in the same boat so probably a good thing for her?

40-50 min door to door commute sounds about average for City - not many girls live closer once the walk to/from the station is included. Which line will you be coming in on?

this is a very typical requirement for a London day school

Her current school is 15 minutes away by car, or about 30 minutes door-to-door by bus. She is happy there, but the academic environment around her is not as strong. This can be an advantage because it gives a good high-school spirit, and she even received an academic scholarship. But at the same time, teenagers can be influenced by their surroundings.

For example, she might come to me and say she wants to choose only creative subjects because her friends are doing the same. I’m not saying creative subjects are bad- if it were truly her own choice, or if I knew she would get the best grades in that direction, I would be fine with it. But sometimes I feel like she might not use her full potential at that moment, especially since she is already studying two languages at home.

What do you think I should do? Am I overthinking?

Come to the offer holders' day and see what she thinks?

The commute doesn't really sound like a factor - she's not going to want to be dropped off by you all too soon!

Hello! I don't think you are overthinking - all the parents I work with generally have the same concerns and it is very natural for teenagers to go along with the flow (and to be expected). FWIW my most successful students really benefit from having a broader curriculum. I think that once you get to year 9 and above, having the mandatory language + humanity + science combo makes for more enjoyable learning and just really opens doors by the time kids figure out what they actually like and want to do (sixth form).

Congratulations on the offer!

🙏🏻

Hi, I wonder of the girls get tried over the time to travel to City? Any advice or feedback about the city school would be appreciated. Thank you.

I have a friend whose daughter is at CLGS and looks happy. I'm not a fan of the campus. It feels more like an office building than a school. But I love its proximity to the Barbican Center. I can imagine the music opportunities are endless. Of course, their academic results and league table standings are excellent. The decision depends on your alternatives. A 40-50 min commuting is doable.

Many years ago I commuted to City. My journey was a 20 minute bus ride, then 30 minutes on the tube, then a five minute walk from Blackfriars station. I met up with friends on the journey so the time sped by and I certainly wasn’t tired by the commute.