Which school? Help me to decide pls!

[Blaclara]

Hello,

My daughter is naturally bright. She is an all-rounder-she plays musical instruments, does LAMDA, and loves sport and art. Also really good in stem subject -. Her GL CAT scores have always been 137+. She has never had a tutor and has not attended a prep school, but she passed several 11+ assessments, including top grammar schools.

Our first 3 option:

School 1:
Her current school! She would leave home around 7:50to get the bus, or I can drive her in about 15 minutes. She is currently in this school, she knows the environment, feels happy there, and has always been a top student. She also received an academic scholarship (%15). Fees are lower but facilities are better in other schools. A-A* %75.

School 2:
SHHS -She would need to leave home at 7:15 to catch the school bus. The journey is safe, but quite early. Some days I could drive her, but it takes around 45–55 minutes. %89

School 3:
City of London School for Girls: She would leave home at 7:40, walk to the station (5 mins) catch the 7:45train (20-25 mins on train) and then walk about 10–15 minutes to the school. A-A* %96

Which option is more sensible for a secondary-school-age child, and which school would be the best choice for her?

CLSG hands down…

@KGmum thank you! Do you know anybody who goes to CLGS? x

What does she think? Has she seen them all and does she have a preference? As a high achiever, she should have the bandwidth to continue her co-curriculars. Are any of the schools stronger in her favoured activities? Do any offer other enrichment activities that she would be particularly keen to explore?

You’ve mentioned commute time and A level results, but nothing else about the school.

If the individual child is a high performer academically, does it matter what the lower achieving end of the school get at A level?

Given that she is an all-rounder, I would have a nagging anxiety that a school achieving near perfect A-A* results do this by pushing academic results above all else in a hot house fashion.

Obviously, it might be through being very careful with the calibre of children they accept and then training them well, which is not a worry and a jolly good thing,

I don’t live in London, so I don’t know the schools named, so my nagging concern might be completely invalid. It might be obvious to the Londoners on this board what the added co-curricular value of each of the options are (Certainly my nephews who went to the City of London Boys school had rich musical and sporting lives alongside achieving academic excellence, so maybe CLGS is the same).

@FallingIsLearning yes similar, they are partners - even CLGS has better results

It does sound like a great school, and I wouldn’t be worried about the commute, given that it is within spitting distance of the leaving time for her current school.

With regards to the commute, I went to a super-selective state school at the other end of the borough. It was 6 stops on the train and a mile walk either end. It was no trouble with musical instruments (but I played the violin and flute, not a double bass or tuba).

I would make sure you know what she thinks; what her preferences are and why.