DECISION TIME - SPGS vs. CLSG (11+) - Help please

[Julia01]

DD lucky enough to get offers at both schools. Sure that she would thrive in both settings. Commute etc. not a problem for either. Consistent comments that SPGS marginally better! Any other parents who have faced a similar predicament? Luxury problem but a problem nonetheless. Thoughts please?

"better"

At what?

Is it important to either you or DD that the school has a particular reputation? Do you need the place with higher exam results to feel confident?

Congratulations to your daughter!

She will do well academically at either, so I would be looking at the culture of the two schools. Do you know girls at each of them? A chat with a couple of sixth formers might give you a feel for how they turn out

They are both great schools, each with a different feel. I would not worry about people saying SPGS is a "better" school. It may say more about those parents who feel the need to remind everyone that their DD is at the "best" school.

FWIW I think the head at City is fab. However the school is in the ultimate urban environment so great for some, especially perhaps those with parents working nearby, but not for all.

One thing to consider is catchment. City is accessible from a wide area, however there will be fewer West and South London girls simply because the majority of them will head off to Hammersmith or Dulwich. Social life and parents coffee mornings tend to take place in North/North East London. SPGS pupils come from everywhere, many with a very long commute, though the core group will live reassuringly near Westfield Hammersmith.

From many accounts the homework load at SPGS is very high. Fantastic for those who are very focussed on education, but restricting for those who have significant other interests. The exception appears to be music which I hear is amazing.

Unless you can find someone with identical twins, one at each school, this is going to be a hard one! We had the same decision to make last year and found going on a final visit to SPGS was very helpful. Are you in time to make the final open day? I was impressed by the talk given by the headgirl and her team and the way in which they answered parents' questions: confident, intelligent, modest.

My daughter is very happy so far, and so are we. She does get a lot of homework (but then so do her friends at CLSG, NLCS and FH). She fits in two musical instruments, singing in the choir, and some enthusiastic sports as well.

Do feel free to send me a message if you'd like to hear more - I don't want to identify her!

Julia, congrats to you and your DD!

Have you made a decision?

I was (very surprised to be) in the same situation this week. We have decided on CLSG. The reputation of SPGS as pressurised/overly academic was a small part of it, but a big factor was that CLSG is closer to where we live. They are both great schools - in fact all the schools my daughter applied to are great (especially when compared to the mediocre high school I went to) - so we've gone for the school which will take a few hours' less commuting time each week. I hope our girls all have wonderful secondary school experiences.

Decision made - SPGS it is!
Did all the research on the planet that we could, met students past, present etc. Academically very little between the schools, but when it came to it, we simply couldn't turn down the offer from SPGS.
Felt that SPGS had the slight edge - felt they were more about preparing the girls for life (rather than exams alone), girls came across as more confident, more polished, SPGS were slicker across the board (their presentations, the offer letter package, the way the girls presented themselves, the follow up call to check if we needed any help with our decision making..... Little touches but they were there everywhere). Also to be fair, the halo around the name also helped.

In the end both schools are simply fantastic, I suppose the choice is a very personal one. Thank you all for your help and all the very best to your dear DDs.

A observation, if I may, from Fossie's husband.

I was a Foundation Scholar at St Paul's School, and Paulinas were notorious for being haughty and having absolutely nothing to do with us; all our sisters and girlfriends were at Godolphin.

Having recently spoken to other parents and masters currently at SPS, it seems that this is still the case - though far less so; for example, SPGS now store their boats in our boathouse and use our tank and ergos.

I met some A-level students from City of London Girls' the other day - and it seems they have the same attitude to City of London Boys'.

I have dd's at CLSG and SPGS and both schools teach to a similar academic standard, well beyond the National GCSE curriculum. Both schools expect girls to achieve A and A* in all their subjects and the exam results speak for themselves.

SPGS focus heavily on Oxbridge and the girls are expected to apply. CLSG also encourage Oxbridge applications but are equally happy to support girls applying to other good universities.

A lot of parents choose SPGS solely because it achieves very high results every year and the school is very successful at achieving Oxbridge places. However CLSG is located in the City and the school have unrivalled relationships with the City livery companies and City institutions, including banks, law firms, advertising agencies, barristers chambers, Lloyd's insurers, civil service etc and many more. This provides lots of opportunity for networking, work experience and internships. Parents are also invited in to give career presentations about their own professions. Other schools of course provide career opportunities but CLSG and CLS are in a separate league due to their locations and contacts.

CLSG have a much broader social intake than SPGS and lots of bursaries are awarded to very bright girls who would otherwise not be able to afford the fees.