How to choose?

[Schmedz]

My daughter will be starting Year 7 in September and has been fortunate to receive good offers from the two fab indie schools to which she applied. Both are really strong contenders (or we wouldn't have bothered to apply!) so how to choose? Like anything, there are pros and cons of each.
I guess this question is aimed at those who already have children in SS and I'd be interested to know what factors influenced your choice and was your decision a good one for your child!
Very new to this SS malarkey and would appreciate any advice on what you see as the most important influences on deciding...
Please help

dd decided on basis of extra curricular activities, slightly biased by ds having been happy at same school and logistics for us.

We had two offers.

School x is ranked in top 15. Very academic, very pushy and very sport orientated. One could imagine their girls going onto be PM :)

School y is in top 50. Very academic but more "lets win as a team" approach.

DD is very academic but she isn't the confident and assertive type. We chose school y because of this.

I would consider the journey to each!

And, also, the extra curricular stuff, but I suspect that in reality this will be the same at both schools.

Thanks for your feedback. I am not an ex student of either school and the extra curricular is comparable. Academically I think she would be middling in one and top end at the other...one is mixed the other is single sex. One is a much longer journey but has supervised prep/meals available for students so the difference would be that she would do homework/eat dinner at school and come home and at the other she would need to do homework/eat at home. Many of her friends will be at one and she would be starting without knowing anyone at the other.
Have you found friendship groups / journey time deal breakers with your own children? Leeds2 I anticipate your answer to the latter from what you have already posted!!

DS's is a 30min coach ride away (he didn't like the local one). He finds that the coach trip is more fun than school itself. They play on each other's gadgets on the coach, chat or simply just chill with their phones. If, like some kids, they have to walk distances and have to take public transport then yes, that would have been a deal breaker.

As for friendship issues, he goes out with them during the term breaks but term time he spends all day in their company so he isn't too concerned with not seeing them outside of school. Besides he goes to local activities and he has friends from there.

DS found it difficult to make friends initially. Most of his classmates had come up from the prep school together so many had established friendship circles. This problem only lasted a term.

If you are leaning towards the school that is further away then I hope that the above helps.

I wouldn't let academic ranking be a deal breaker. Highly ranked schools have no secret teaching technique. They get their results because they select very bright kids in the first place. As long as the school has a pushy academic ethos then the final exam results is down to the DC and not the school.

Where would she rather go?
How do you feel about co-ed/single sex, which do you prefer?
Is the shorter journey also where her friends will be? If she also wants to go there then I would go for it.

Like you we were fortunate enough to have a choice of schools last year . Personally " I " would've been happy at any of them if I was a kid , academically all provided an excellent education although there were differences in Oxbridge entrance etc, good range of extracurricular activities . One was a 10 minute walk away , the furthest @1 hour commute . We had the conversation of getting up and coming home in the dark in winter , friends potentially scattered all over or the other side of London . I left it to DD to decide . Her reasons ? " most friendly at exam/interview time , best canteen ! , a swimming pool " . Well I have to say her criteria for choice differ to mine but she's absolutely happy and settled ( even enjoying the 1hour commute ) .