Highgate or NLCS?

[18jam]

Just received offers and not sure what to do before noon 6 March 2013 - love the idea of co-ed but my DD thinks she likes NLCS better. Mind you she loved Highgate at the visit yesterday... Any advice? Do NLCS get to mix with boys enough? Do they all emerge boy-starved? Does it matter?

Typed a long reply and then the site went down. In short, my DD (yr 10) has a very, very active social life outside of school. The girls joke that they are boy starved but I see masses of NLCS girls in Hampstead and Camden in big mixed groups and there are joint discos, out of school clubs etc.
It's mostly a good thing to be single sex IMO. No pressure to look good at school, no bias against girls doing maths and science (I asked how many were doing A Level physics at Hgate and was not impressed), no boy behaviour in the classroom and the girls can concentrate at school and not be distracted by socializing. Plus, the teaching is geared towards girls alone and this is fantastic. As they go up the school, the girls do symposia with boys' schools, model UN etc. etc.

Thnx, very helpful. any thoughts on SHHS while you're at it? also, my daughter is in state primary where she is at top of her class with relative ease and i know it will be very different in her selective secondary (prob NLCS it looks like). will it feel very pressured? or do you think if she got in, she'll cope fine?

She'll be fine! She'll probably think it is heaven. Girls like your DD have been running with no company, no one to set the pace. She go far faster in a room full of girls just like her. She'll find friends who share her interests and passions.
As for pressure,Yr 7 is a breeze. They need to get everyone up to speed and most girls coming from state primary won't have had homework (there is NONE for the first 2 weeks) or been expected to cope with remembering different kit on different days. It's a big school and they know that navigation will take time - older girls always happy to walk stragglers to their classrooms. My DD1 thought that yr 7 and 8 were easier than yr 6 at NLCS Junior School.
I'll say it again-
She'll be fine!
Will you be at the tea? Lots of current yr 7 girls and parents will be there to answer questions. My older DD might just pop in as well.

Thnx again. I'll most definitely will be at the tea on Friday. My family can hardly decide on pizzas to order - can you imagine this decision?

Nice to meet you today!

wait a minute! r u the one with DD2 at NBH? I thought horsemadmom had 2nd girl at CLSG? BTW: were do you ride?

PMing you.