Dilemma St Michaels v Henrietta Barnett

[Indiana64]

Hello all, joined Mumsnet today and think I posted in the wrong place originally. Has anyone been faced with a choice between Henrietta Barnett and St Michaels? Any one with advice will be gratefully received. Both are outstanding, both with reasonable commutes and DD likes both but will know no one at either. If you had this choice, what was the deciding factor for you as I am undecided. Thank you in advance for any guidance. Am looking forward to joining this community.

Hi, I am going to be no help but I just wanted to say that I have dreams where this happens

Both are amazing schools clearly. The only thing that puts me off St M's is the number who go to Oxbridge is quite low for such a high performing school - why is that? Is it the career guidance of the school or something else?

Re HBS it is a tricky commute for most..

Good luck with your choice! Can I ask if/how long /how intensively your DD was tutored for?

PS try posting on the 11+ forum, barnet section.

Thank you so much for your reply. It was very helpful. DD did not receive any tuition at all- she point blank refused. So I have been very lucky that she did so well and more than a little surprised!!

I didn't have any dilemma. St. Michael's was always on my focus even before DD was born i.e. if I had a daughter.

I did, and into St. Michael's she went some ten years or so later even though she had one or two other grammar school places. Proceeded to RG university and graduated a few years ago. Now happily working in Central London and having a great time! In fact too great a time for my liking.

Indiana - thanks for that reassurance, great to read that it is possible without lots of tutoring!

One more thing - the Sutton Trust has a paper on the destination universities from different schools if that is helpful.

Hello , we are in the same position with HBS and STM.
Would we be bonkers to put StM first? I felt HBS although lovely grounds & bright kids to have had the fun sucked out on the open day. I could be way off bean here. Yes it’s trying to behave like a private school. DC is what is deemed as bright (most people sitting in grammars are ) however a typical tween with academics not being her main concern. HBS doesn’t seem to be overly diverse, with strong emphasis on academics only. Mental health and girls is my biggest concern. Help !

Please don’t judge a school on how many go to Oxbridge each year. Yes, of course it looks impressive, but there are many more factors to consider.

1. Imperial is harder to get into than Oxbridge these days, with offers generally being at least one grade higher (three A stars for some subjects).

2. Oxbridge courses are a little limited. For example, Cambridge doesn’t offer dentistry and physics can only be accessed through Nat Sci.

3. The cost of living is seeing increasing numbers of students living at home during their university years. They would invariably be choosing the top London universities e.g. UCL, LSE, Imperial, Kings. Money can prevent people accessing Oxbridge

4. Other Russell group universities are offering much more tailored courses. For example aerospace engineering. You can specialise in this in the last two years at Cambridge but the first two years are “general” and covers civil, structural etc as well. Why study it for two years if you’re not interested in it?

I always look to see if schools are sending a wide range of courses at a wide range of universities. It shows that they can cater to a wide range of interests and ambitions.

I don't have St Michael's as an option but am having a similar dilemma re HBS. I'm thinking of going for it though partly because I think perhaps it's a self fulfilling prophecy if people self deselect on the grounds they feel they don't quite fit the mould. I almost did that with my Oxford offer as a teen with a slight chip on my shoulder and then decided I could hardly complain about a lack of state school kids there if I had turned down a place they'd offered to me. I was so glad I didn't because it turned out that it didn't matter anywhere near as much as I thought it would once we were all there together.

As a family we are quite academic but not all that driven and so it's easy to feel a bit intimidated by the lengths some people go to pursue academic or musical excellence, but I guess there's room in these schools for a variety of approaches. DD doesn't seem worried even though she's heard all the chatter about tutoring and commuting in the exam queue etc, so I suppose I shouldn't be either. Just need to actually be offered a place now - annoying that all this angst comes before the final scores are known.

That said I have no clue about St Michael's and how it compares. From what I've heard it sounds lovely.

Ps there's a WhatsApp group for potential HBS parents if you're interested in joining

How are you people receiving offers in October for these schools??

If you are talking about which order to put them on your application put whichever is the hardest to get into as long as you will be high up on the waiting list for your second choice and can fall back on your second choice if you change your mind.

That's a good point about the waiting list. HB is definitely not confirmed yet.

Considering the initial post was written in 2013…
Zombie thread

Oh yes, though there is a PP with the same question as the 2013 OP who posted this morning

Yes - I jumped onto a thread - as the original poster had the same dilemma as me. However they will be through the school. I’d be very interested to hear experiences.
St M you find out your position- we did ok so are a safe seat. HBS we are in top 300 and within 3 miles - going by past data we are also a safe seat but not guaranteed.
I certainly don’t mind Oxbridge offers or not - that’s not what I’m about. You have no control to a certain extent - as long as good universities are reached.
I’m more about my child has got the ability- is naturally that way. I want her to have a happy secondary school experience - with friends and experiences of a normal tween / teen. I’m just not convinced she’d have that in HBS - although I know no one currently who is there. I know past students.
How can a WhatsApp group be created when no one knows who has got in ?
I’m in a lucky position- just confused.

It's a WhatsApp group for top 300 parents with similar dilemmas talking about potential transport options etc to help make a decision.

I’ve never heard of that ! Please feel free to pass on