Best Schools in London (girls)

[happymum77]

How would you rank these London South London Grammar Schools:

nonsuch high school, cheam
wallington high school for girls
newstead wood school
bexley grammar
townley grammar
tiffin
(I do not list others as I cannot get to them by train)

Also, which are the best independent schools for girls right now?

Day schools:

St. Pauls
City of London School
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx

Boarding Schools:

Wycombe Abbey School
Cheltenham Ladies
Sevenoaks ?
xxx
xxx
xxx

I need to start planning the school for my little ones.

Any more comments on Francis Holland Sloane Square? Apparently only 8% oxbridge stats, but perhaps I am missing something?

Perhaps those who genuinely want to be doctors study medicine elsewhere.

The South London grammars are just a different playing field entirely.

Some parents who want a grammar will sit the selective independents as a back up. However it is uncommon to sit the grammars as a back up to the selective independents. The pool of bright motivated girls who want a grammar school place is very large indeed. When you then look at those who can afford £25k per dd per annum to cover fees, trips etc, then the pool shrinks dramatically.

It is really not a matter of trying to rank the South London grammar schools, as their admissions is all down to increasingly rigorous entrance exams. Your dd could be "top" in the country but if she has a slow day (and speed really is quite essential here) then she won't get a place. The girls schools also seem to have frequent changes to their entrance exams (eg sometimes going for NVR, and not bothering with maths), so it is possible that the relative GCSE/A level ranking for any particular year has been skewed by how they selected in that year. But Tiffin, Nonsuch and Newstead have been consistently amongst the top state schools, Wally Girls sometimes below, but sometimes on a par.

Have you looked round any schools yet? A lot of the independent schools rund courses so that your dd has a chance to try some sport or other activity there, and it gives you a feel for the school. Have a look through for details of Christmas Fairs and performances - again you may find that the ethos of the schools shine forth a bit more clearly.

As an aside I always got the impression that Oxbridge medicine wasn't seen as the best if you wanted to practise medicine rather than go into research. But 7 is quite young to have determined a career path.

7?!?!?!

Good grief, OP!

OP, my DC are older teenagers. They are both successful. They both have different personalities but more importantly they are their own people with their own personalities and their own wishes. What gives you the right to decide your DC must read medicine at Oxbridge? At 15 they might decide they don't want to.

My DS is having a gap year - he is going to Oxford next year. He is going because he decided he wants to; initially he wanted to go to Durham and at the very last minute changed his mind and he and his father went and begged an audience with the dean whose college had offered him an unconditional place. He friends who have been force fed for the last 14/15 years - they are mostly the boys who are a teeny bit off the rails and one has already dropped out. Think best London Days Schools and very driven parents not necessarily driving in the direction their children want to go.

You can facilitate OP, you can provide the best but ultimately I'm afraid you can't decide. You can decide about your life but you are in for a very rough ride if you think at 18 you can decide about theirs.

They need boundaries, they need advice, they need love, but most of all they need support to make the choices that are right for them not for you. The most wonderful DS's house master and tutor said to me was "my life would be so much easier if the other parents let their boys take the lead a little more". As your DC get older OP I hope you will begin to understand that the best thing you can do for your child is to make sure they are happy.

Do hope your children aren't thick and lazy.

Picking endlessly over the relative merits of schools which are regulars in that national Top 50 will probably drive you mad.

Francis Holland Sloane Square isn't very sporty, and is reputed to be easier to get into than JAGS or PHS.

If you need a back-up. A true back up, and your main aim is Cambridge Medicine, then I think you should consider Bancrofts in Woodford Green, London.

It's good value, the math and science is academically as good as any school in the country, though the humanities/arts are not as strong. The sporting facilities are top notch and it absolutely specialises into preparing kids for medical school. About 10% of the graduating class last year went to Cambridge.

It's coed.

It's truly a step down from SPGS, unlike the other schools discussed such as NLC, HABS, City, etc.

Bancrofts is academic (strong in science and maths) and sporty, but it won't give you the social cache of some of the other schools discussed, I don't think.

I went to a London gdst school. I found the pressure really tough, and pretty much fell apart by a levels, although I did well enough to get into the university I wanted. I'm not thick, did well at graduate and postgrad level, but that environment is not for everyone (there were lots of others similarly struggling), and it's not something I'd want for my DDs. Sounds like you should be asking your daughters what they want, OP, and visiting a range of schools to find out what they think.

Thanks again.

Re grammars...how would one compare Tiffin, Nonsuch, Newstead and Wally to Bexley Grammar and Townley Grammar?

Again I ignore all the teasing comments, though I agree with all of them. Perhaps few things are lost in translation. MSG to one banana though... interesting conclusion... you are absolutely right... it can feel terribly lonely being top, regardless of what age one is, but I guess that this is the sacrifice one has to make and hope that this loneliness will one day be worth the investment. Otherwise you are confiding the child to the life of mediocracy. Would you agree?

Your child might want to be mediocre. That is fine if your child has rejected other choices and if it makes your child happy. What happens if your children decide they want to become academics, or teachers, or even hear a calling for ministry. Would you hold them back from that?

No I don't agree

One person's mediocrity is another person's happy life.

What is your child like? What are they good at? What type of school are they coming from?

"confiding your child to a life of mediocracy" Normally I would not draw attention to something like this on mumsnet. We all tend to be firing off on less than all cylinders but for someone who holds up meritocracy as such a great ideal but fail to understand the true measure it says it all really. Please use a dictionary. Unless this is a grand wind up........

This, from nearthewindmill, being also a mother of 18+ year olds, is really worth repeating

"You can facilitate OP, you can provide the best but ultimately I'm afraid you can't decide. You can decide about your life but you are in for a very rough ride if you think at 18 you can decide about theirs.

They need boundaries, they need advice, they need love, but most of all they need support to make the choices that are right for them not for you. The most wonderful DS's house master and tutor said to me was "my life would be so much easier if the other parents let their boys take the lead a little more". As your DC get older OP I hope you will begin to understand that the best thing you can do for your child is to make sure they are happy."

do you have a peer group who have children at these schools that you can ask?

For instance, a few of the ones near me are mentioned on the thread -
one is popularly thought full of over-stressed/over-pressured borderline anorexics
another has a 'nice but dim posh girls' rep despite having very good results (they are more nurturing than the other local options so perhaps this is why)
and another is thought better for 'spirited/independent' types

Our DD is at the preprep of one but we may well move her if it seems she would be more at home elsewhere. Some days I think she is destined for the stage which is a bit of a shocker for her v staid academic parents who barely have a creative bone in either of their bodies but this is part of the joy of parenting IMHO. AFAIC she has yet to declare her colours personally and academically and I will support her whatever.

A better option might be to look for a match for the individual nature and aptitude for your child/children as what will suit one may be an intolerable hothouse for another. There is plenty of evidence around that putting some children in an agressively academic environment at too young an age can break them.

you do know the Oxbridge isn't the be all and end all, don't you? Depending on subject, other unis will actually be better. And your DD may not want to go to Oxbridge anyway. Broaden your horizons!

This is a wind up is n't it? . Rather an unimaginative one though.

No, I don't think it is,there are lots of parents like this where we live, all vying to get their children into the aforementioned schools and not necessarily realistically. It's a rather sad part of London life. I have seen children tutored to within an inch of their lives to get into schools like KCJS and Colette Court (not so much with the the girls) only to struggle miserably once they get there. There are also those who continue to be tutored and scheduled with a parent sitting with them throughout school holidays to assist with revision who end up with spectacularly high results and then who leave at 18 for uni and don't know where to begin.

You sound really very odd op. You are approaching this completely back to front imo. Instead of asking what the "best" schools are you should be thinking carefully about your dcs and what would best suit them... you really can't reasonably map their lives out for them aged 9 and 7, you have to be supportive and open minded. YOU might want them to read medicine at Cambridge more than anything in the world but that completely isn't the point. The pressure of rigid parental expectations and an unrelenting focus on academic achievement can be extremely damaging to children and have long reaching consequences for their self esteem and mental health. You might be extremely clever yourself (are you?) but you don't appear to be very emotionally intelligent, judging by what you have posted here...

HappyMum, Do not be put off by the negative comments on SPGS. It is a good school for confident, bright girls. Multicultural, remarkably varied socially and strong on music and extracurricular activities. Medicine is not however a strong tradition incidentally.

However, be prepared to be disappointed unless your child meets their criteria (the entrance tests are pretty robust and the headmasters report will be important).

The independent alternatives are also very good and you are lucky to be located in SW London where the grammars are excellent.

I agree with summerends

Last :) remaining points of interest to me is Francis Holland of Sloane Square. Any opinions on it? Any stereotypes that I should be aware of?

And thanks again for all your inputs so far. Apologies for not replying to each person in particular on issues concerning approach etc, as I am trying to stick to the point here, and I could easily be distracted by all the comments.

Francis Holland Sloane Square? HOw good / bad is it? Any stereotypes I should be aware of?

If its medicine you want people are travelling out to Epsom College. Doable on train. Fees are public school rates plus train fare.

Yes, your own. Go look. Decide for yourself.

Shooting, have a for that succinct and apt post.