London schools, not academic girl

[areyoutheregoditsmemargaret]

My cousin has a y 5 dd who's not at all academic. She's in a private prep school and apparently the teachers are saying she would struggle in a large state secondary (which would be ideal from a financial pov, but anyway to get a "good" comp the family would have to move and it may be a bit late in the day for that).

The school also said, however, that even previous "banker" schools for less-bright dcs were much harder to get into these days and nothing could be guaranteed. So what's my cousin to do? Where could she consider? She's in N London but I think she's resigned to a potentially long journey for the right school - atm, she's worried her dd will end up with nothing suitable.

Turnover is a question to ask about. However I think RT is extrapolating from her own experience and making quite a big generalisation.

Therre will be some small schools which are badly run. In the past or outside London some of these schools struggle, with a significant turnover of both staff and pupils. However demand in London is such that even places at "less-academic" schools are becoming competitive and this type of turnover will be reduced.

There are a few things to watch with smaller schools, as there are with larger schools.

1. If there is only a one or two class entry it can be a matter of luck whether classmates get on. So you get conflicting reports from parents with daughters in different years at the same school. One year is lovely as all the children get on, another is problematic with one or two big characters and no way to split them up.

1. Turnover. Schools like Portland Place do have a significant turnover as it is often the first port of call for newly arrived expats with teenage children. A very contented mother told me she saw this as an advantage, as it provided a good diversity despite the small number within the year. She also suggested that because it is used by families deciding, for reasons similar to the ones you describe, to buy their way out of the state system, it is not as "rich" and more grounded than some other central London schools.

1. Options and Extra curricular. These will be limited. However things like sport may not be as bad as expected. Eg PP apparently has a great sports teacher and put out a good netball team. They also participate in borough swim galas. It can be easy for girls in larger schools not to really participate in sport, music, drama or whatever, in smaller schools though less will be offered participation may be expected.

1. Management/ownership/ethos. The schools I have suggested have quite different characters. Horses for courses. Don't be put off by reputation, but go and look. Girls often sense where they will feel comfortable.

Staying for sixth form in a small school is a different issue, but this decision can be delayed for a few years, and larger schools are usually more than happy to take in girls who have outgrown a smaller setting.

My old boss had a daughter who sounds similar to your niece she had mild learning difficulties and struggled in a large state comprehensive. They sent her to Portland Place independent in the end.

www.portland-place.co.uk

I think 80-90% have mild learning difficulties & most have an IEP plan. They cater for learning needs and have small classes. I think my boss was happy with this school.

I am not sure Queenswood takes mild special needs. I think it would depend what that is, exactly. SEND is not a strong feature as far as I know.

Another vote here for Queensgate. A complete winner for my friend's DD who is strong in English but really struggles in Maths.

However, if your cousin's DD is in a prep, then one of the thing that she is paying for is good secondary transfer advice! The head should be able to suggest at least one appropriate school, with a back up if necessary.

North bridge house senior in hampstead! My DD has moderate dyslexia and goes there. It is mixed ability, co-ed, great facilities and premises, wonderful location, good staff, high academic expectations but access to lots of non-academic options. I also loved King Alfred but felt DD needed more structure and there are very few places due to most students moving on from primary to secondary. Saint Margaret's in hampstead also sounds wonderful but girls only. We ruled out Portland Place due to premises, no proper on-site lunches, no uniform iirc.

I agree with the comment about sport sometimes being better at smaller schools although this is not obvious when looking around. I have friends with DCs at some of the top indie schools with stunning facilities but they never manage to be selected for any sports teams. One friend sent her DD to Latymer Upper because of the amazing drama facilities but in spite of auditioning for every play going, she never got selected for anything! At the smaller schools , pretty much everyone can appear in a play or a netball match.

I think a lot depends on your definition of a smaller school. Nearly all private schools are small schools in comparison to large state schools. I was I. A class of 8 and frankly it was too small.

jeanne16 that really surprises me. Most of the top boys independent schools have A to E teams playing most weeks - that's surely enough for any keen boy to play!

I know that the Wellington U17 Rugby E team is very enthusiastic - they love their rugby and then discuss their Physics and coding passions with the opposing E team after tea!

How very different from my own experience at a medium sized London day school where only the A team had any fixtures (back in the '80s). I would have loved to play in a C team against appropriate opposition.

I think you will find the schools will have A and B netball teams only. Also while there may be more rugby teams, the bottom teams will have very few matches.

Moore house school in Knightsbridge has done very well by two girls I know that sound a bit like the child in question. Good bursary programme too

Thank you so much, everyone, all the suggestions are much appreciated. I do find it hard to believe the prep head can't steer in the right direction but, as I said, this is all second-hand so I don't know exactly what was said. I'll get my cousin to investigate all these options.

I think it is More House btw.

Kingscote, things have clearly not changed much since the 80's in some schools. A good question when looking round senior girls schools would be to ask how many netball/hockey/whatever teams they put out in Year 7 and how many senior teams (Yrs 11-13) they put out. You might find that ithe answer to both questions in some quite large schools which pride themselves on their "sporty" reputations, is 2. Other schools will suggest they will put together as many teams as they have girls wanting to play. If only 14 girls get to play competitivbe netball in Yr 7, there can be a lot of girls who don't ever get a chance to represent their school. And the position may be worse in sports like swimming, tennis or hockey where club players are often better than the rest so the others don't get a look in.

As Jeanne suggests the same can be true for drama, and indeed music. When dong a tour of one school we asked about a girl who we had known from Prep and who had been a fantastic singer. Not good enough for the choir at her senior school apparently.

Reputations can come from excellence, however for most children opportunities to paerticipate are more important.

Boys schools tend to do sport much better.

I was going to suggest Northbridge House and King Alfred's as well.

Also look at Heathside which I understand is in the process of becoming secondary too and the Head has some interesting ideas about the curriculum being very child centred (as on focusing on individual children's interests and passions) and not necessarily academic.

I don't think Forest School has been mentioned? Also worth looking at if it's within reach, as I understand it's not as academic as other N London independents.

The obvious ones I know of are St Martha's in Hadley Wood and St Margaret's in Bushey. Both lovely ( St Martha's smaller, less glamorous but I hear excellent on pastoral side). Although actually I suppose they could be the schools the Head is thinking of as being increasingly hard to get in to. I think they both have a broad intake though and sound like they might suit your niece. I know children in both and I think the schools are well thought of. There's another small girls sec independent in Hampstead called St. Margaret's too. I think that is popular for less academic girls.

How about St Chris in Letchworth?