Can anyone 'rank' the SW London selective schools

[FlumePlume]

Inspired by the SW London thread, I was wondering if there's a generally agreed 'ranking' for selective schools in SW London? The usual advice is to go for three - a stretch, a should-get and a banker. But what does this actually mean in terms of schools? Coming from a state primary, the whole thing is very opaque.

Totally agree with schoolhysteria.

A commute on the District Line for the next 7 years will be a pain for your DD and you. Don't be fooled into thinking about the days it will be OK - think about the days when it's a nightmare. As a regular commuter I know this!

Also think about early starts and late finishes. How will your DD get to before school sports sessions which start at 7? What about Saturday matches at school starting at 9? Wouldn't it be better to stay South of the river and make your DD's life a bit easier?

We got offered a brilliant school (one of the top tier ones) and turned it down after a horrendous journey to interview. Haven't regretted it one bit!

PHS & WHS are a good starting point, easy journeys make a huge difference, if your daughter is exceptional you can reconsider at 15/16 and she can switch to Westminster for A levels otherwise those two schools will get your daughter into any university if she has the drive & ability.

When you see the amount of games kit all these schools seem to have these days, add a hockey stick and a clarinet, you'll see why Tube in the morning isn't such a great idea. Private schools tend to have enough lockers, but that doesn't mean the beasts actually use them and there is an endless daily mountain of Stuff.

One reason for not looking too closely at the league tables is that they reflect how selective the intake 5/7 years ago. All the schools will produce children with strings of A*/A in their top sets and teach all sets well.

agree re the mountain of stuff. It's amazing how my teenage dd manages to carry all the sports kit,, stick, instrument and books and yet still manages to carry a hot Costa coffee and keep one hand free for whatsapp! Such a skill!

Lots to think about, thanks. I had been assuming a coach would be a pain (what if you miss it, what if you need to go early / stay late for some reason) and that being at a school near decent public transport would be more flexible and therefore easier. But maybe not, by the sound of it.

And while an easy journey is important, other things are too. It's not really the academic side, as all these schools will support a bright child to do well. It's things like the pastoral care, the approach (I don't want an exam factory, I want intellectual curiosity and lots of encouragement to have interests in stuff beyond the exam curriculum) and whether they really treat all the children as individuals and 'get' them. Moon on a stick, I know.

Thing is, dd is likely to do well academically as long as she's in a class without major disruption. She will do better and (I think) be happier in a class with academic peers, and that's why I want a selective school for her. But the key thing is to find a school where she's a good fit and can be happy.

Some schools have an early coach and a late coach
Some only have a late coach
Costs vary but friends are paying around £250 a term and that is only one way so for coach there and coach home £500!

as the parent of a y7 DD please please do not underestimate the journey.
by october half term they are on their knees. they are only 11 after all.
DDs rucksack she can just about lift, plus 2 days a week sports bag, hockey stick. one day an instrument...

we chose the easiest journey (not actually the closest school - which was a fiddly 2 buses). i am grateful every day that we did.

i still end up dropping her off / picking up at least one day a week.

also be aware that some of the schools have distant sports grounds -factor that journey in too!

from wimbledon and wanting single sex i would be aiming at either WHS or LEH.

and give Tiffin a go.

I agree with TeddTess. Don't underestimate the importance of the journey in allowing your dd to take advantage of the opportunities available to her.

My dd can walk, take a local public bus or be collected by car. Some of her school year friends live as far afield as Wandsworth and Windsor. She is not limited in participating in the plethora of extra-curricular activities, whether that be music, sport, drama, chess club etc by an arduous and difficult journey home. It's a big part of school life for most girls and can be difficult for some to participate and benefit from all that's on offer if the journey home is difficult.

Agree on watching the journey. Neighbours of ours turned down the excellent independent on our door step for one supposedly higher in the league table. DD has to be driven to the bus stop every morning, then gets a coach that can take up to an hour. Journey repeated at the end of the day.

I was slightly amused when the mother complained about the journey for her when parents' evening was on. She struggles with the journey there approx once per term, but somehow it is ok for her DD to do it every day.

Agree about journey. I would place high priority on it when choosing a school. I think it would be horrendous to have a long journey on top of a long day with heavy bags etc. My DS in Year 9 finishes school (lessons) at 5.30pm on three days a week. Thankfully they only have a 15 minute walk to school.

the other thing that has become clear now my dd is in and i can see clearly (!) is that all these schools have a range of ability. It's not like SPGS has the top 1%, LEH the next 3%, then WHS the next 3% etc..

Yes TT and it is quite possible to do well anywhere, even a state school!

Long tube journeys are difficult for young Y7 children if they don't have friends to commute with them. I am commuting with DS for now which is not too much of a pain because I work on the same line. He is fine on the way back. I was told the coach is better for the first 2 years, then they prefer the independence of the tube later on, I hope this is true! The school is fantastic though but commute is an issue at the moment. And his friends are all over London, which is not ideal. Fortunately there are hardly any week ends fixtures or after school extras, and he can easily fit his PE/swimming/games kits in his school bag.

Just re-reading this and it's been incredibly helpful - thank you all.

Next step is to do a bit of research on all the schools mentioned, particularly the journey to and from.

Sutton High School is also accessible from Wimbledon by train or the school put on a bus from a couple of SW19 pick up points. They suffer from competition with the grammars for the top performers and so its a possible "banker". It's a nice school, although quite small so not a huge number of places on offer once places have been allocated to those coming from the junior school, but I'd say it's easier to get in than the likes of WHS/PHS

out of interest, how long is the journey from Wimbledon to Tiffins girls in the morning - and how on earth do girls get from Wimbledon to Nonsuch?! Presumably no coaches exist, so just wondered how it was done.

Sutton High School seems to rank ok in the league tables. We liked the feel of the place when we visited, and Head seemed nice and approachable.

If you are in Wimbledon and near the station you should look at GHS, Guildford high, as the school is next to the train station - 150m walk ! It's a 38min direct train from Wimbledon and a 2min walk. Beats LEH in every category and is very friendly too !

Not sure what Eva6768 means by "beats" in every category, but one thing to consider is where your dd's friends will be. I don't doubt that GHS is an excellent school but having local friends is crucial and if you commute to Guildford each day you are likely to have friends up to an hour the other side of Guildford. At LEH a large number of girls come in from the Wimbledon area and the classes are arranged geographically so you are put with the girls that you live near to. A large proportion of my dd's class class live nearby us which make socialising (and lift shares) very easy. LEH also provides a shuttle bus service to Teddington station each evening so if girls miss the school coach due to after school activities, they can get the train home (it's a very quick and easy train ride from Teddington to Wimbledon and the trains are very frequent). Not sure I'd fancy my daughter travelling back late from school on her own in the dark from Guildford!

Iloveshortbread - it's an easy train journey from Wimbledon to Kingston, about 15 mins but then Tiffin Girls is a good 15/20 minute walk, although you can hop on a bus. As for Nonsuch it's a fairly tricky journey involving 2 trains I think. It was enough to make me skip the open evening anyway as a waste of time,by the time i'd worked out the odds of getting a place if you're out of catchment!

OMG why would you trek to guildford high from wimbledon!?

LOADS of great schools way more convenient than that. madness.

When comparing league tables make sure you are looking at GCSE tables and not A level as most top schools draft in "bright" outside students for A levels to sit alongside their top home grown GCSE students. Also ask schools what % of 11 & 13 intakes actually sit the GCSE's.

Wimbledon to Tiffin Girls would be at least a 45 minute journey by bus in the morning but many girls will go overland by train (which is considerably quicker). But the bus only goes as far as Kingston Town Centre so then another bus or a walk too.

Nonsuch is rather out of the way (near Cheam Village), so either overland train to Sutton and then bus, or bus to Colliers Wood and then the 470 which stops near the school's front entrance (but it does go round the houses so would again be a 1hr+ journey time).

Strangely, in terms of accessing the Sutton grammars, it's easier by public transport if you live on the other side of the borough to Wimbledon.

Many DCs I know who go to these state super-selectives schools (and there are many from Merton) are driven though.

Thanks v much for insight re school journeys. Tbh, I don't think Guildford is such a mad choice (not one of us though) from Wimbledon. I've personally always preferred the public transport choice to school coach, partly because you don't want to be paying for a coach you're not using either because your child is sick, or on a school trip away, or on a sleepover. It's just money down the drain surely?