Need to move DD at start of Year 8 - where to in Hampstead area?

[plutow]

My DD moved from state education Year 6 into in a tiny prep school in Hampstead for Year 7 last year. Bad timing but her dad also moved out of home and it all came at once. She has really hated the size of her new school and hasn't made any allies/friends. She has been showing me texts from other girls to her which are rude and horrible. Happier news is that this summer her dad moved back in, but she has been dreading starting Year 8 at school and she even got a prank call last night with two girls giggling down the phone at her. As this school doesn't go above GCSE level it seems logical for us to move her now to a school which goes all the way to A-Levels... but where to? She is arty-sporty and excels in English, but hates Maths and Science. She really loves learning/a disciplined learning environment but she is not academic. Highgate? Channing? Northbridge? North London Collegiate? Heathside? Queens College? Does anyone know anything about Aldenham? Thank you...

Of those schools you've got the best chance of getting into Northbridge as it is less selective. DD is there, just going into year 9, and I think it's fine as do other parents. My only qualm is that they give them too much homework in the holidays. Other than that, no negative comments. I'm sure it's not perfect but I'm not aware of anything severe and the kids seen so happy and friendly.

Don't have any DCs there, but have heard lovely things about Aldenham - good all-round education, nurturing & strong co-curricular. Girls are in the minority however the family I know there believe their DD has been v well catered for. Would def rule out NLCS if you don't see your daughter as a strong academic all-rounder (don't get me wrong, it's a lovely school, but there are girls a plenty there being tutored externally just to keep up, as at Habs, down the road). Hope that helps & good luck to you xx

Northbridge House, Queen's College and Aldenham are moderately selective which sounds right for your daughter, especially since you need a space outside normal intake.

These are three quite different schools so you should visit and get a feel. (I don't know much about Aldenham except that it is probably a bit less academic than the other two, which we quite liked, a couple of years ago).

Perhaps add Mill Hill/Belmont? A school I don't know much about, but have heard it has lovely grounds (compared to central London schools) and is quite sporty. Open day on 8 October. It also has an intake at 13, in case you have to wait for year 9 (or your interim solution is not very good).

Applying in-year like this, you will have to be quite lucky for there to be a space at all, so you need to cast your net wide - call the registrars and ask if there is any chance. But spending time on very selective schools like NLCS and Highgate would waste time, and distract and frustrate you - they will require excellent maths skills, no question.

For a (very) rough indicator of how academic and selective various schools are, and to find ideas for other schools, look at pct A/A star at GCSE - e.g. Telegraph online. (And avoid the top 20-50). Good luck!

For your convenience:
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/09/02/gcse-results-2016-independent-schools-table/

Although it has 329 schools, but not all schools are listed - so we have to supplement from school websites:

Aldenham was 37% (not listed)
Northbridge House in Hampstead (also not listed) was at 50%
Queen's College London (don't confuse with the one in Taunton!) did really well this year all the way up at 77%. (It is also quite arty, BTW).

Do not get hung up on these percentages - most likely these seemingly very big differences mostly reflect selectivity of intake, and nobody can tell from this in which of these your DD would do better (or feel more at home, be happier etc) - the point is that the very very high (see NLCS!) or very low numbers mean the school is very unlikely to be a good fit for her in terms of academic level.

And what about also checking out the state options? E.g. do you live near Parliament Hill - which I have heard (from a single source) is friendly and arty?

If you are looking for a school for this week I think you are going to need to get on the phone. Girls maybe try st Margarets bushes. St Martha,s Enfield. More House. Co ed Aldenham, Mill Hill, st Chris Letchworth. St Ed,s Ware. Check out bus routes. Also check out if any state have spaces.

Not North London Collegiate if she's not academic.

Same with Highgate, Habs.

FYI, Nbh term starts on Thursday so you've got time still probably

You could also add Portland Place - roughly same journey as to queen's?

Thank you to everyone... so far it's been a question of where has a place, and there's nowhere just yet! I have taken on board what you have said about academic/vs./non which has ruled out some options at least. Now it's a waiting game!