A thread for anyone waiting for St paul's, City, NLC, Godolphin 11+ results 2017

[cdstandingnow]

Lots of helpful 11+ threads out there but here is a "sub thread" for anyone waiting for results from any of these 4 horribly competitive london day girls schools.

How did your girls find the written assessments, interviews? Have you applied to more than one of these schools? Any preferences if you have a choice? Hopefully this thread will help other parents in the same boat in subsequent years.

Do join in, bite nails together, share any insider info that you might have and hopefully celebrate all the outcomes on Friday, 10th!!!

Crickey, those are 3 very different schools so it may be help if you make a list of your priorities and choose the school that meets most of them. Godolphin and Latymer Upper are about the same academically, perhaps Godolphin is slightly ahead. Both schools have exceptional facilities. Latymer is stronger for the arts - music, drama etc. If that's a passion choose it. Notting Hill and Ealing cannot compete academically with those two schools, is less prestigious but will have a wider social mix of families and therefore likely more inclusive. You know where your child is academically compared with her peers. It is often advised to choose the school where she will be comfortably positioned academically than one that she may have to work hard to keep up with peers. If she is academically strong and focused Godolphin/Latymer ma suit better.
Godolphin has more prep school kids than the other two who have many kids from state primaries feeding into them.
As I said, very different schools choose the one you feel your daughter will be happiest.
Well done for securing all three!

Thanks CDST. Notting Hill was our safety application and I think we will discoutvitvalthough it is cheaper sndvit is less likely to massively hike its fees up so that was a draw.

My daughter is from a large state primary and is used to boys and a big social mix. She is very good at maths but less so at English which draws me to LU. Also she's a swimmer and a runner but no team sports so maybe that's more LU too. She is very sweet and kind and caring but quite innocent which feels more G&L. She liked to sing so maybe G&L. She was born late August so she will be the very youngest so the pastoral and nurturing reputation of G&L is appealing.

It's a great choice to have. I'm frustrated that G&L don't offer another visit whereas LU do.

Also trying to decide between NLCS and Godolphin. NLCS a little further away but DD loves the open space and facilities there and strong academics. DD also liked Godolphin as seemd v friendly. Any advice?

Schnooky, NLC is a better school than Godolphin on any measure I can think of. If it can be conveniently reached and your daughter also likes it it's a no brainer! There is an open day for offer holders this week. Go along and ask loads of questions to help you decide.

OP, with all due respect, I don't think a sweeping statement such as "NLC is a better school than Godolphin on any measure I can think of" reflects the reality that both are excellent schools, and that the choice of school cannot be done on some absolute league table basis. It is about finding the right school for a particular girl, given her needs, skills and personality. I am convinced that the answer to this, for some girls, will be G&L.

Furthermore, and back to your absolute basis, please provide evidence that NLCS is more nurturing than G&L. Or was this not one of the measures of interest/relevance?

I did not say both are not good schools. I said one is better than the other and it is. Not all schools are equal. To suggest that they are is frankly not facing up to facts and not helpful to the OP. "Nurturing" is a subjective term, means different things to different people. For some it means ensuring an academically very able child is given the challenges they need to thrive, for others it's about pastoral care to help a reticent child find their voice etc. Only OP knows their child best and can decide which of the schools will meet their child's "nurturing" needs. She will get answers to that particular question by attending open days for offer holders. Fwiw NLC is considered a nurturing school, each child is allocated a tutor that keeps a close eye on their academic development, emotional well being, friendships etc but obviously girls need the intellectual abilities to thrive in a very academic environment in the first place. OP's child clearly does, to have passed their challenging assessment and interview - one of the most demanding interviews of any London Day School.

one is better than the other and it is

This not helpful when comparing these two schools for a particular girl. Many of the things that are important about a school cannot be easily measured and are qualitative in nature. This is why sensible people use their gut and instinct when selecting a school for (and with!) their child. Ethos, values, culture etc - these are not linear.

Horses for courses. Different girls will respond differently (better!) to different environments. "Better" when not applied to a specific aspect and/or girl can be a simplistic fallacy. You actually seem to come along with this way of thinking in your comment about "nurturing", which I also agree is relative to the girl and her needs.

I am sorry I am losing the will to continue with this. We have both expressed our views. I shall leave it to OP to determine which of our comments she finds constructive!

Cdstandingnow: OP means Original Poster, and on this thread that is in fact you. (I am happy to have contributed something you did not already know on this thread...)

And since you have so strong views on these schools the choice should very easy for you.

Surely this is splitting hairs? These are both amazing schools where the vast majority of kids come out with all A*s and As. Girls
will excel academically at both schools.

The key to choosing is identifying where a child will be happy while they excel. In my view happinrss will be most affected by having the shortest easiest commute and choosing a school where other girls come
from your neighbourhood. That supports a happy life out of school.

Other considerations are which schools have the best activities in your child's sphere of interes. If your daughter loves sport but isn't amazing at it choose a school with A through E teams and an inclusive approach. If they are highly competitive at a sport l, chose a school with a highly competitive approach. If swimming is their passion chose a school with a pool. If music is there thing look at the music department. These are the features that help you choose between top flight schools NOT whether one get 94% As and the other 99%.

I don't think the definition of "OP" is particularly relevant to this debate. A little petty really to be focusing on that.

I don't usually comment on threads regarding schools on mumsnet because as soon as anyone dares position one school above the other you have posters like NWgirls immediately jumping on their throats often due to sour grapes. It really kills debate. Fact #1 - there are about 6 or so girls day schools in London that can all be considered excellent including NLC and Godolphin. Fact # 2, if you specifically pitch NLC against Godolphin, NLC is above in the same way that Cambridge is a better university than say, Durham, although both are considered good. Anyone who tries to convince themselves otherwise is not really facing reality. Girls who are offered a place at NLC also always get offered Godolphin but not the other way round. Furthermore at this high level none of these schools will be lacking in the wide range of sport, music etc options that Crickey mentions. Talk about seeking "nurturing" is stating the obvious and again, all schools deliver this to their girls even dare I say elitist St Paul's which many mumsnetters like to slate for all the wrong reasons. Besides most parents would consider nurturing as their primary responsibility not the school's.

Schnooky, you asked for advice and opinions. Mine is firmly go for NLC if it isn't a difficult journey for your child.

"Sensible people use their gut and instinct". What a condescending statement! If that's always the case why would anyone ever bother seeking advice from open forums like this?

Biw: "Sensible people use their gut and instinct". Not as the sole input of course - but to try to choose the environment that, as Crikey said, will make the girl happy and comfortable. It was not meant to be condescending, sorry if it read that way. Intuition and the girl's own view/feeling, which can be hard to pinpoint, should in my view also be taken into account, that was what I was trying to say. Good luck with the choices, two great schools, hard to go wrong.

Thanks for all your advice. I think the arguments back and forth reflect my dilemma. I will be going to take another look at both to make a final decision. Difficult when I know DD would be happy at either.

Thanks CDST for the open day suggestion

CrikeyG If you ask G&L they will.

For any of you parents holding offers to City I wondered what you think about City closing their intake list early, before the 6th March official deadline and bumping offer holders to waiting lists! Seems bizarre and unethical for City to do this before their open day for offer holders which they publicised as an event to help parents get to know the school so they can decide.

It doesn't seem ethical and it adds stress to an already stressful system. You shouldn't change a process after you have advertised it. Plus I'm not sure how it's in their interest given they presumably offered to the most able girls.

We have accepted G&L. We went back for a visit and DD just feels very happy when imagining herself there. Good luck with your choices all.

We're down to NLCS vs SPGS as City as now rescinded their offer. I guess that makes it easier for us. Both offer bus service. DD leaning towards SPGS.

Did they warn you they were going to rescind in advance? How bizarre!

@nightswimming the paperwork was very clear that it was first come, first served. Annoying for some but I would wager that it is as much of a surprise to CLSG as it is to the parents that they are at 100% before offer holders morning.

I would also add, they emailed when acceptances reached 65% which only left 26 places. It is the speed at which all 26 went which seems to have caught most unaware (all gone in just over 24 hours).

They made the decision for us which is fine. They obviously over offered. It's not the first time they've done it or this has happened. It speaks to how they view the girls.

The communication was fine it's the policy I woukd question. Is it ethical?No other school does this. Quite shocked really as City has been excellent throughout this stressful 11+ process. They clearly over offered way too much and panicked. By bullying parents into making a snap decision they've ended up with a weaker intake overall as the stronger candidates had other options they were still considering e.g. NLC, spgs, Godolphin, prestigious boarding schools some with scholarship. They should have at least waited for the open day before accepting offers or brought forward the open day to this week like all the other schools are doing. Poor.