Merchant Taylors vs Habs vs St Albans

[Parenthood101]

DS has been offered places at each of MT, Habs and St Albans - very proud .
But now have to figure out which one.
All 3 seem to be great schools - Habs has the best results, but concerned on potential for it to be a bit intense?
St Albans is closest making it much better from a logistics perspective, but Habs (40 mins away) and MT (similar) campuses are very appealing.
Any advice appreciated - thanks.

Chose St Albans over Habs, due to cost and the intensity of the school. However, I wrongly assumed St Albans would be less pressured, Especially if your child is top set. The schools results recently are very impressive and marginally just behind Habs. I like the diversity and the vibe; boys are academic, yet very sporty. And if your son isn’t sporty there is music, drama and various other clubs and societies to join. Although my ds finds the workload heavy, he is more relaxed as he has found his own routine. He enjoys St Albans and is very proud of his school. He is pushed in subjects he excels in.
My main concern with St Albans was that it was seen as less ‘acadmeic’- I was proved wrong. There are some exceptionally bright boys and I am so glad my son goes there.

Thanks Camcam1,
At what stage is the setting done for different subjects at St Albans.
Also, approx. what are the average class sizes,
Thanks again - much appreciated.

Maths is set after first term exams.
Science and I believe English? Is set from third form.
There are 18 boys in my sons form, I believe the maximum in first form is 19. That is because St Albans added an extra class last year due to increasing acceptances. Usually it would be approximately 22-24. I personally love the class size, the boys get a lot of support in lessons. Good luck deciding. You have very good offers there. I was very close to choosing Habs last year as I loved it, who wouldn’t! But I did not like that there was nothing close by to Habs, no shops, no restaurants, transport, people?