North London 11+ UCS VS MTS dilemma- wisdom gratefully received

[Mumontherun100]

Dear mums (&Dads). We would be enormously grateful for some reflections/ experiences regarding our current school decision dilemma for our 11yr old! Essentially our Son has gained offers at both UCS & MTS after 11+ assessments. He loved MTS as he is sporty and he found the school very welcoming. He is bright but not highly academic. We however worry that a long journey from hampstead (walk then coach) will be tiring and leave him living far from friends etc. Conversely he is less keen on nearby UCS but to be honest, this may be based just on a couple of interactions at the school and the lack of such impressive sports/ IT facilitates (in his eyes; of course the facilities are superb). The dilemma is therefore between him walking to an excellent school or travelling about an hour each way to the school of his dreams- we are stuck ! If anyone has direct experience of either school we would love to hear ! Thank you so much

What a nice dilemma!

DS is at MTS. We chose it over a closer school. He probably has a 45 minute coach journey depending on traffic. He spends it doing homework as quickly as he possibly can.

DS is capable but not keen, motivated or sporty. I don’t think he would be a different boy at any school but he’s pretty cheerful which says a lot about mts. There’s encouragement without pressure and an emphasis on the whole boy.

For a sporty boy there’s unlimited opportunities but I think that’s true of most of these schools. There’s also a tutor system which works well as there’s someone who gets to know your son really well. Lots of nice friends who do come from a wide area but that small 10 year old boy will be a strapping 14 year old capable of sorting out their own social life before you know it.

I don’t know anything about UCS but a walk to school sounds very attractive.

I think you'd be crazy to send your son all the way out to Moor Park every day when you have a very good school like UCS on your doorstep.

Unless things have changed drastically in the last few years, there will be few if any MTs boys living near you. They will live in places like Chorleywood, Pinner, Northwood or even Amersham. There is a good local community round UCS. Yes those playing fields around MTs are impressive but am unconvinced they are worth 10+ hours' commute a week for your son when UCS is as you say on the doorstep. No school is perfect. Your DS doesn't know the reality of what that commute would be like, but you do.

I would lean towards UCS if i were you!!

Have you actually been to the UCS sports grounds? Which are finally being finished which is a bonus for anyone coming in now. They're only 10 minutes up the road and I can't imagine why your son would need more than they offer. He can only play on one pitch at a time after all.

I'd go for the local school every time (and we are going to do so). We looked at MTS, but it was only ever our Plan B school because of distance from where we live. Fortunately, our DS got into the more local school which was our Plan A. Having been to independent school myself it's not just the coach journey, it's all the extracurricular stuff that your DS will get into as he progresses through the school that will entail staying late and then you having to go and get him, plus sports fixtures at weekends, plays or musical events, parents' evenings, etc. That long drive through heavy London traffic risks becoming an albatross around your neck!

I'm also an MTS parent. I won't pass judgement on the merits of a local school versus one further away.

But in answer to your question about local friends, I'm surprised how large an area pupils come from. I don't know the overall split but I know there's a few boys in my son's rugby team from central London. I suspect this is the case across the school.

We are fairly local and my son grumbles about his friends wanting to meet in Harrow or more centrally when they go out..!

It’s too far, much too far to do this twice a day and the majority of the boys are much more Northwood and into bucks. Trust me, I did a similar journey as a child and it’s too far to do it long term when you don’t need to

Don’t underestimate being local to school, UCS is. Great school and loads of sporty boys