Queenswood School or Belmont

[devopsyfrombarnet]

Greetings All.

This is a first time post from me, and this question has most likely been asked before, however, I am looking for more recent experiences.

My DD has been offered a Sports Performance Pathway Award from Belmont.
"The Sports Performance Pathway Award does not offer fee remission and will normally be tenable throughout DD's time here and at Mill Hill School"

And she has also been offered a Sports Scholarship from Queenswood.
She is in the highest sets in all classes in her state primary school, working above expected level, but I would not say she is gifted, although she did not get through 11+ exams for DAO, Latymer and Henrietta Barnet.
Does anyone here have any recent experience of these two schools and which would be the best fit?

I hope someone answers your question soon. Please think about removing your daughters name from your post.

Thanks @mummyoftwotoo. Unfortunately, I do not see a way to edit the post. First lesson learnt :)

Yes, and this has always been her first choice, but is slightly further away. I will probably visit both schools again before making a final decision.

I have a DS at Belmont and only have good things to say. Education is top notch (i have another DC at Habs and think the teaching, learning and curriculum are as good, in someways better at Belmont, just with a slightly wider spectrum of ability) My son isn't a particularly talented sportsman but gets involved in everything as that is the way they do things. I know training and opportunities are amazing for the very sporty DCs. Facilities are amazing.
I don't know anything firsthand about Queenswood but hear good things too. I guess it depends on distance (They aren't close to eachother!) and whether you prefer co-ed or girls!

I do know Queenswood is the top school for tennis in the country and they have over 25 courts. Hockey is taken very seriously too. Plenty of other sports are available and their new sports hall is fab. I’m an ex parent but if you look at their news feed, it’s sport, sport and more sport!

On the academics: I don’t think they have quite the results they did 10 years ago. Certainly not as high in the rankings as they were. However my DD passed the 11 plus did Grammar where we live an Queenswood can offer decent academics. Just not huge numbers of very bright DDs.

One advantage is that girls thrive with their sports there. It’s taken seriously - a bit too seriously for the less than sporty maybe? Sports scholars are expected to go on spirts tours I believe so check this out. They are expected to turn out for the school and some sports scholar parents found this disruptive every weekend.

Sorry for typos! You get the gist.

Hmmmm...thanks. I’m all for the sport, but I do not want it taking over our lives. I also think the academics would need to be more important then the sports. DD already swims 6 days a week including a couple of 5 am starts.

I am also v interested in this thread. My DD has been offered Channing and Queenswood and I'm in a total dilemma. We live close to Channing but about an hour away from Q. However, I liked the non pushy nature of Q and the fact that they seemed to value sport and extra curricular as much as the academics.
My DD is not amazingly sporty - infact one of reasons I like Q, is that I hope it will help her develop a love of it. But will she feel left out if she isn't a county level sportswoman? Is every other child going there at that level?

Many girls there are not county level, but still just participate in some kind of sport outside school. The county level thing is more for scholarship I would assume from the speeches that were given on the assessment day.

We have just accepted an offer from Queenswood for my daughter. The main reason we have chosen the school is because of the sport. My daughter loves sport but let’s just say her enthusiasm doesn’t match her talent. The school really does cater for girls like this as well as the elite sportswomen (of which there are many!) and sport forms an integral part of school life. Not just racing around on the hockey pitch but things like yoga, fencing, trampolining, badminton, cheerleading, fitness in the gym, fun swimming etc. Having C, D and E hockey teams in the lower years are also an attraction.

Best bit though? The drama, music and sports departments actually talk to each other and plan their co-curricular timetable accordingly so a girl can participate in all they have to offer.

Queenswood is also operating an extensive waiting list this year. The academic standard required for entry seems to have been raised in response to demand (although given the crazy London race for school places this could realistically be as Queenswood is being used as a backup school for Habs, NLCS etc).

For us it was a no brainier. The school is so busy and the girls there seemed really valued for their individuality. Our prep head suggested Wycombe Abbey for my DD and she also passed the Bucks 11+ with ease - she’s a smart kid. I have no concerns at all about her academic needs not being met there and I bet she’s going to have a whole lot of fun at the same time.

They really don’t have loads of high performing sports DDs. They have their sports scholars. They have competition for their 1st teams but the non sporty are catered for just as well. Dance is taken up by many. Keeping fit doesn’t have to be competitive sport. There is so much more to do than sport. My DDs went in being non sporty and stayed non sporty. However they did so much else. In fact DD1 had over 10 extra curricular activities when we added it up in y10. She did board though. DDs are encouraged to join in and take advantage of what’s on offer. I’m happy that my DDs did just that!

I think any school offering sports scholarships will expect something in return. However if swimming is your DDs sport, then it’s not hockey and tennis matches. Q will presumably not be concerned about extensive swimming training, and the time it takes out of the day. They presumably want the kudos of a top performing junior swimmer as they did with Jodie Williams (the sprinter) a few years ago. She just did sports day (and her dad won the fathers’ race by a mile) and trained elsewhere and was part time, effectively, in school. So presumably you need a conversation with Q about what their expectations are and what yours are. If it’s just swimming and she’s not doing any school sport or 1st team matches, then it’s just the academics at school for your DD. How much does she want to do other sport and be part of the school community?

When you look at the academics, you will find other local schools compete for academic DC. Q can only educate who it gets and it has good progress results. Of course it can educate very bright DC! Look at the destinations of leavers. However if DDs are training as hard and as long as you say, don’t you think academics might be a struggle anyway? 5am starts and a huge time commitment to sport won’t necessarily help with academics and homework. Often choices have to be made.

Q isn’t totally gentle on academics either. Any school wants pupils to do well. DDs do our pressure on themselves to do well. Some parents also expect good results.

Being in the E team was never an attraction for my DDs! If they have 64 DDs in a year, you are down to the 45-55 “best” girls for an E team. Mine would rather do something else which they were much better at. They felt they achieved something by pursuing their hobbies and interests. Sometimes sport in an E team is demotivating. You just know you are not very good! Participating in drama or music is a lot more fulfilling for some.

Mill hill has always been very sporty. I know a few really academic people who have come out of there but most seem to be more business oriented.

Or @BubblesBuddy, you just like playing e.g. hockey for fun and enjoy being part of a team. Fair enough if you have aspirations to be on the A team and you never make it, but for many girls being on any team is enough and they get so much out of it. My DD plays hockey outside school and is in the lowest division in the county for her age group. The biggest thing she has taken from it is it’s ok to just want to play, you don’t need to be super good, and you can still grow and improve as a player. She knows she is not going to make the A or B team and she is fine with that.

Maybe the problem with so many girls dropping out of sport in their teenage years is that a lot of schools if you’re not on the A team then you’re ignored and many don’t have more than an A and B team? In the race to be “the best” they are forgetting about those who just love sport and exercise and resigning them to two one hour long lessons a week.

My heart fills with joy at the “open to all” sports co-curricular activities lists at Queenswood. You can participate how much or as little as you want depending on your interests.

Well as you have yet to be a parent, I think you might find things are a bit different in reality! However they might not be because hopefully things have changed even if the rhetoric hadn’t. The sport for all mantra is still strong!

Don’t forget the 1st teams are made up from largely dedicated sporty girls. They do lots of sports. Some a gifted at many sports. It’s perfectly possible to feel like a complete sports failure pretty quickly if you are on the lowly E team. If you are not 1st or 2nd team you always were ignored!!! Pretty much. Maybe things have changed?

As DD was on the less than stellar badminton team (who never wanted to be a team but were made to compete in matches) who were all replaced when they consistently lost, your dreams might be just that, dreams. Badminton was started for those not doing hockey training. It was scheduled at the same time. To get a winning team, they changed the badminton slot to allow better sporty girls to do it. Never believe winning doesn’t matter at an independent school that values sport above everything else! Being on the E team won’t be much fun! Losing matches is even less prestigious! You could be replaced and thrown out of the “team”.

I think things have changed a lot since you were there then. I believe it was a few years before Mrs Cameron started as head?

It is an exceptionally sporty school, that I am not denying. Nor am I under any illusion that winning is everything to most independent schools - that’s why they have sports scholarships.

What I am saying is that there are opportunities for ALL girls at the school to try new things, participate and improve. Not just on the sports field. I have spent a lot of time talking to the school about this. Just look at how many girls turn up to football training there. Not everyone is on the A team. Some don’t even play on a team. But they can foster a love of sport and join in. Likewise they can be up at the crack of dawn doing early morning fitness or take a yoga class or trampoline. Nobody is telling them they can’t because they’re not good enough. They are encouraged to TRY things and have fun. For those who want to take it to a higher level they can but need to have realistic expectations. That to me is what sets the school apart.

Anyway, I feel the OPs post has been derailed a little. If it’s of any help I was blown away by the opportunities for elite sportswomen at Queenswood and with so many talented girls there being awarded a sports scholarship is no mean feat. I think my point is that sport forms part of the whole ethos of the school though and not just the very talented. For a sporty daughter that can only be a good thing?

I think that ideally, I would like to know how these 2 schools differ on the academic stage. I know that sports is good at both. It’s the academics that I am interested in knowing about. League tables do not always tell the complete truth.

Big thread about mill hill academics on the primary education forum. Summary, not a particularly academic school, results no better than local comps, but clearly much better sports facilities

I did say the progress the girls make at Q is exceptional. However look at the results and you can see for yourself what the comparisons are. Q was offering the pre-U. With the more difficult A levels this might well die a death. I’ve seen this predicted elsewhere. It’s easy enough to check GCSE and A level grades attained and compare. If you want to see high level academic courses at top universities as the norm, you won’t see it at Q. Getting LSE, Imperial, Oxbridge, medics and vets isn’t what is achieved very often. Teachers move on and you cannot guarantee excellent teaching in any school for all subjects. Q, like lots of schools, cannot always find the best teachers. But they try!

You must know it’s not as academic as the two schools mentioned above. Plus St Albans school for girls (the independent one). Q has never been known for being academic (although it used to match my local grammar school) but few get offers from Oxbridge.

A lot of the brighter girls have not applied to, or decided not to go to, more academic schools for all sorts of reasons. In quite a few cases it was preferable to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. In some cases their mum was an old girl so they didn’t look elsewhere. Parents also want DDs to be happy and value the extra curricular opportunities. So the school works for them.

I would not worry about academics. If you want a stellar academic school you know where they are.

Although i can't do a compare and contrast re the two schools, re Belmont/Mill Hill my experience of the academic side of things is very positive. Core subjects are taught rigorously, the teachers are passionate about their subjects. Expectations are high and those DCs who are able are pushed to meet their potential. In certain subjects the level they are working at is higher than what my DC at Habs was covering in the same year. The spread of ability is wider for sure. But this simply creates a less pressurised environment. The School aims to find the talent in each child using its wide curriculum ..
DCs who are able will do as well in public exams as any of the more academic schools. Those who are less academic will find their own niche. But for this reason the league tables don't tell the whole story...

I have had the opportunity to speak to a few Belmont mums and so far, it’s all positive reviews.

There are very few parents who would ever say they have made a mistake and it’s awful! That’s saying you have poor judgement and have wasted your money. Q parents would be equally gushing. However you need to ask about your exact position.

@devopsyfrombarnet Where did you chose in the end?

After visiting Belmont/Mill Hill again, and after a long meeting with the Director of Sport at Queenswood, it was Queenswood that left the best impression, so Queenswood was the choice. The recent gcse results and the level of scholarship was also a deciding factor.