Ursuline High School, Virgo Fidelis, Notre Dame

[VeryHappyIndeed]

Hello! I am looking into these schools to apply in the autumn and I would appreciate very much any comments from parents currently sending their daughters to these schools or who have left recently.

Are there other all girls catholic schools that you would recommend? Or all girls state schools (selective or not) near SE London?

Many thanks!

OP - are you looking at the admissions criteria for all these schools? If they are oversubscribed they very rarely get past the top admissions criteria.

Does your dd attend a catholic church most weeks and is she confirmed? Look very carefully at the admissions criteria that the catholic schools demand.

Other schools tend to operate very tight catchment areas. I see you mentioned Charter further up the thread (great school!) which has a very tight catchment on distance.

If you list lots of schools you have no chance of getting into you will end up with a place that is left after all the other places have been allocated to people who did list them. So you need to be realistic. Although with 6 preferences you can afford t list probably 4 'long shot' schools that are your favourites, but then you need to list two that you will definitely meet the criteria for.

Thank you very much Raining and Vallancy for your comments. We have now reduced our list to the schools where there is a possibility (even if small) of getting in and will also add 1 or 2 which are not our preferred ones but where there is a very reasonable chance to get a space. You are right about the strict catchment areas, so have taken the Charter out as we would be out of catchment for that one.

The day of sending the application is getting closer and it is such a worrying time with so much uncertainty! Many thanks

Good luck, it is a tense time from now until March 1st!

Will you put Kingsdale down, as that is a lottery so not dependent on distance, and does your Dd have any particular aptitude, fir music, for example? For schools that have places reserved for music (Norwood I think) or languages (Chestnut Grove, but I could be wrong).

You do need a school, last on the list if it is not your preferred school, that you will definitely be offered a place at.

Can you tell us your nearest school? You are clearly in S London

Hi Raining, yes, we will put one school where we think that we would get an offer. I am not sure about Kingsdale as it is a lottery, like you mentioned, and I didn’t like it that much when we visited though I know that it has a very good reputation. It is indeed a very stressful time! But it will all be fine in the end, right? That’s what I say to myself to feel better : )

2years 8 mounts and 3 weeks ago I faced the most disappointing day in which nor I or any other person of any ability should have endured. Joining Brentwood Ursuline convent night school for girls was one of the worst choices made for me. This school proves and is presented as a great convent school and yes the results may back up the learning etiquette for this school however, when it came down to the simply respect and offering of help and virtue for me and my family there standards seemed to no longer apply. Without capturing the schools reputation, the simple human decency of the staff themselves are merciless and have no regard for help- coming from a convent school this is shocking. A member of my family was facing anxiety towards learning and when no pleased help was required and severe impact struck all the school could offer was waiting, missed phone calls and pointless meetings which where all to prevent the police getting involved all to prevent there reputation.

Wrong Ursuline - I think this thread relates to the Wimbledon Ursuline High school.