UCS Hampstead & City

[cantstopstressing]

Wondering whether to apply here for a year 7 place for DS who is bright, sporty and outgoing. We are applying for Highgate, Belmont & Forest and thinking of adding UCS and maybe City but I don't want to overburden him with exams. I visited a few years ago and liked it but thought the kids were a bit snooty. City I loved but in my mind it's a cut above other in terms of difficulty to get into. Is that right or is it really the same as UCS and Highgate?

I would say Highgate, City and UCS are about the same. More people apply to City as it's easier to get to and much cheaper.
Belmont and Forest I would say is same league.

I agree with @foxesandsquirrels. Highgate is not easier to get into than UCS or City.

Also, do remember that for Highgate you're also up against girls so the actual number of places available for either gender is about half of the intake.

There are children who get offered a place at City but not at Highgate - I think they might look for slightly different personalities.

We skipped single sex schools in the end (last year) so never attempted any of those.

@wouldlikeapuppy Yes, I would argue that Highgate is probably the hardest to get into out of them all due to not many highly academic co- ed schools being available in that area and its quite liberal ethos for a super selective.

UCS is a wonderful school. My son had the best time there and got very hood results. They were very caring and prized personal development as well as academic prowess.

DS did City, UCS and Highgate and got offered the first two (but interviewed at Highgate). I do know of someone who was only offered Highgate and not the other two. Generally I know more offered City than the others purely by dint of numbers of places available.

Belmont and Forest are miles from each other. We didn't do either but at the time we regretted not doing Forest as the three we did were all a bit of a 'reach' for a non-genius from a state school. However, we had a rule of no more than three exams and actually, with the three interviews on top of that, it did feel pretty onerous. To do all five seems a bit scattergun as well as loads of work - do you prefer Belmont/Forest to UCS and City? In which case I wouldn't do the latter as you're more likely to be offered places at the former.

Thanks all, very helpful. Think we will definitely apply to UCS and possibly CIty as well although I hate the thought of so many exams (and potential rejections!). Anyone know how many applications UCS get, approximately? I know that Highgate is around 900 for 80 places.

I don't know how many applications they get now that they've got rid of the 13+. When ds did it, it was a similar ratio to Highgate, about 300 for 28 places or something like that. But it's possibly better now that there are more places at 11+.

You need to know how many of the 900 of the Highgate applicants that were boys to find out the actual places to applicants ratio. As there are many more great girls' schools in North London, and from what I remember from the exam in Jan, my guess is that there are more boys applying to Highgate than girls. Still the actual intake is ~50-50.

We limited the exams to 3 but I know those who did 6-7... Of the schools you mentioned, DC did Forest and Highgate (and another one). Personally I'd suggest sitting either Forest or Belmont...

Thanks wouldlikeapuppy. Why would you do either Forest or Belmont? DS is a clever boy but my fear is that these schools all get so many applications that nothing is a sure bet. I know bright kids in my older son's class who didn't get Belmont.

Oh, really? I've not heard about anyone that sat Belmont and didn't get an offer. The same with Forest. To me, these are nice "banker schools" for North London indies when applications to other schools like Highgate, grammar etc are unsuccessful. I had the impression that any able child (but not top set) would get a place there, but maybe I'm wrong. It's just my experience.

Maybe we came from another angle as we would have been happy with the local comp should it not work out with any of the preferred schools? That meant that we didn't have to get an offer as we had a decent state back-up. Those who I know who sat many more exams, only wanted indies and were therefore under more pressure. Highgate was the preferred indie option.

Hi wouldlikeapuppy. Definitely not the case. Forest gets 700-800 applications for 180 places and Belmont gets 500 for 45-50 places. Yes they over offer and lots are applying to more than one school but it's definitely not the case that all kids get offers. I know a child who was in the top sets at our local primary and didn't get an offer from Belmont. Forest is also not that easy - I know a number of above average kids who didn't get offers. The problem is that everywhere is quite signficantly oversubscribed.

@cantstopstressing It all comes down to what is seen as average, I guess. I remember an acquaintance saying how amazing her DC was at primary and how only a certain school would be good enough for Yr7 etc. Turned out that being top at that school, that year, didn't really translate into anything in the bigger scheme.

But I would assume that if the aspiration is City, Highgate etc then you'd know that your DC would not be deemed as "average" and therefore Belmont/Forest would be a backup (to these schools). The number of applications to places is a slightly flawed way of seeing how hard is it to get in to a school. It is often the same children applying to all of these schools, but with different ranking in terms of preference. Some schools are more often the top choice whereas some schools are a backup, some even the backup for the backup or the backup for the backup for the backup etc. I'm going to be honest and admit that I didn't discuss 11+ with that many. I was more interested in finding the right school for DC but anyone I know that accepted places at Belmont/Forest did not have it as the first choice.

It is a tough time to get through. We only picked schools where we thought there was a reasonable chance for DC to get in to. We did tutor but not to the extreme. No working every day, no extra work on holidays etc.

If I believed my DC to be "average", I think we would have applied to different schools. For the more selective schools, I think a child needs to be good a both maths and English which is not always easy. There is a balance between having enough options and applying to too many schools...

I agree @cantstopstressing - certainly with regards to Forest (I don't know Belmont). I know perfectly bright well-supported kids who haven't got places. It's become much more popular with children from Hackney and Islington recently and isn't necessarily done just as a back-up.

However, I'd still be tempted to enter only one of Forest and Belmont, whichever is closer, if you also want to throw in City & UCS.

But I'd also agree with @wouldlikeapuppy that it's far easy to minimise the number of exams if you're happy to go state. The three privates we applied to seemed to offer something worth paying for and we were ambivalent about private anyway having had a good experience with our FSM heavy, requires improvement primary.

Crossed posts but I think we're agreeing - if you think your child has a realistic chance of City/UCS/Highgate then Forest and Belmont should be considered near sure-things. The children I know who didn't get into Forest, wouldn't have got into those other schools, in fact they didn't apply to them.

@PatienceVirtue I think we agree upon it all.

I think there are 2 main approaches - 1. Only indie or 2. Happy with state. I put no value into either because it all depends on your child and what state school you have access to. (I also believe that the home environment has a bigger impact than the school.) For DC, it was really only one school in the end that we thought would give DC something extra (and hence worth the money) when we had all options on the table.

Sorry to add a question here - if you have a DS in City, are you happy with the school? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the school in your opinion?

DS will be doing the 11+ at City but we have not managed to physically visit the school due to covid, so any information will be very helpful!

No personal experience but a number of friends with DC at City, Highgate and a few at Forest. I know kids who've got places Highgate and not City, and vice versa, from what I've seen/heard they seem to be roughly on a par academically. Highgate has a reputation for being wealthier and City more down-to-earth, diverse etc. Like other posters, the families I know who sent DC to Forest didn't have it as a first choice or, in one case, wanted something a bit more chilled out so my impression is that it's not quite as hard academically to get a place there. Have met some v nice, well-rounded kids from all three schools.

On the question of how many to apply for, I'd say (as we reach the end of the epic grammar application process with our youngest) don't go overboard!

@PrettyAutumnLeaves As I said in previous post, no personal experience of City but have friends with boys there and they have all been very happy. They are all quite different boys so the school seems to be good at nurturing the individual.

I find it difficult to gauge DS's chances to get into these schools. He is bright (top set at his state primary (which is rated outstanding in case that makes any difference) and works hard and his tutor thinks he is more than capable of getting into these schools. However, I am well aware that the competition is stiff so I am honestly not sure any of these schools are safe bets. We would have been happy to go state had there been a decent state school near us but sadly there isn't so we are left looking at private option. His maths and reasoning are very good. His English is good but not amazing. We have tutored but there will be kids who have done far more.