G&L, CLSG, SHHS, Highgate? Your honest opinion is needed?

[NewMum112]

Good Morning , I’m reposting this again as you advised
We live in NW London, we didn’t have a chance to visit any school only through virtual openings, so I need your honest opinions about CLSG, G&L, SHHS, and Highgate please.
With the exploding offers we need to make a first and second choice at least, please if you have any experience with any of these schools or any +/- information please do share, I value the views of parents more than any information I could get from the school itself. Thank you.

My notes were that CLSG targeted 4 forms of 25, SHHS 4 forms of 24, G&LS 5 of 22-24. I believe that Highgate has 7 forms a year, but I'm not sure as we only looked at single-sex. Of course, as PP mentioned, bulge classes can happen (except for CLSG) but I don't believe there is very much difference in form sizes among this group of schools.

Something like a third leave CLSG and SHHS at sixth form, about a fifth leave G&LS, but most of 11+ entrants will stay for A Levels in all of these schools.

I agree that CLSG feels more economically diverse and I liked that it had a special state school taster day. Not enough to apply as I was too put off by the exploding offers as it felt like there were two rounds to pass - the exam/interview and the fleet-footed parents finale. I found the 11+ process stressful enough as it was.

SHHS is probably less diverse but the head acknowledged this in a speech she made and in part says that it's due to its location and the fact that it's surrounded by prep schools. My younger daughter's year looks different to her older sister's - less white, different religions etc so I think they're genuinely trying to address this.

I did not say they were identical but academics is the predominant focus and from that viewpoint the are almost the same. They are of course differences when it comes to other things. SHHS is mostly local ish people with corresponding values/interests/profile, e.g music is really great, not just a few trophy musicians but real depth and breadth. City is easy to get to and following nlcs pushed hard in the ranking over the last few years, hence more of a destination school with the Good and the Bad that comes with it. GL seems to have picked up the baton from city in terms of rankings push and has been attracting people from beyond SW. That said as Long as I remember GL always had strong, esp. teams sports, etc...

Yes, there's a map of here where City students come from (but the forms are arranged by geographical area so they get to know some people): www.clsg.org.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=599&type=pdf

The admissions booklet says that 35% of new students are from maintained schools and 20% are on bursaries.

@MusicalMommy
Thank you so much , this is very reassuring.
Only 3 days to go now.

No probs @NewMum112 - I guess another thing you can think about when making a decision is the situation before year 7. I think in a way it’s nicer if they are all new in year 7. At SHHS most girls move up from the junior school, so that’s almost half the year who will already be in friendship groups of some kind. The school do mix them up and I hear they do a good job with lots of clubs and so they get to know kids across all the classes too - but it still must be very different to City where I think there is only one class from the junior school and Highgate where there are also a larger number of new kids. Loads from the junior school too but perhaps because it’s so big you don’t notice so much. I think G&L doesn’t have a junior school which must be nice that they are all starting together.

I have a daughter at City and she loves it. We were an exploding offer year and I didn’t really give it much thought at the time as it was our first choice school for our DD and the school was very clear to point out what that meant. I would be difficult to have exploding offers this year though if you haven’t been able to visit the schools do I do sympathise. Much is said about the building and for sure It is not the school for you if you want rolling fields, swanky facilities etc. It does however make the most of its location - Pre-Covid spontaneous trips to museums/art galleries etc. And the other facilities afforded by association with the livery companies- Guildhall etc mean you don’t feel anything is ‘missing’ from that point of view. There is plenty of sport for those who want to participate (and the girls are v successful) but also no pressure to have to play sport for those whose passions lie elsewhere - music/art/drama/science etc. Benefits as others have said is a very diverse intake from many different schools. In my DD’s year I think 75 places went to girls from maybe 45/50+ schools so with the exception of the prep girls and a couple who knew each other from smaller N London preps, everyone is starting afresh from primary. It probably wouldn’t suit a very shy girl from that point. It is not a school for a helicopter parent either - girls are expected to think and advocate for themselves as a first point. There are definitely no lines of Range Rovers waiting to collect students at the end of the day either! . I’ve only driven to collect my DD if she is ill or staying late for a performance etc. Teachers are accessible if you need them and there is a very good clinic system for the girls for extra subject help within school run by the older girls and teachers. None of my DD’s friends or my DD have tutors. I think Pre-Covid around 99% got public transport to school so yes it’s a pita to get to if you don’t know London and you do need to consider the CC cost. Girls are allocated classes in y7 according to their home location so all girls Essex/East London in one, N London in another and so on. So friendship groups are established at the start with girls most likely to live near you. They are then mixed up again in y8 and y9 so they do get to know each other pretty well. The girls also seem to know a lot of girls in their year from the other schools you are considering so if you choose one, they’ll still be in touch with old friends. City has a well organised travel buddy system to help the younger girls at the start and a pastoral buddy. The school has great pastoral care, has interesting parenting forums and parent social events at school - breakfasts etc. Homework and pressure levels are carefully monitored and no credit is given to girls who spend hours on a piece of work that 40mins was allocated for. Perfectionism is discouraged. There are lots of joint social events with the boys school and joint performances - music drama etc. Parents are v friendly and for parents and students alike, The dress code is definitely less is more. There is generally an understanding that parents do work so demands on time to be at events at all times are low. Although I am personally not sure of what direction the new head seems to be going (the girls have had some odd-choice visiting speakers such as the Duchess of York) she is very accessible and I have been impressed with the seamless transition to online schooling in the past year and I do hope parents evening will remain virtual as it was much better this year! Hope that helps and good luck with your choice.

I agree that in an ideal world everyone would be new in y7, I agree, though for us it was a nice to have rather than a must-have. SHHS I think has similar proportions to Highgate, for what it's worth.

One of my daughters has friends almost exclusively from the non-junior school cohort, the other almost exclusively with those from the junior school so I think it makes less difference than you'd think it would after the first half term. Of the new girls in y7, the majority are the only ones coming from their schools (there's a couple of girls preps in the areas the area that are the exception).

All that said, your DD would be doing v well to get offers from all four - if she does, she'll do fine academically wherever she goes. If she gets fewer offers, it makes your decision easier.

Thank you so much everyone, your points/ opinions have been really important and helpful

@NewMum112 just came across this thread! Are you waiting to hear on an offer from any of these schools tomorrow (Fri 12th)? Did your DD get through round one and sit for the second assessment and interview? Mine did and so waiting to hear...on tenterhooks.

@NewMum112
Yes we are waiting for all 4.
Best wishes to all of you.
Today is the day, I can’t sleep 😭

DD travelled from NW london to CLSG by tube from year 7. I wouldn't choose this option again though, with hindsight. SHHS would have been so much easier for her.
Good luck 🤞🏼

That's really interesting you say that @MajesticWhine - I always come on these threads and say go for the easiest journey - it feels like the only known vs all the unknowns. I recently had an acquaintance ask me whether her 4 year old should go for a ten minute walk to SHHS or NLCS. They totally ignored my advice!

Good luck to those waiting. I've done the Friday Before Half Term thing three times and the memory brings me out in hives.

Hello,
We also received a “no” from SHHS but a yes from Channing, Highgate and STAHS. Not complaining at all.
Still waiting for Habs and NLCS.
Hands down hardest day in a long time. My DD seems to be unravelling!
Congrats on City x

@Justanothergirl19 wow amazing news well done!!!! So fantastic. We didn’t do Highgate or any of the others you mentioned. That is amazing. Interesting how SHHS came out as a no. Although like you say, no biggie for you with the other offers in the bag.

I haven’t told DD yet. May wait a day or two as she doesn’t know today is D day - offer day 😂

Tell me about it, cannot believe today is the day we have all been waiting for so long and the journey we have endured in this gruelling most stressful Covid year 11+ process.

So what do you think you will choose?

Thank you @MumsRule20, our favourite is NLCS, which is why the wait is killing us but we are also feeling a bizarre sense of gratitude to each of the schools who offered DD a place which makes us want to say yes to each and every one of them!
I feel the same as I do when I have had a really big argument and cried all day kind of thing, just want to curl up in a ball and sleep.
Is that strange? I can’t believe my DD2 is doing her 11+ in 10 months!
Who else are you waiting for, if anyone?

Any families whose DD travels from Richmond/Barnes/East Sheen/Mortlake to CLSG?

Well done to DDs, So fantastic news, Congratulations to all of you on offers. We received very positive news from all four schools, we now need to make a final decision so we can release the other offers to be fair to WLs.

@NewMum112
Sorry about SHHS and very well done on CLSG, Congratulations . City is my favourite School, but the distance might be an issue for my Dd.

@MumsRule20
Sorry about SHHS and very well done on CLSG, Congratulations . City is my favourite School, but the distance might be an issue for my Dd.

@Justanothergirl19
Best wishes for NLCS.
Congratulations on the other offers.

@NewMum112 Stellar news! Totally incredible. Must be all time high at yours today and touch decision. Which will it be?

Just popping on to say well done to all of your DD’s. I know exactly how you are all feeling! For those considering CLSG, they do group the girls from the same geographical areas in the same class and there is a travel buddy system. @BlackRainbow2020 it is worth asking the admissions office about where the offers have been made geographically. In my DD’s year, there were very few from that area (from memory just one from Wimbledon way) which does impact ability to share lifts/ travel to get to parties etc when they get older (fingers crossed there are parties again!)