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.

One last point to consider on CLSG. Do either of you work in the City yourself? That makes life much easier if you need to go to parent’s evenings, drop in for a chat with teachers about something specific, drip something off, help her carry in a huge work project on the Tube one morning, collect her if she’s taken poorly etc.

If you live and work in North London or the West End then CLSG would be less useful.

Just to say we received an offer from NLCS as well. So happy but now my head is spinning with the decision making. What a strange day.

Congrats to all! Also think about where other students live - my DD goes to school on edge of London 12 miles away from us (we're in central London) and only one girl lives near. This has meant during Covid, its been harder as DD can't go for a socially distanced walk with anyone else as they're too far away. In normal times it's not a deal breaker but it can still make life harder....

It’s a really good point, NLCS is ideally located for us so it should be a no-brainer so why is it so hard to make a decision? I feel bizarrely indebted to all the schools that made an offer.

Sorry for typos meant *tough!!! On phone and frenzied typing at moment.

When will you find out NLCS results? Late incoming if today?

We got an offer a couple of hours ago, sorry I thought I had posted above!
You’d think that would be that but somehow we are really confused all of a sudden.

@Justanothergirl19 so sorry, I overlooked it! That is amazing. I know it is all such a hard decision. For some it becomes crystal clear and for others not esp if unanticipated offers come in. I guess only way is to give it a few days and go over each with a magnifying glass and clear head. Did you visit them all?

No, and that’s a really good point. We only got to visit Channing and Hab. We know NLCS a little bit from playing fixtures there but not quite the same.
I can’t put my finger on it, maybe Highgate is doing a better job of making us feel wanted? They are sending a stream of cards and emails to welcome us. Maybe it’s the potential pressure at NLCS. I really can’t explain it.
I just said to my husband:” I feel like when it’s Christmas Day and all the presents have been opened”. It’s that sort of flatness.
Maybe I just need some sleep!
I am sorry, everyone, I do realise I sound like a massive moaner and i should just be grateful.

@Justanothergirl19 I cannot believe you describe exactly how I have been feeling all day! Rather flat and ungrateful and hard working any of it out. A massive flatness and come down. I am putting it down to months of anxiety, navigating and juggling all the changes, lack of sleep last couple of wks and anticipation of it all. I have to say I am so glad you have described it as you have. I think you might need a day or to clear your head and then start working through options, all the priorities and practicalities, but def work on instincts and what would 100% be the best fit for DD not on other views, reputation, gloss etc. Where do you see her thrive?

We didn’t apply any of them and had considered Highgate and Channing (I have several family members who went to Highgate) so have an affinity with it, but a bit too far on the road or bus for us. I do imagine one has to be totally on top of their game for NLCS and the pressure will be intense but expect that may be the same for all you have and Channing less so.

Also did you / DD ideally want co-ed over girls only? Lots of questions to narrow it down. Hard when you have such great offers from all...

I think we all need a good night sleep! Feeling slightly better now, just having acknowledged to myself that it's ok to feel a bit rubbish even though I thought I would be elated.
Deep down NLCS feels right, my DD thinks she is the bee's knees right now (she received offers from Habs and St Albans so 5 in total) so it's just me that is plagued by insecurities. I am just going to stop thinking about it, have ice cream and watch crap on TV. Thank you all for the handholding today, honestly it was so helpful. x

Sorry but it's honestly gross to read "I'm feeling flat and ungrateful after my DD got offers from all the top schools she applied to". Oh poor you. Seriously - perhaps think about all the children who bust their guts for months and dealt with unprecedented change and uncertainty and didn't get offers today or who don't have a choice. You've managed to sound both smug and grossly entitled.

Hi all, I have been a long-time lurker in these kinds of threads. We went through the 11+ process last year. I posted some comments about G&L and CLSG in the SW 11+ thread. They were based on our observations last year and the observations close to us.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/4134992-Part-2-SW-London-Girls-Indies-11-Pandemic-Panic?pg=32

Please be nice to your DDs. Don't make them feel like a failure (very important!) because they didn't get to a higher ranked school (or because they were told not to apply to one). The parents are likely more stressed than their DDs in this process.

It has been mentioned time and time again that the outstanding pastoral care at G&L, combined with their academic achievement, appeals to many. CLSG is in an urban world, which also appeals to many.

Here are my notes for SHHS and Highgate:

SHHS (South Hampstead) – Another aspirational school. Popular Head Mistress who presents herself as a role model for her students – no buying of new clothes for a year! Well done. One parent we met decided on SHHS only because of the Head Mistress. Actually, my DP got a ‘cold’ vibe from the staff, but not the students. It was fine for me. The students who toured us were the most most most candid of all. One girl said that SHHS girls like hanging out in Hampstead High Street after school – the place to be! We were told that some girls have moved here (or Channing ) from NLCS or CLSG - pastoral issues for undoubtedly smart girls. Small but newish campus. Kids are proud of the small roof top ‘veranda’. New music centre. Junior school is in a different street/building. They use the sports grounds in Lymington Road/Avanley Gardens. I heard that they like making several phone calls to ask undecided parents whether they will accept the offer or not. Just approx 55 places for 11+. For the 11+ consortium test, your DD must have done well to be offered a place - more so if she was awarded an academic scholarship, but without a discount on fees.

Highgate – We only visited the school once. It is a big co-ed school. My DD enjoyed barbecuing marshmallows during their Open Day. There was even a concert by the students – a rock band playing! Despite the fact that we were leaning more into a single sex school for our DD, we still gave Highgate a chance. One thing that put us off here is that whilst we were chatting with a girl here, and she was telling us that Mandarin is challenging, two boys said that she was just not good enough and that she does not try hard enough – the boys laughed and then left. They must be close and just kidding with each other. However, it was not a good show for visiting parents! The Biology labs were great with the set-up a bit different from the usual. There were animals in the labs – cool! And the D&T facilities were superb – hopefully the girls get to use it equally as boys.

I have a daughter in the sixth form at CLSG. I like the new head mistress much more than the old one. The teachers are good. The girls all come by tube or bus. They would be mortified to be driven. The centre of gravity seems to be Hampsted and adjacent areas. It’s not a sporty school. A lot of families are what I would call champagne socialists. There are very rich and very poor families not so many in the middle. Tuition used to be moderate by relative standards but then started rocketing 5 years ago going up between 5 and 9% year after year. You need to be very rich or to have a bursary. It’s convenient if one parent works in the city. It makes parents’ evenings and the like much easier. The sixth form is small and the girls at CLSG and the boys at CLS would benefit from having some mixed classes. Disappointingly, CLSG has gone headlong into social justice theory and all things woke. I realise society is changing and popular private schools are under scrutiny and need to be seen doing the whatever is deemed the right thing at all times. But I would prefer more intellectual rigour. I come from a tradition where everything is challenged, understanding an opponent’s argument is desirable, and confidence comes from testing one’s ideas. A school for bright girls where only one opinion can be entertained seems an opportunity lost.

greygreygrey that’s very useful. I am not at all up for the whole “woke”, emperors clothes style ideology that seems to be popular now especially as it seems to dispense with any need or desire to discuss and debate. It’s interesting to her CLSG has gone that way - that’s definitely not the right school for us in that case.

@Ohtobeasausagedog am rather aghast that you would decide a school isn’t right for you based on a MN poster’s view?! Surely hers is subjective and also just to say those are the current school’s agenda issues, doesn’t mean to say that is their way forward and what defines them as a school???

Surely there is a bigger picture to be considering and based on many, many other aspects and most acutely in best fit for your child and where would she thrive and not based on anecdotes?

mumsrule20 there really isn't any need to be aghast, if nothing else it isn’t worth the energy! Obviously I wouldn’t reject a school on one stranger’s opinion of one paragraph but, to me, it’s useful. It may also compound an opinion I’d already formed....
But many thanks for the advice that there are a number of other factors to take into account. Without that goodness knows where I’d be.

@Greygreygrey Well done for the comments. I have always been interested in these insiders. Although anecdotal, it is still good to hear. The competition among the top schools is immense and the direction given by the head is important.

I would imagine that all the popular private schools in London are under tremendous pressure to conform. I would assume Highgate is on the bandwagon, etc. (I mention them specifically because the tinkered with single sex bathrooms a few years back.)

May I know how I should rank these schools in terms of cultural diversity?

uk2020 - see this post:
06/02/2021 13:15, from user149799568.

I would say City is very culturally diverse, considering the girls come from all over London and surrounding areas. NLCS is also diverse with a lot of Asian families, Jewish etc and it's a good mix. Same goes for Habs.. Highgate has never been as diverse in my opinion.
Not sure about GandL

@uk2020 I echo @afewtoomanychoices and would add SHHS is same as Highgate is described above from what we noticed when we visited. CLSG also attracts from all over London.

I would say CLSG is the most diverse, followed by G&L, then SHHS then Highgate is the least by a mile.

SHHS is one third Jewish, quite a few Asian, very few black and many European parents. It is noticeably less white than Highgate or Channing but not as diverse as City.

The head is wonderful. Sensible, articulate and interesting but not woke.

Would live opinions of Francis Holland Sloane Sq vs Notting Hill and Ealing HS. We have offers from both but more sure which to go for? Worried the FHS parents will be too “rich and label type” sorry for the generalisation but I do like the vibe from the headmistress. Anyone have a first hand experience ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks