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.

Thanks for clarifying @Oblonsky, that is helpful to know.

Good Morning ladies, thank you for all your views. Well done to all your DDs for surviving such stressful process.
We attended the offer holders’event yesterday and some will be later today, but none helped to make up my mind, actually I’m more confused, best pastoral care in one, best academics in the other, cold feeling in one, long journey in the other, My dd is changing her mind daily, I think I've to make the decision myself and that’s putting extra pressure on me.
Did you all make your final decision or not yet?

I could have written that message myself. Confusing gets worse by the day. Every time we think we have decided then suddenly something else comes into play. It’s exhausting as well, we are literally talking about nothing else!

Confusion gets worse every day...is what I meant. My brain is utterly scrambled

We were incredibly impressed by the offers events at South Hampstead. It felt warm, friendly, happy, the teachers were enthusiastic and excited about their subjects. The social action projects and links with other schools in the UK and abroad sound great. The computer science/tech side of things sounds like it is really developing but with a good balance of arts subjects too including textiles. It felt like it offered a wonderful range of opportunities both academic, co-curricular, pastoral, etc.

What were the girls on the SHHS zoom like? DD was one of them but I wasn't allowed to earwig...

They seemed lovely. Confident but not bolshy, articulate, friendly, engaged. All had smiles :-)

Bolshy is exactly what mine is like at home.

The choice is difficult because they are all good schools. None of these can really be considered the wrong choice and your child is likely to flourish in all of them.

@itinerant42 you are right on making that point there! I think best to really go on gut combined with a balanced views from both ourselves and DD’s

@Ohtobeasausagedog which are you deciding between? We are also waiting on state offers on Monday. Feeling just the same as you and @NewMum112 with lots of wavering, uncertainty and wobbles and if we had the same hand of offers would be farm more bamboozled! So can see your dilemma overall. We really enjoyed the CLSG event and a great mix of girls attending. Year 7 pupils seemed down to earth, enthused and very happy. Head and staff all so upbeat, passionate and warm. Still wish none of this was virtual and think that makes it all the harder, but DD came away feeling very positive.

@Ohtobeasausagedog @itinerant42 @MumsRule20
Absolutely correct, confusion, stress, exhaustion is the theme of the house at the moment.
I think it’s our human nature that we always feel we are missing something and searching for the best and stupidly worrying about the unknown which is out of our hands, I keep reminding myself that we are in a fortunate position to be able to choose between theses great schools, it’s just proven to be very hard.

@Thankgoditsover @Hatsoff123
I completely agree with you Regarding SHHS, we were really impressed, especially with the drop in sessions and the ability of the teachers to answer all of those questions, and SHHS girls were so relaxed and happy.

Would anyone be able to give me a current read on South Hampstead versus Highgate junior school obvs for my daughter! Would love any opinions on where to send, as we are looking at both and difficult to choose!