City of London Boys

[PrettyAutumnLeaves]

DS sat for the 11+ and had done the interview. If you are a CLS parent, what do you think about the school? Is it as good as it's reputation suggests?

My DS is in the sixth form at CLS and only been there since Sep, so maybe not v relevant but as no one has replied, I am! V happy with the school. Lovely welcoming and down to earth boys, excellent teaching. It is v academic though and quite demanding.

Thank you @Frequentflier that's very helpful! Was your DS in a boy's school before? Does he enjoy the boys only environment?

No, he was in a mixed school, and the boys only environment is the only criticism I have of CLS. That said , DS is football mad and therefore it has been easier for him to make friends. We are an international family and have moved all around the world, so we wanted a diverse school, which CLS is. Also, we are not "rich", in that we are professionals and are making a lot of sacrifices to send him there. DS does not have a iphone or much pocket money or fancy clothes. But it seems to make no difference at CLS. There are very wealthy boys, but they all get along and he has been welcomed very kindly.

To add, we had offers from mixed schools like Highgate and UCS. To be honest, I thought we might not be wealthy enough for them, tho DS was keen on co-ed. We live in a small London flat and we cant compete with filmstars and aristocrats, afaik.

You are right @Frequentflier, City does sounds more down to earth than some other indie, and they are generous with burseries. That said, in terms of privilege and wealth, London day schools are not nearly at the level of boarding schools! What does your DS think are the best things about the school?

Unsure if I should be giving you more advice bcos 6th form is v different from 11 plus. [Can you not find some CLS parents of 11 plus? My son likes the teaching for his subjects - math physics and economics. not sure about the teaching for the humanities. He also likes the student body a lot. He is keen on Russell Group colleges and they have helped him a lot towards this. One thing though is that CLS is v urban and to play football, he has to take a long bus ride to another ground. Sports is not a huge priority I would say. Still, as he is in A levels, he does not have much time anyway. But for sports schools like Hampton, Highgate, Whitgift may be better. CLS is a fair bit cheaper than these though

Our experiences are very positive. Excellent academic and pastoral care, teachers are enthusiastic about their subject, there is just right amount of academic pressure. Boys are friendly and welcoming. I strongly recommend.

Thank you do much for the advice! My son is not sporty at all so I guess the off site sports ground is not a big concern. So glad to hear the positivity about the school. I hope he gets an offer!

DS got into reserve list for 11+; does anyone have an idea how many reserve lists make it to a final confirmed offer?

@imalondoner

DS got into reserve list for 11+; does anyone have an idea how many reserve lists make it to a final confirmed offer?

Sorry not sure, my son did 13+

Thank you for all the advice - DS got an offer and he is very pleased!

@imalondoner Good luck and hope it will convert to a firm place for your DS soon! The email sent by the school didn't mention anything about numbers so I don't have any extra info. Will update if I hear anything.

Any CLS parents, or anyone who has visited, can you please tell me how you would characterise the culture there? It’s very hard trying to decide whether to accept an offer without ever having set foot inside! What are the teachers like? Thank you for any thoughts.

Congratulations, PrettyLeaves!

Merrylrgs, as i said upthread, my son has only been in the school since September for 6th form. But I love the culture. I would say thought that it is an unashamedly academic school. This is not to say that other activities are not encouraged; I believe music and MUN are v strong. Just that the average boy there is v focused, motivated and hard working. In my limited experience, teaching is great. The teachers were intimidating in the interview, but kind and encouraging after it. Lots of bursary students, so the general atmosphere is down to earth and not "snooty."

Thank you @Frequentflier that’s very encouraging. I’m pro academic endeavour as long as the teachers are supportive too!

Hello, I would be interested to know is there much crossover with the CLSG and CLS boys and from the Lower School up or are they very separate?

@Merrylrgs the pastoral support is outstanding. Teachers are very supportive but asking for high standards of work as you would expect. School has a good social mix.
@MumsRule20 hard to say as there was no crossover this academic year.

Thank you @urbanstroller. Do you have any sense of how much the fees increase year on year? I’m thinking of contacting the bursar anyway but any insights welcomed.

@urbanstroller thanks for letting me know. I know this year it hasn’t be poss for anything like that. I have since found out and heard from a few and also checked my notes from the virtual event they do share events - music / quizzes etc. So hopefully such things resume when Covid restrictions are lifted and school resumes, timetable as normal.

@MumsRule20 yes, there were some social events planned but those were all cancelled, hopefully from September things will start going back to normal.

@Merrylrgs if you get any information about the fee increases can you share? I am keen to know too.

My son started Y7 (first form) CLSB this school year and the school is amazing! He is very sporty - plays football since he was 18 months old, also swims and plays tennis since he was 5. Our main concern was that the school doesn't have the field near the school and he wouldn't be doing that much sport. We were so wrong! They have lots of sport! PE, swimming separately, waterpolo club after school, basketball club before school in the morning and Fridays they get on coaches and go to Grove Park for games afternoon, where they play lots of football (and in summer term it will be cricket and tennis I'm told). My son loves it - he says it feels like weekend comes early - as it feels like they go on a school trip to have fun! My son does music school on Saturdays outside of school, so it was very important for us to have Saturday free. All the other schools we got offers from said they would expect him to take part in games and matches on Saturdays, which means he would have to give up his music school. All the boys are so willing to learn and getting involved in whatever is offered, they are friendly and help out each other. The school life is so interesting with so many fun things going on - competitions, art projects, quizzes, lunch break clubs - there is definitely a thing for everyone. Teachers are amazing - they are understanding, helpful, respectful and encouraging. The boys even have a wellbeing day once a term, where they go to school but don't do learning - instead they have a 1:1 chat with form tutors where they can share if anything is bothering them and they would need some help with learning or making friends, they watch a movie about wellbeing, do wellbeing quizz, have a wellbeing assembly, paint some greeting cards or some other creative work or during lockdown they were given half of a wellbeing day off to spend outside - walking, running in the park listening to birds, climbing a tree or whatever they liked. School communication is with parents is outstanding - every Friday we get an email with everything what we need to know - news about interesting talks or competitions or charity events. Never once I have had to get in touch and ask something to clarify as everything is communicated so clear and in advance. I could go on and on about the school. My son still says - he can't believe he was offered the place in this school and feel very lucky to be there. You will definitely not regret picking this school!

Hi everyone,
Our DS is starting with CLSB in Yr 7 Sep 21. We would like to connect parents whose DS goes to the school, especially Year 7 . Just wondering is there any group ie WhatsApps group to join in.

Thank you in advance for your kind response.
Have a great day everyone!!

OP what did you decide in the end?

DS had a CLSB offer but we went with a different school finally.

CLSB is a fabulous school - especially for the less sporty boy as the location does not lend itself easily to rugby etc.

His friends who went have been loving it. The level of wealth can be quite jaw dropping and obviously the school has a similar social mix to any other London boys independent school. But the academics are it's strong point and if you can afford the fees and the commute works, then this is the school to go for IMO?