North London Schools

[Fartypants1]

Apologies-I know this has been done before and is an embarrassment of riches, but dd has a number of offers and we are a bit stuck. Putting location aside, any input on SHHS vs CLSG would be most appreciated.

There are a few current threads on this so worth doing a trawl of the board. Briefly I think academically they are pretty close. SHHS probably overall a bit more affluent and less ethnically/economically/socially diverse but with amazing space, resources etc I think both have a lot going for them. I'm sure someone will come along soon with more info but do have a look at the other threads because there was plenty on both schools. Well done to your DD

I've posted on one of those other ones because my DDs are at SHHS. City would have been a more obvious choice as they were at a very mixed state primary and geographically it's closer (although SHHS easier by public transport). We didn't apply for DDs because the older one is pretty delicate and City feels like it might be a tough environment. To be honest, we wouldn't have applied to SHHS for a similar reason but it was part of the consortium so we took it as BOGOF.

However, we've been pleasantly surprised by how gentle SHHS. There are some ridiculously high achieving girls and sometimes the list of their achievements feels dizzying, but the overall atmosphere is one where they seem to try their hardest to avoid putting any pressure on the girls. Constant wellness interventions, school dog, off-timetable days etc.

City just didn't chime with me, I don't know why because on paper it should have. But many parents love it and I gather the teaching is excellent.

Do you have a gut feel?

There's some information on this thread.

Thanks all for this helpful information.

@Thankgoditsover, we got an offer at SHHS this year. Your posts on this thread and others have been really insightful and helpful, thank you. I did wonder if she might be a bit overwhelmed by more confident characters, so it’s great to hear there’s a mix of kids.

Pleasure - I remember what it was like (x3).

I also think it's hard to give advice as we only know our individual children and the particular school. In some parallel universe they're off having a different time elsewhere. But I do think the head at SHHS is particularly impressive and because she's only been there three years, will likely/hopefully stay for a while (her daughter's in y8 there).