St Albans high school for girl

[aw23]

May I know Is that hard to get in ?
High chance to get an offer if put you in waiting list for occasional application ?
Thx

Is this for y7?

It's slightly easier to get into than some of the really competitive schools who take from the north london and herts region. Certainly there can be a bit of waiting list movement because it will often have been a back-up option for a girl whose first choice was somewhere else and got offered both - but I imagine SAHS will have a broad idea of how many of their initial offers typically get turned down and will over-offer accordingly. That means they will only have waiting list effects in years where they miscalculated their over-offering, or if a family accepts a place then changes their decision between March and September. They do quite often have 1 or 2 places for y9 due to girls transferring to a boarding school at that point but that's not always going to happen.

@KihoBebiluPute Hi there, just curious that what are the really competitive senior schools in north London and herts region? I would like to have an idea for that.
Thanks for your help.

@2021newbiemum
NLCS and Habs?

[quote 7plus11plus]@2021newbiemum
NLCS and Habs?[/quote]
Are these two schools have a better A level results or higher rate of entering Oxbridge?

@2021newbiemum The differences between the results of STAHS, Habs and NLCS are rather arbitrary. They are all highly selective schools that send plenty of girls to Oxbridge each year. Entry to STAHS is far from a walk in the park - girls who have been top of top sets at prep schools find themselves decidedly average when they get there. I also know a girl who got an offer from Habs but not from STAHS.

I would place far more importance on commute, extra curricular and gut feeling when comparing these particular three schools as they have a very different vibe.

@Zodlebud Thanks for your sharing. As we will relocate to the UK after a few months therefore we do not have a chance to visit the schools before we make our decisions. Do you have any advice for the choices between STAHS and HABS? My DD is not good at sports but doing well in academic and enjoying drama activities.

If you are looking for an occasional place then there may well be no element of choice - you will need to wait for a child to leave to secure a place. It would be very unlikely that a place came up at both schools at the same time.

I would also not be fixated with these “top” schools which get great results BUT they are only selecting the very brightest girls to start with. Many, many bright girls go to other schools, both state and independent, and get just as great exam results and go onto Oxbridge. There are also children who go to less academic schools and come in as a Grade C student but end up getting As and Bs. That to me is a far more successful school than one that only takes Grade A students and (surprise surprise) they go on to get Grade As.

Other schools in the general area you should look at are Northwood College, St Helen’s (Northwood), Royal Masonic, Berkhamsted and Queenswood (assuming you only want single sex). They are all excellent schools and some will also have waiting lists.

I would look at as many as possible and hope a place comes up at one otherwise you could be waiting a long time for a place at STAHS and Habs (that is if she passes the entrance exam and interview), especially if she is nearing exam years.

@Zodlebud very informative and thanks so much for your advice

Just putting it out there - St Albans has some fantastic state schools as well. STAGs, Beaumont and Sandringham are very highly rated, though for the latter two you have to live very close to stand a chance of getting a place.