Lady Margaret's School

[maithepie]

Hi, My daughter has been offered a place at Lady Margaret's in Parson's Green to start in year 8 in September. She has only just settled in to her other 3rd choice school which is a good, much larger girls school in SW London. She has ended the year with very good results all round.

LMS is about half the distance from our house than her current school and if it wasn't for that I might not consider moving her, although LMS was originally much higher up our list than the school she is attending.
My daughter is a bit arty and academic, quiet and shy - slow to put her hand up in class but conversely not afraid of public speaking and very funny when she's not feeling self conscious.

My question is to anyone familiar with LMS - is the disruption worth it? Does it sounds like it would suit her? Year 7's have had such a horrible time that it feels cruel to move her when she has just made friends and is happy. If this offer had come just 2 months ago I think I would have snapped their hand off, but now I am not so sure.

Thank you so much for any advice.

If she’s happy and doing well I wouldn’t. What does she think?

She's a bit on the fence, she doesn't want to leave her new friends but also acknowledges that the journey is too arduous.

It's a really good school. Only you know how her current one compares?

Totally depends on the other school I think.
LMS has a very good reputation particularly for brighter girls. But her current school may well be the same. Can you tell us which school she's currently at?
Does she know anyone at LMS?

I wouldn't move her. Have heard several reports of bullying/lack of pastoral care at LMS recently from friends with children there.

Hi there
I think if she has friends there already and the school would let her join that form (as otherwise she risks being in the wrong COVID bubble) then it’s worth considering if she finds the commute arduous. Could you send her back to her old school if it doesn’t work out? We were in a very similar position to you and made the move but our child has been very unhappy - COVID bubbles and on off school /online school really hasn’t helped- but we are reapplying to his old school- which has a much easier commute!
Such a difficult one but at least at start of year 8 it might be a better time to begin then mid way though year

There's a reason for the massive queues snaking around Parson's Green of prospective students and parents over the three days of LMS open days. Re bullying, the school's reaction to this is Impressive, not only from staff, but from the girls themselves. My daughter has been very happy there, excelled academically, and is now in the 6th form. She has a lovely group of friends, very diverse in terms of background income and ethnicity. Last week they went to Brighton together for the day - a trip they organised and decided on themselves, one of the girls' mother had lost her job due to the pandemic, so all the other girls agreed they'd contribute to make sure she would be able to come too. That's LMS girls! It took a bit longer during the first COVID lockdown for the teachers to get on-line teaching sorted, than it did for my son at his independent school, but by the second lockdown she had classes online from 9am onwards, the whole school day, but on-line. Sports is possibly restricted due to the small size of the site, but there are lots of extra curricular activities etc. The pastoral care is brilliant, it covers everything from mindfulness to self care, to charitable work around the area. After state and private school experience for all my children, I have to say LMS is as good as at least one of the private schools they've been to... And far outperforms any of the other state schools - and my three have experience of most of the best in the area!

We moved our daughter from Streatham & Clapham to LMS back in Jan 2020 when she was in year 9 and we couldn’t be happier. The teaching is superb and, apart from better facilities, I honestly cannot notice any difference and is better in places. She is very happy with some excellent friends.

@Highlandheath do you have to be practising C of E to enter 6th form? Is it very hard to get a space if not?