City of London Girls - implication of such small space?

[dreadingthetime]

Hello, went to an Open Day in CLSG and found the school to be bit cramped. The school said students do extensive sports activities but am wondering where is the space? Also found the school to lack natural light. Does such cramped space, lack of natural light affect girls at all?

I would like to know as well. Hope parents with kids going to the school can help.

A school isn’t a building. My DD went to a girls’ grammar school in a cramped building (they weren’t even allowed to put up pictures or the girls’ work) but it provided an excellent education. Doesn’t CLSG take the girls by coach to a sports ground? I think the only effect on the girls is to give them a good all round education.

There's no shortage of daylight. The classrooms all have massive windows. The central hallways are a bit lacking in daylight so that might have shaped your perception (partic if you visited on a gloomy day). There are quite a lot of outdoor places where they can play at lunchtime, also from year 9 they are allowed to leave school at lunch.

The school is in the City of London so obviously has somewhat less space than other schools, but there are big outdoor pitches at the school for netball/football and tennis courts, also gym, swimming pool etc. They run round the Barbican and on Hampstead Heath for Cross Country. They use the City of London sports ground in grove park for some things. But prob fair to say that not the school if acres of sports fields are your thing.

@itinerant42 the images are very good. Thanks a lot! We could not see the inside of the classrooms much. The swimming pool was shut. Also there were so many parents on the day. Might be because none of us got the opportunity to visit school last academic year. My daughter's heart and soul got stuck in there. She also had extensive chat with the student who was showing us around and really liked her as well. It is mainly me and my husband really thinking if small space at all create any negative effect on the students. Good to hear that they use off site grounds.

Sorry that you were unable to see the outdoor space and the swimming pool. Was this a COVID thing or just your guide?

My dd is currently at CLSG (and we're both a fan), so happy to answer any questions from that perspective, though obviously only a partial view.

I have a DD at the school and it is not an issue. The open days are very crowded so it does give a false impression of being cramped. On a normal day there is plenty of light and space. I think how the school suits your DD is the issue really. There is much sport/art/music/drama and something for everyone to participate in. During lunchtime the girls find plenty of space to hang about in and as a PP says, from y9 they are allowed out and about at lunchtime which fosters independence. Certainly the lack of rolling fields doesn’t affect competitive success, The girls have been crossed country champions more than once for example

Good to know. Another hurdle is the CEM select computerised test. Heard horror stories about it. So keeping all fingers and toe nail crossed

I am a huge fan of the school as 2 of my dds are former pupils and loved it there. The school is very academic but they offer a wide range of sports and extra curricular activities.