Feedback on G&L

[Poseidon54]

Looking to get some feedback from parents with daughters at Godolphin. The open days they had this year were quite limiting didn’t get to see any other classrooms in action or meet any other staff really so feels hard to judge it accurately. The head seemed a little old-fashioned quiet and less dynamic than others in the area and senior leadership wasn’t clear from the open day. What type of girl does well at the school ? My DD is keen to take the place but I’m not convinced and hoping to get some balanced views of pros and cons. Thank you mumsneters !

I have replied to your PM

I have a DD in Y8 at G&L. It wasn't originally our first choice school but we ended up choosing it because it is close (and DD wasn't keen on LU). So far experience has been very positive and DD is really loving her time there.

DD is a strong all-rounder - she plays lots of sports (at school, hockey, running, fencing, gymnastics and trampolining - more outside school), does music (2 instruments and choir) and drama (speech and drama lessons and 2 school productions). I think the school is very strong in all three, with something for everyone at every level it seems (think hockey F team in Y7). For drama, there is a director in residence this year. I feel perhaps there is less on offer in terms of visual arts - my DD is only aware of 1 extracurricular club she would be able to do. Lots more academic clubs to get involved with too. Think lots of kids could thrive there.

Head teacher is indeed the softly spoken type but I have found her very warm and switched-on in one to one conversation - I quizzed her quite a lot at our offer holder event and she was very open and straight in her answers! Suggest you attend the event and do the same :)

Other things DD has loved: a super supportive group of girls in her class who all seem to get on (I realise this is of course luck of the draw); lunch (food is very good according to her); and most teaching. I very rarely hear negative comments about school, other than the environmental impact committee not being active enough :)

Some things me and DH like: lots and lots of extracurriculars; broadening access (the "bridge" programme is very good); very good and balanced provision during lockdown (and pretty good "hybrid" provision for girls quarantining at home); school reports focused on what is going well and what is not, rather than grades. I am told by my G&L mum-friends that pastoral care is very good, although no firsthand experience (as in: my DD hasn't needed any special attention in this respect).

What we like less: some of the extra-curricular sports which I would have expected to be free, are paid-for. Fencing, cricket, dance and rowing are all extra (although the extra sessions of the school sports, of which there are many, are not, and neither are eg cross-country running, gymnastics and trampolining). Not sure how that compares to other schools.

Hope the above helps, but if anything else specific you'd like feedback on, do ask.

Both my daughters attended G&L with my younger one now in her 2nd year at uni. They both had a very positive and generally happy time at the school (I was very keen to ensure they were happy as I was very unhappy at my all girls school) and they both had and still have wonderful friends from school.
I say “generally” happy because teenagers can always find something to moan about but the teaching staff were, with maybe only one or two exceptions in the 9 years that our daughters were there, really excellent.
My elder daughter did the IB at Sixth form so there is the advantage of that being an option for your daughter too.

@Poseidon54

Looking to get some feedback from parents with daughters at Godolphin. The open days they had this year were quite limiting didn’t get to see any other classrooms in action or meet any other staff really so feels hard to judge it accurately. The head seemed a little old-fashioned quiet and less dynamic than others in the area and senior leadership wasn’t clear from the open day. What type of girl does well at the school ? My DD is keen to take the place but I’m not convinced and hoping to get some balanced views of pros and cons. Thank you mumsneters !

The tour this year was by far the weakest. Self-guided tour, no students in class, and no Q&A after head's speech. Asked sixth former about room she was stationed at and she explained she wasn't focused on that subject. Honestly, they should have just done a virtual tour. I think compared to other schools, they really made themselves look very bad.

I agree the tour was poor and uninformative so waiting for offer holders next week to make mind up. Have been told by registrar that will get to meet head and small group tour while lessons going on and talk to teachers so sounds better than mass open day which put is off at the time.

G&L is one of the most academically selective and successful schools in the country, also renowned for its pastoral care.
The variety of extracurricular activities is incredible. The sport is terrific (it is a Tier 1 hockey school, for example) despite not having the increasingly common 'sports scholarships' awarded by other schools. There is music and drama for all. As you know, it is hugely oversubscribed.
The head is calm, sensible and very knowledgeable.
Over the years, I have noticed that open days etc. have not been a forte. But are open days ever truly reflective of a school?
Offer holders' days have always been much better, so hopefully you will get a better feel for the school.
I love the slightly old-fashioned surroundings but appreciate that they may not appeal to all!

@Utility

G&L is one of the most academically selective and successful schools in the country, also renowned for its pastoral care. The variety of extracurricular activities is incredible. The sport is terrific (it is a Tier 1 hockey school, for example) despite not having the increasingly common 'sports scholarships' awarded by other schools. There is music and drama for all. As you know, it is hugely oversubscribed. The head is calm, sensible and very knowledgeable. Over the years, I have noticed that open days etc. have not been a forte. But are open days ever truly reflective of a school? Offer holders' days have always been much better, so hopefully you will get a better feel for the school. I love the slightly old-fashioned surroundings but appreciate that they may not appeal to all!

I completely agree with you that basing one's selection of schools from open days would be silly. However, all the best schools compete for pretty much the same pool of the best younger students. Yes, it is competitive to get into all these schools, BUT it is also a competition for all these schools to attract the best students. Having a relatively weak first impression for both students & parents is unhelpful. We walked out of their open day saying "we know the school is better than that". Of course, try explaining that to 11 year-olds...they know what they see. Clearly the school performs extremely well, but might it be possible that they could "steal" some top girls from NLCS, CLSG or SPGS by upping their open day game? Just a thought.

I agree it’s disappointing when you expect that a school with that kind of reputation would do better and leaves a poor impression with DDs as it’s them that will be going to the school. My DD loved the cupcake but rightly pointed out that the school was empty with the head giving a speech off the website which was dry and the girls posted around the school weren’t very helpful apart from one or 2 at best. We’re trying to keep an open mind as our prep said it would be a perfect fit for DD but with offers from other top schools that impression doesn’t help GL attracting the students themselves. I found it fascinating that they asked for feedback in their open day after .

@Poseidon54 The other, ongoing, thread about G&L, LU and SPGS has now had some very informative G&L observations posted.

I do not now if this comment is suited here.

Speaking of headteachers and how schools present themselves during open days ---

We went through the 11+ pre-pandemic and I remember comparing exactly this. SPGS was the only school that did not have refreshments for parents! G&L had some refreshments, but we were late to enjoy them as they were closing at 7pm. CLSG was just ok. NLCS heavily focused on academic excellence, it was quite ‘on your face’. LU and FHSS had cheese and wine; I really enjoyed them! The GDST schools and some others that had Sat open days were full on – bands, orchestras, programmes, and in one school, there were even marshmallows to roast whilst listening to pop performances by the Sixth Formers. Oh, and in one school, they had to close shop early because of a fire scare in one of the Chemistry demo labs. I can name more schools but I will stop here.

There was a headteacher who did not know what ‘diversity’ meant when asked. There was one who kept on highlighting Science and STEM in their school (whilst the band played on whilst they were speaking); however, none of the students they invited on stage mentioned science or mathematics as their favourite subjects. There was another one who spoke well about their school, really quite eloquent, but after talking to students, this one was rarely seen on a daily basis.

We must realise the business part of independent education. However, the extra marketing is just not needed by many of the well sought-after schools.

@YesterdayandToday

I do not now if this comment is suited here.

Speaking of headteachers and how schools present themselves during open days ---

We went through the 11+ pre-pandemic and I remember comparing exactly this. SPGS was the only school that did not have refreshments for parents! G&L had some refreshments, but we were late to enjoy them as they were closing at 7pm. CLSG was just ok. NLCS heavily focused on academic excellence, it was quite ‘on your face’. LU and FHSS had cheese and wine; I really enjoyed them! The GDST schools and some others that had Sat open days were full on – bands, orchestras, programmes, and in one school, there were even marshmallows to roast whilst listening to pop performances by the Sixth Formers. Oh, and in one school, they had to close shop early because of a fire scare in one of the Chemistry demo labs. I can name more schools but I will stop here.

There was a headteacher who did not know what ‘diversity’ meant when asked. There was one who kept on highlighting Science and STEM in their school (whilst the band played on whilst they were speaking); however, none of the students they invited on stage mentioned science or mathematics as their favourite subjects. There was another one who spoke well about their school, really quite eloquent, but after talking to students, this one was rarely seen on a daily basis.

We must realise the business part of independent education. However, the extra marketing is just not needed by many of the well sought-after schools.

Were you looking to learn about schools or get free food and drinks?

@Poseidon54

I agree it’s disappointing when you expect that a school with that kind of reputation would do better and leaves a poor impression with DDs as it’s them that will be going to the school. My DD loved the cupcake but rightly pointed out that the school was empty with the head giving a speech off the website which was dry and the girls posted around the school weren’t very helpful apart from one or 2 at best. We’re trying to keep an open mind as our prep said it would be a perfect fit for DD but with offers from other top schools that impression doesn’t help GL attracting the students themselves. I found it fascinating that they asked for feedback in their open day after .

Totally agree with you! When I saw they asked for feedback about their tour I nearly laughed. The GL tour was a complete negative. We didn't even get a cupcake, they ran out. My favourite was when the head took NO Q&A, are you for real?!

We only did a virtual NLCS tour, but that one was very poor as well. It was so staged and just repeated stuff already on their website. Very disappointing.

@pkim123 Well, people seem to expect the whole shebang of an open day. Hence, I just wrote 'some' of our experiences. Some gave the full circus! For some, I got really thirsty at the end. Who would not want a glass of red or white? @bjmin was not happy not getting her cupcake!

As I said, the extra marketing is just not needed by many of the well sought-after schools.