Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

CLSB, UCS, Habs or MTS

33 replies

Confusedmom53 · 17/02/2022 08:31

We have been extremely fortunate that DS has been offered a place at all 4 schools. Commute isn’t a problem as by coach/tube they all take approximately 30-40 mins. DS isn’t particularly sporty, and is more interested in creative writing/languages. Any insights from parents with children in these schools will be greatly appreciated

OP posts:
CruCru · 07/06/2022 09:08

This is an interesting thread. I should think the OP has probably decided by now.

Someone upthread posted some Sunday Times rankings of the schools. My understanding is that A Levels aren’t necessarily all that useful for ranking because some of the schools admit girls while others don’t - UCS and Westminster do but CLSB don’t. Supposedly the girls who join Westminster for sixth form are very high achieving indeed and give their A level results a real boost.

However, if you look at the GCSE results, there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference between the schools. Of the ranked list, CLSB was 36 and 91.4% got grades 7-9, whereas Kings College Wimbledon (ranked second) got 96.5%. KCW got the higher number but when you’re looking at such high achieving schools, there doesn’t seem as though there’s a massive difference between them. It’s probably safe to just pick the one your son will be happiest at (and hasn’t got an insane journey to).

thing47 · 07/06/2022 10:08

My understanding is that A Levels aren’t necessarily all that useful for ranking because some of the schools admit girls while others don’t - UCS and Westminster do but CLSB don’t. Supposedly the girls who join Westminster for sixth form are very high achieving indeed and give their A level results a real boost

Yes, that is absolutely correct. Admitting girls into a Sixth Form almost invariably has a beneficial effect on A level grades because as @CruCru says they will generally be very high achieving and therefore could easily account for a 1-2% uptick in A level results. [It would be interesting to strip out the girls' results from co-ed Sixth Forms and compare just boys' results, but I'm guessing schools might not make this data readily available!].

Merchant Taylors' School also don't admit girls, and the league table rankings don't really support the view – expressed earlier in this thread – that it is some way behind academically, so maybe there are some subjective opinions being presented here which the data doesn't back up…

ASHAcoach · 03/11/2022 17:39

Hi
My son is sitting the 11+ UCS exam in Jan, does anyone have any advice regarding the papers and interviews? Thanks so much!

Dido2010 · 03/11/2022 21:17

Confusedmom53 · 17/02/2022 08:31

We have been extremely fortunate that DS has been offered a place at all 4 schools. Commute isn’t a problem as by coach/tube they all take approximately 30-40 mins. DS isn’t particularly sporty, and is more interested in creative writing/languages. Any insights from parents with children in these schools will be greatly appreciated

Hi @Confusedmom53 ! May I offer a slightly alternative analysis? I work in the education sector and we look at schools, including leading independent schools.

Clearly, all the schools you mention are very well known. Yet each has a distinctive current and historical character, something beyond statistics. All are good schools and all cater for the most academic boys. Your son will be fine at any of them. My family knows boys at all of them and they all like their school. Generally, travel considerations and family or community links prove decisive for many families when they decide between them.

Firstly, does UCS now admit girls into its Sixth Form? Something to consider.

Habs has generally been the most academic and is still widely considered to be so. City is the most distinctive because of its location; the commuting is reckoned to help with boys’ maturity, self-confidence and independence and exposure to the City itself and nearby, major, arts venues can be inspirational. I would choose between these two, especially as convenient, on-site sport is not such a big deal for you. You mention particular, current interests and these will be nurtured at each. But don’t be surprised if, aged 16 or 18, your son’s academic or extra-curricular focus and passion lie elsewhere. The best school will bring out something you and he may not even know is there at this stage. (This happened with our child at her school, both academically and musically.)

‘Too many South Asians’? For some years, the worldwide trend has been that Chinese, East Asians and South Asians target selective schools and are disproportionally represented in them. They only target the ‘best’ schools. (I know one Iranian lady who sent her daughter to one school partly because it had a lot of South Asians and she regards South Asian achievement highly!) We know that outer NW London has a significant South Asian community which cherishes academics and cricket and so Habs works for them, as does MTS to a great extent. Diversity? Most of these pupils are regular, fairly cosmopolitan, British kids who are comfortable with peers from all backgrounds. Ultimately, your friend is your friend and that’s what counts. Students are often better at multi-ethnic and multi-cultural friendships than their parents are. And university will only develop this further after high school, so it's not just about the 11 plus school. (My daughter’s school had a lot of Asians. Yet today her closest friends include Irish, Swedish, Jewish, and Euro-Afro-Caribbean individuals.) Perhaps the most powerful modern education is learning how to work in a team, how to behave in a group, how to get along with people and how to make friends with people who look different from us.

Which would I choose? I would be tempted by City. Congratulations to you and your son on gaining such offers and earning such a choice.

Energeticenoch · 03/11/2022 22:28

To be fair @Dido2010 you can’t know that much about schools as UCS has had girls in their 6th form since 2009

Confusedmom53 · 04/11/2022 11:12

check message

OP posts:
Hope1309 · 28/02/2023 13:20

Please can someone advise on MTS experience

dew141 · 28/02/2023 16:54

What would you like to know?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page