Queen's College, London - a good option?

[Mrseven]

We're looking at secondary schools for DD and would appreciate your opinions and/or experience of Queen's College, London?

We've visited and liked it but can't shake some things I hear and have heard over the years about the students' behaviour.

Thanks a lot

Joining this post as I would like to hear about this school too. I have heard it is on the up in terms of academic achievement and involvement in sports.

Some friends' daughters go there and are very pleased with it.

Thank you @CruCru, sounds interesting! Do you know what in particular they are happy with?

I think in the past it had a bit of a “party girl” reputation but has worked hard to shed that - it’s a kind school where the girls do very well academically. It’s suited my friends’ daughters well.

My second daughter is in Lower Sixth at QCL and is doing well. It definitely used to be a frivolous school, but that was more than 20 years ago. Now, thanks to Dr Ramsey (head around 12 years ago) and the current head, Richard Tillet, it's definitely on the up academically, doing better than Francis Holland, Clarence Gate. Uniform was brought back, discipline imposed and although it's not a 'hot house' school, its performance has improved enormously due to the ethos of happy girls achieving their best. Highly recommend.

Thank you @AbVKG

does anyone know the following?

do they interview all applicants at 11+?

how big are the year groups?

@EmotiveBubblez Yes, I believe they interview all applicants. Year groups approx 25 children x 3 classes per year.

Thank you @AbVKG

Yes, I checked, and there are around 22 pupils per class (x 3) in Year 7, and as they go up the school, they are placed in sets for the different subjects, so the teaching class sizes are smaller than that. And yes, despite a big increase in applications, the school does still interview all of them.

Really appreciate you checking @AbVKG thank you

My daughter is in Y8 and although being a teen she does not communicate much, the school seems academically strong to me (and I'm quite fussy). I take a regular look at their books and the lessons are well structured and challenging. They are given homework every day and have 6 exams at the end of the year (not in y7), which helps them learn how to organise revision. The school is now introducing additional resources and strategies to further develop critical and independent thinking.
From a pastoral care point of view, this is probably one of the best private schools in London, often recognised for the work done to support the girls and have open conversations around issues that matter to them. They have a 'failure' week when staff and children alike talk about their experience and how much one can learn from failure. This helps develop the girls' resilience and support their mental health, which is great considering the horror stories coming from other schools. Personally, I was impressed with the school's prompt intervention when I shared some concerns about my girl. Although the schoolsattracts mainly central London's families, there is a diverse range of nationalities and economic backgrounds, with many families like mine for which the fees represent a significant percentage of their income. The girls I know seem down to earth.
Finally, the school is aiming to have at least 10% of the girls on full bursaries (ask Mr Tillet for further info) , they have also just admitted two girls from Ukraine who will come to London once their visa are cleared.

I went to Queen's and it was a terrible experience because of the bullying, from teachers rather than other students. Name-calling by the teachers and being picked out for being on a scholarship, having less money, was distressing.
There were some lovely teachers too, but I don't remember any standing up for us against the bullies.
When I plucked up the courage to tell the head of year I was being abused at home and to ask for help, she shouted, "get out of my sight you pathetic wimp," at me, leaving me curled up sobbing in terror on the floor.
My best friend left the school during A levels with depression caused by the unpleasant atmosphere.
We were among the top students, very quiet and loved studying, so it's not as if we were disruptive. I imagine we were treated badly because we were clearly vulnerable.
Plenty of girls took drugs and messed about, but I assume that's common in any secondary school.
I'm sure it's changed under the new head and could be much better now, but always be sure to ask a range of pupils for their experiences, as it seemed good superficially, but was appalling when I was there.

That’s terrible. When were you there?

Agree - that's terrible @Fantasiamop. I was at Queens, but a long time ago. I don't recognise the description of the teachers at all, so presumably not at the same time as you.
In my day it was quite chilled, moderately academic, not particularly sporty except for fencing, mostly nice girls with a few notable exceptions! Good teachers. All in all, a pretty good experience all round. I went to boarding school either side of going to Queens though and must say, I did prefer not being in the centre of London.
We had a few girls on scholarships in my class and they were very popular as I recall.

Sorry to hear that. This really does not match our current experience which is overwhelmingly positive.

@clevud you probably have no reason to know the answer to this but I’ve applied to Queen’s for my dd for next year but she has recently been diagnosed as dyslexic. I’m wondering what the support may be like for her there. I would say academically she is average but she does enjoy sport - is it a good place for a sporty girl who also enjoys dance?

@stclair there are good provisions for dance although my daughter is not very much interested in it. The girls go to Paddington Rec or Regent's park for PE. They also have many sorts of after school clubs. Of course the facilities are not as big as in other schools given the central location. I suggest you speak to the school directly, they will be happy to answer your questions.

@clevud many thanks for your info

My daughter is very happy at Queen’s - she’s in Year 8 and feels seen and supported in her learning and feels the girls are kind and lovely.
The girls are happy and engaged and there is a strong sense of community. My daughter is thriving academically and I’m happy for her not to be in a hot house environment. I can highly recommend it for its pastoral care, music department and overall strong sense of community.