Notting Hill & Ealing high school

[Workhar]

Hello! Can any NHEHS current parent provide a review about the school? The school seems to have excellent results since many years and superb facilities but doesn’t seem to be as popular as other schools. I wonder why? Any reviews or comments would be highly appreciated. Thanks

@Workhar , I think it's the location and make up of local population. If you live in somewhere like Surbiton the transport links into London and out to Surrey are excellent as well as the high density of schools within a few miles of the train station. SW London attracts more families than other parts of London partly due to the high number of schools. Plus Richmond upon Thames and Kingston have amazing state schools and the attraction of Tiffin.
I think NH&E gets lost in the mix.

What schools are you comparing it with that makes you think it isn't as popular?

I think location is definitely a big reason. It's a mile from the tube (a 15-20min walk) which means that, realistically, unless you're local, it's probably not going to be high on your wishlist. It's quite a lot smaller than the other indie girls' schools (600 versus 800 in the senior school) which some might see as a good thing, but equally to some it might not. When I went to an open day, I was quite surprised how small the site was. I'd imagined there'd be tons of space in leafy Ealing, but it feels really cramped and there's no outside space at all bar three or four netball courts (which are shared with the junior school). It has less space than every other girls' indie school I've seen. And although it has the new glass frontage and performance hall, a lot of the facilities I thought looked pretty tired. I know they've demolished the Junior School and are rebuilding from scratch, but the senior school needs a pretty good overhaul too.

But it is interesting that NHEHS still has the reputation of being one of the "lesser" GDST schools, even though its results are strong, and last year were better than both WHS and Putney (by miles, re Putney). I wonder whether part of it is just an affluence thing: Putney and WHS tend to attract a slightly more affluent cohort who can afford to live in those more expensive areas?

@LondonMum20222 very interesting view point, thanks. @Daftapath i believe that since many years, NHEHS has really good GCSE and A level results, easily putting it at a great rank in the national level league tables. Still I feel it’s not even half as popular as Wimbledon high, putney high, south hampstead, HABS girls, JAGS etc. As @sailingsunshine pointed out, maybe it’s the location. But I thought many families are willing to travel extra miles for a well ranked school with great results. I found its facilities to be much better than Surbiton high and at similar level compared to Wimbledon High.

I don't think parents/dc want to travel to another part of London for the sake of facilities without an easy journey . The ease of commute to school is often key which is why the schools on the SW train line are so popular or the enormous school bus links like LEH/ Hampton. Claremont Fan/ St John's leatherhead and Epsom college have repositioned themselves by opening up direct school minibus routes - often straight through from Richmond (affluent area).

NHEHS is always oversubscribed though. Occasional places are often filled quickly. My experience is that most girls are relatively local or live along the district line.

Latymer Upper, Godolphin or LEH are all much more academic and larger so have students travelling in from much further afield because of this.

I would say that the other schools mentioned by you above would not serve the same area so can't really be compared. I don't know anyone who applied for any of those schools and NHEHS

@Daftapath But if you lived in Hammersmith (or Shepherd's Bush, or Baron's Court) you could feasibly apply to both NHEHS and Putney / WHS (as well as the Hammersmith schools) so I don't think they're entirely mutually exclusive.

I'd say not much overlap with WHS at all, possibly a bit with PHS. In DDs year at WHS I can think of a few girls who live in Fulham/Parsons Green but none from Hammersmith etc. I think NHEHS is far more of a West London school- Chiswick, Ealing etc. WHS is very SW London.

We applied to NH&E and Putney and it will be a difficult decision if our daughter is offered both. I preferred Putney but we live in West London so NH&E would be (slightly) more convenient.

@Wlondonmum2022 May I ask why is Putney a more popular choice…despite NHEHS having way better results and in your case, being close to ur house as well? Thanks

If you feel there is not a lot between them, I would consider where it would be easier for your dd to socialise ie where is easier for you for late night pick ups!

Yes. Most do apply for all those schools. The further afield ones though do not seem to be on the radar.

I think we are blessed with a good range of schools locally so do not tend to need to look that far.

I can’t put my finger on it, but I preferred the Putney atmosphere to NH&E — neither are exactly easy to get to from our house but the NH&E mini bus service makes it look more straightforward. I will consider us lucky if we are in a position to need to decide between the two as I think they are equally competitive at admissions these days.

Public bus from Station is easy enough! NHEHS fabulous for my DD. Good mix of girls, whilst some are from affluent backgrounds, many aren't and most are down to earth, great work ethic and happy girls. Equidistant for us from Putney and NHEHS, offers from both but chose NHEHS as seemed more down to earth and that suited us. Academically strong and good pastoral support too. My DD very happy there!

@desperatelyseekssolace thank you very much for the review.

We also applied to both. I agree that NHEHS felt more ‘down to earth’ and I have lots of friends with daughters there.

In the end though it came down to two things.

DD choice - she had only attended the open day at PH not NHEHS as she couldn’t come that day, so she only saw the school at the offer holders day. She just didn’t have the ‘zing’ about NHEHS, and PH had been her favourite of all the schools we visited and applied to.

Distance - actually NHEHS would have been an hour (train/tube/bus or walk up the hill) vs 15 mins on a train. If they had been equidistant I would have preferred NHEHS but even then DD would have chosen PH.

DD in Y7 now at PH and loves it.

Lots of the Hammersmith/Ravenscourt park parents seem to apply to both.

@TOGA1 thank you. And all your friends with girls in NHEHS seem to be happy with the school? Is it quite academic? Thanks

Hi @Workhar ,

yes seem to be happy. I have heard that there are a number of girls receiving external additional tuition - for stretch rather than because they are behind, so May be worth asking specifically how they cater for the more able pupils if that is relevant for your DD.

@TOGA1 thank you. I will find out about this.

But maybe getting additional help has become the norm now and that’s pretty unfortunate. The grades are inflating every year, the school performances are going up and up. But at what cost? Cost of childhood of the kids.

Hi Everyone, any info on the assessment process and the interview - hearing good things about girls enjoying the interview here. What types of questions do they ask?

During the interview, mine was asked academic (problem solving+English) as well as general questions like hobbies, favorite books etc. The teachers seemed quite friendly and DD really enjoyed it.

@Workhar great thank you - glad she enjoyed it. I hope she has a successful outcome. Does not seem to be much on this school on Mumsnet which is surprising. Lots seem to favour the Hammersmith Schools. Do many apply there?

Not much on the Ealing schools.

@HappyMama2024 This really confuses me. This school has far better results than some of the other popular schools. It also has great facilities. Still it doesn’t seem to be on most people’s radar. I tried questioning other parents and they blamed it on commute to the school (which is hard for me to believe). The school runs a great bus network and has public transport available at an acceptable distance.

And NHEHS has maintained excellent public exam results since over a decade. Unlike many popular schools. Its unpopularity is a mystery to me.

@Workhar very odd to me. Ealing Broadway has the district, central and now Elizabeth line with one bus journey to the school. The bus stop is right outside of it.

PHS is equally a distance from a station of some sorts and on a similar site size, no?

All the girls we know who go there are lovely and the pastoral, activities and subjects seem top notch.

Were there many at the interview?

We are considering a sports scholarship - did you go for any?