CLSG or G&L

[JaneO11]

My daughter got offered a place from City of London School for Girls and Godolphin & Latymer. We like both schools, and can not decide.

Looking for views on both schools. Thanks a lot.

Following as in a similar position :)

What's the journey like to both?

it is almost similar. The downside at the moment for me in terms of commute is more in the morning where she will have to take the district line at 8.00 where it is packed :( afternoon commute would be less busy.

They are very different schools!
And on opposite sides of London.
Architecture, atmosphere, facilities, general 'vibe'!
Which did your daughter prefer?
What do you want from the school?
Particular sport, music or drama?

Where do you live?

Is your dd into sports? G&L has great facilities. I am not sure about CLSG, but my dd has done netball camps at G&L.

My daughter likes sport but she is not particularly sporty. Otherwise we would not be choosing G&L. Putney, whs and LU are way more sporty in my opinion. She is very academic and loves languages.
I love the diversity from City where I have the impression GL is less?? Although they do offer IB

From what I know G&L is the better all round option. CLGS is fine if you want an inner city location, but we wernt impressed with the facilities when we went to an open day a few years back when co sidering schools to any for. Focus on the academics obviously, but it all felt very one dimensional. Came away feeling it was a little overrated. G&L felt far more rounded, re the extra curricular and sport offering, in addition to the academics (which probably all round slightly above CLSG) but didn't work for us when factoring in the travel time for DD.

Hi, I can only offer an opinion on CLSG based on first hand experience - can't really comment on G&L - due to proximity, wasn't really on our radar to do further research - it would seem to be a great school based on results, reputation etc. but can't add much more.

My daughter is currently in year 9, and honestly we couldn't be happier with the school. She has an approx door to door commute of 45 mins to an hour (based on luck with trains, dawdling with friends etc.). We moved from an independent through school (large green campus and grounds, great facilities) which was much closer to home, and where she had a place for the senior school. To be honest, the first time we visited the school, I questioned the commute, and even when we got to the building I was feeling apprehensive, but that all changed almost immediately when we entered, met some of the girls and got a feel for the school.

First of all the experience over the last 2 and half years has been fantastic. Saying the school is very academic would be correct, but then that would paint only half the picture. I think you have to make a clear distinction between what you would call a pushy environment to one with high expectations - and the important thing is those expectations are not limited purely to academics, but also the co-curricular side of things. The girls are encouraged to participate in drama, music, sports and many other activities. Yes, the campus isn't sprawling green fields, but I think they have extracted every bit of value they can from the space they have, and actually results in some quite innovative spaces for performances, sports and other activities.

If I had to list the different activities she has done over the years, it goes on and on - School Play, Choir, Robotics, Tennis Team, Athletics team, Cricket team, Inter-school entrepreneurship case competition at the LSE...it just goes on and on, so any perceived lack of facilities has absolutely zero impact on opportunity.

In terms of academics, it isn't easy - very frequent testing - but it seems to be done without a cut-throat approach - with strong support from teachers, lunchtime clinics for optional support. In year 7, we even had a weekly call with a year 11 student to help in languages.

And the pastoral care has been excellent - strong support on study skills from a dedicated team, fantastic support for mental health and wellbeing with a full time counselling service.

Overall we couldn't be happier - like I said, I don't want to comment on other schools without first hand experience, but it ultimately comes down to fit which for us, CLSG has been brilliant. Happy to answer any specific questions.

My dd is at clsg and she was previously at another very good independent school. Clsg is a great school and I do think it is a bit more diverse than others - I think this is due to its location, large number of bursaries and overall ethos.

The diversity at CLSG is definitely better than G&L. The location is actually a factor for the diversity. I have a few friends who have their DD there. They mentioned the strong academic aspect of CLSG but not really any sports.

@cw34 - thanks for this extensive feedback , it really helps parents like us who are worried about the commute .. it gives an overall aspect of the school which is valuable in this time crunched decision making process ..

Happy with G&L. I think it is more diverse now at G&L than before. We were in a similar position before and chose G&L. DD is not too sporty, but is thriving really well.

Still in the same position - the schools have a different feel but DD likes both. Same distance to the schools so location also not a factor. I like the IB programme but am worried about some bullying stories I heard about G&L, also a lot of external tutoring - CLSG felt friendlier although I know G&L also known for nurturing environment and both bullying and tutoring might happen at all schools.

OP/Lolakath19 - what did you select and why?

We considered G&L but did not apply at the end. Distance was a reason. The other reason was that we also heard the unpleasant pressure on girls as you mentioned.

Hi, thanks for sharing your view. We are actually coming this September and would really appreciate if you could share a bit more? do the school mix a lot between classes? and do they have tiers since the start?

Many thanks!

G&L is clearly very academic, yet hugely supportive of those who find certain subjects more difficult than others. 'Tutoring' goes on at every school, perhaps less at G&L than others in my long experience.
I do not understand the incorrect, negative comment made earlier about G&L sport: this is incredibly strong, despite the school not offering sport scholarships. The hockey is schools' Tier 1; in the first few years they play matches for A to E teams. Netball and tennis are consistently strong, as is cricket. For the more minor sports: national champion fencers, etc etc.

I went to G&L but it was back in the days (left about 20 years ago!). I grew up in a council house and had a full bursary and while the school wasn’t as diverse as my local streets, I wasn’t the only one from my part of west London. TBH I didn’t enjoy my time there on a personal level as I was going through so much at the time but I also wouldn’t have changed a thing given the people I met and opportunities I had from my time there. I enjoy going back to visit on Old Dolphins events days and marvelling at how much money has been pumped into the school since I left!

Can I plz know reviews of parents whose girls are studying in Godolphin and Latymer. Is the high fee worth the opportunities?

Hello everyone, please can I give my perspective of CLSG as 2 of my dds were educated there.

My dds loved CLSG and are confident, happy, healthy young women. Both schools are academically very strong and nearly all of the girls leave with exceptional grades in every subject. To this end, there is vey little difference between the two schools academically.

At CLSG there are no sets apart from maths, which occurs in year 8. Even though there is a bottom maths set the girls will still achieve the highest grade at GCSE, but are taught at a slower pace.

We found the pastoral care at CLSG very good and the school is very sensitive to the needs of each child and will not hesitate to contact parents if there is an issue. There is a good mix of girls from different backgrounds at CLSG and the school takes all year 7s on a bonding week which the girls love.

CLSG is more socially mixed than G&L and while there are a lot of girls from wealthy backgrounds at CLSG, up to 25% of girls at CLSG have a bursary award and I liked that. Nobody will know about bursaries unless the child discloses, but even if they do the other girls will not judge as none of them care about it.

Please don’t worry about your child entering either school from the state sector as once they arrive at secondary school they don’t give a jot about their primary school. My dds have a solid bank of friends, some of whom were educated in the state sector.

The girls do travel in from a wide area to both schools but they cope very well with that; and it is you that will need to get used to driving or taking public transport all over the place collecting your dd from parties and friend’s houses. At CLSG a lot of the Jewish girls have their Bat Mitzvah as they turn 12 and the whole class are invited. The girls at CLSG are also often invited by the boys at CLS to their Bar Mitzvah’s as they turn 13. The children love the celebration but if you choose CLSG be warned as there are a lot of parties!

The facilities and extra curricular activities at G&L are outstanding and better than CLSG on that front. That said, CLSG does have excellent provision given its location. I liked the fact that CLSG have strong links with many City firms and the girls are introduced to those firms as part of their career development lessons in year 10 and 11.

You will be given a comprehensive uniform list at CLSG but they have a good second hand sale. I did make the mistake of buying a lot of new uniform for my girls, but they kept losing stuff, so we bought second hand and they lost a lot of that too! All lost uniform is placed in a giant bin and parents are able to rummage through it with their dd to look for lost items, so name tapes are essential.

Hey, we are being stuck in the same situation now. DD got offered a place by both GLSG and G&L. It's so hard to decide. Would really appreciate it if anyone has fresh comments on both.

PS: I heard GLSG is going to expand the space by using the museum building?

I posted last year - we finally selected CLSG and never looked back. Daughter very happy, loves the school and found nice friends. Transition was gentle - not too much homework (compared to G&L and similar schools) and school seems keen that students have a positive experience in Yr 7. In our case, the deciding factors were conversations with parents (past and present) and the offer holders days - the schools have a different vibe (not better or worse). At the end of the day both schools are fine so hard to make a massive mistake.

The Museum of London will be used by the sixth form which will free up space in the main building. I am sure the school will be happy to provide more colour.

So we just sent acceptance to CLSG and turned down G&L. Hope someone on the waitlist can get relieved.

Why is G&L so mediocre in terms of Oxbridge offers? Been checking its numbers for a few years, it used to send 15-20 per year, but been declining to 5-10, which is low compared to similar London schools. Latymer about 25-30, City Girls 15-20, even Putney is higher.