Habs girls Vs nlcs

[perhapsLAter]

Hello all, is anyone like me holding offers for both schools? I'm new to this I have moved from Taiwan and there schooling is very different. I'm struggling with what makes each unique. We live in Barnet so traveling to both will be fine. Would anyone be able to share their insights? I know both will have new heads, it very confusing we only sat three exams thinking we would only get one. We are very lucky we have two offers and are awaiting HB.

THANK U for your kindness

You're choosing between two excellent schools. Your daughter must be bright, and I'm sure she'd be happy at either.

As far as some of the kids are concerned, HABS boys' being right next door to the girls' school makes a big difference! Kids can socialise at lunchtimes, and they share coaches. Last I heard, the two schools were in the process of integrating the sixth forms, but I'm not sure if they actually went ahead.

@BookwormButNoTime not Habs bashing at all- just a parent who is overly concerned about all that I have read on this forum and elsewhere, so looking for reassurance before we make such a monumental decision. Especially the following as mentioned by @MomFromSE

some have more of a culture for external tutoring and mental health issues so these are the things I'd try to dig into when speaking to parents and the school when making the decision

It’s this type of thing that I’m interested in finding out (esp at Habs), rather than minuscule differences in exam results. DD is resilient and just gets on with things - but I wouldn’t want her in an environment where MH/pastoral care is lacking. Any Habs Girls parents out there- would be grateful if you could speak up!

For NLCS parents on here, would you say you feel your daughters are known as individuals by their teachers (one parent has told me they felt not). How much contact do you have with the school? Given the high achieving cohort, how is work graded - are just comments given? I know CLSG (and I think SPGS) don’t give grades as they don’t want to encourage competition between the girls.

Last I heard, the two schools were in the process of integrating the sixth forms, but I'm not sure if they actually went ahead.
From September (?) they will have an executive head over the two schools. All A level students have to choose one A level which is joint between the two schools. At least this is my understanding, but someone will correct me if I've misunderstood. Even in my day (35+ years ago) we did general studies joint with the boys 6th form.

@FreneticVerses my daughter started at NLCS in year 7, we are now in year 10, we have any amount of contact with the school that we require. For example, I had a question for my daughters chemistry teacher last month. I emailed her form teacher and her chemistry called me for a chat and answered my query. We have two parents evening a year, lots of out of school evening presentations and speakers. Unlike some
other schools, my daughters work or tests have never been graded into GCSE potential marks. We find my daughters peers to be very supportive and their resilience enables them to understand that if they don’t perform as well as they hoped in a test,it’s not the end of the world and the teachers are very approachable and happy to be emailed to talk through any concerns etc. NLCS offers both Alevels and IB. NLCS works for our child, she was quite shy when she started and she’s much more confident now. She takes part in public speaking and debating lessons and now represents the school in model UN. A school choice is a personal one and a happy and bright child will do well at either. Habs had 27 9 grades in English compared to a 100 at NLCS, it would have caused me concern as a parent as English and essay writing is one of my daughters strengths. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Re the demographics - I am always very wary of commenting on such matters in the fear of offending anyone and must clarify that the comment is not based on data but own experience at the school in the case of NLCS and the offer holder events x 2 in the case of Habs and knowing a high number of families in my kids school year through sports etc. Both schools have a very large South East Asian component, Habs might currently have a stronger Jewish presence (again anecdotally). They are both very ethnically diverse but I would be surprised if the % of non-English speaking girls was high. The point that @Kokeshi123 makes is valid, but does not necessarily affect Habs more than NLCS.
Habs being less diverse would not be my experience and certainly not to the point of being a decision factor between the two.

just answering some previous questions, yes the teachers know my child by name, it’s a school where community is very important and there are plenty of occasions for enjoying the school socially as parents and kids (Fantasy Fashion, the excellent plays, auctions etc).
The work is graded throughout the year, the teachers feel strongly about keeping these grades secret (though the girls inevitably share) plus exams at the end of each year.
My experience is that most of the girls do care hugely about their grades and there is definitely a sense FROM THEM that it’s the only option is a 1 (top grade) but I do not get that from the teachers at all, who I find very encouraging.
There are (compared to our previous school) no awards, mentioning of names on newsletters, behaviour point-scoring, commend system as such, though, as you can imagine, there is a lot of success at the NLCS in and out of school that could be talked about.
The girls are supportive of each other and proud to be in an environment where everyone is clever, which they are reminded of frequently and has been a huge confidence booster for my daughters.

Thank you @Herewegoagain78 and @PPLs

Like the no-mentioning of names/point-scoring on newsletters etc.

I wonder if it is better to not grade work and give constructive feedback instead, if the girls are to inevitably share their results? An environment of high-achieving girls needs things like this to safe-guard against perfectionism/resultant MH issues (your comment about the girls caring very much about getting the top grade speaks to this). All the regular testing will surely bear out any gaps.

Is there a parent rep group that meets termly with leadership to voice any concerns/propose new ideas, or another kind of forum? I know this happens at the boys’ sch at Habs. Is SLT at NLCS receptive to these kinds of concerns from parents, or is it a more take it or leave it approach?

And the same questions for parents at Habs Girls- thank you 😊

@FreneticVerses yes, definitely. I understand what you are saying and I think you are right in being concerned with the MH of a group of girls who, to generalise, will likely care a huge amount about the grades they receive but, to be honest, I am not sure what the right answer is.
Not every piece of work is graded, in fact probably one or two per term per subject but I do think it is useful as a measure of progress. For example, there is quite a lot of focus on good essay writing. You first attempt at writing a history essay might get a 3 with lots of comments on how to improve. A 3 is “good” and the teachers remind them strongly that “good” is good enough. Your next attempt might get a 2 with comments on how you did better and next steps would be to do more of xyz. Getting a 1 at the end (provided that you follow the methods taught) is highly satisfying. They also provide examples (at the beginning) of what a “1” essay looks like (from older girls) so that you know what to do. You could do this without grades, of course, but there is something helpful, I think, about having a tangible measure of how well you have understood what you are supposed to do. In my mind, the lack of maturity (of the students, understandably, of the parents, less so) is shown when the students wants to start with a 1 and only ever get a 1.
A NLCS 3 is still likely to be higher than the average so it should be celebrated as such.

Hello. Yes you are completely correct. There are pieces in the year that are graded from 1-5. I was referring to a couple of friends school that keep grading children in predicted GCSE attainment. My friends daughter ( in year 10 day / boarding school) has been told she’s on track to get all 9s, then a recent end of topic test bought her chemistry attainment into special
measures and meetings and the mother complained to the school. In year 10 at NLCS GCSEs are hardly mentioned and the girls are taught to understand that 100% is not always the norm, my child has been equally delighted to get 70’s in a very tough chemistry or Latin exam and equally has often scored 100% in History, RS and Maths end of year exams.
As with @Herewegoagain78 the girls are taught to take on constructive critics and are happy the ask questions.

This has been so helpful, I am not so overly swayed by results tables, as they simply show a snap shot of that year, if it was as easy as the teaching guarantees an end result. The schools are highly selective and I understand that. I am perplexed at what makes them different is for example habs more sporty, more musically inclined. My daughter plays the violin and loves performing. Both schools have excellent facilities but does that translate into using thenlm. My daughter has got her HB result yet but we are lucky she sat the second round.

I do not want to wade into English results of those children for whom their parents do not speak English/ is their second tongue.

I would appreciate some response from current parents if they believe that the English result indicates that the curriculum taught is not robust enough.

From my little insight of the exams they both seem the same diversity but maybe current parents can better advise. I know HB is predominantly South Asian.

I understand I will be going to both offer holder events, but feel real parents know the real school not what is marketed 😅.

I appreciate everyone comments.

Thanks all for your feedback. Sorry for hijacking the thread somewhat OP- but I hope it’s brought up some interesting points to help in your decision.

I suppose my other thought is the well-known: is it better to feel clever within a wider range of ability? Being at the bottom of a very high achieving year group could be a miserable place to be :-(

It’s a concern that I felt before my girls started but now I would answer that 1. No one is bottom of the class, in fact it’s amazing how homogenous grades are (when they are shared - see above!). In other words, there are no outliers. More like a few peaks and then 80% of the class around the same marks. 2. Everyone is good at something. There are so many areas that the girls can excel in (and do). Whether it is debating, sciences, engineering, sports, drama, music and so on, I have not met one girl who is genuinely not really interested and good at something. I think you have to trust the process and believe that, if they made her an offer, your daughter will flourish there. I know I sound almost evangelical, I am not saying that the school is perfect, but we really are very happy.

Hello. I agree too, obviously not everyone can be great of everything, but usually the girls thrive in an area. My daughter is a great all rounder, but she has one friend in her group that finds maths much more of a challenge, yet she’s brilliant at languages and music, plays several instruments and takes three languages at GSCE. Other things to keep in mind when comparing the two, is if IB is an attractive option, Habs take 9 GCSES and NLCS 11. I don’t have any insight into the English at Habs, but the social intake is very much on a par. I go with the above, I felt like the school was a golden chance, our child has thrived at the school and as I said before, I am sure there are happy girls at Habs too.

Current Habs parents here, of two daughters. Both are extremely happy and are very different children with different strengths, interests and personalities .
The School is diverse but the comments about a high percentage of girls not having English as a first language, or speaking a second language at home, are extremely misplaced and inaccurate.
The school strikes a very good balance between academically stretching without pressure, and a real emphasis on extra curricular - the sports provision is fantastic, as is the music and there is an ever increasing focus on the creatives both in and off timetable.
Gus Lock, current head of the boys school will soon become the executive head of both schools and is supposed to be excellent - its an exciting time for both the boys and the girls schools.

The most ridiculous conversation I’ve heard in so long. For so many reasons. Go with your gut, think about your child’s happiness and not a menial / small difference in grades.

Hi! What was the HB outcome? And what did you decide and why?

We chose between NLCS and HB. Daughter was strongly against NLCS in the end and we live quite near HB, so almost zero travel time and inconvenience and significantly reduced travel safety concerns.