Godolphin vs Latymer Upper

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My DD has had offers from Godolphin and LU and a few others (LEH, SPGS etc) but boiled down to choose between GL LU .

It has been over 2 weeks of debating and no conclusion yet !

Can any current parents shed more light in what would be best choice given one is co-ed ?

I think the major difference is all girls vs coed, but I believe you have already thought about that

Not sure if anyone can say which is best for your child really. Both good schools.
I have a DS at LU who is very happy there. I also have a niece at G&L who isn't so happy but she is Neurodiverse so may have had a tough time at other schools as well.
G&L is smaller, known as being more 'nurturing' and has sports ground on site and more space in general. I think LU is probably more accepting to 'differences' but niece may just have been unlucky with her class which seems full of very social ( and quite frankly mean) Alpha girls. But teachers and pastoral team have been very kind.
And obviously there are lots of happy girls there as well and I'm sure there are DCs at LU who aren't so happy.
Do you not have a gut feel which you prefer?

I have two dds who are both at LU and both very different personalities both very happy there. Neither would change their school for anything. Feel free to ask more questions - I have friends with dc at G&L who also love it

This was exactly our decision a year ago boiled down to those two schools…. Have you been to the offer holder events ?
we ended up choosing LU for DD but have lots of friends at GL . It’s been a term and a half so far and the main observations are that LU is a very loud and big school which was quite a shock for my DD who is far from quiet and is generally a very confident child it’s taking her awhile to get used to how noisy the boys are and the myriad of rules I do think they’re pretty strict on lots of things at least compared to her all girls prep. Having said that she’s made a wonderful group of friends and I really like the mix of children they have there really is something for everyone and given it’s a big year group it really feels like there’s a lot less bitchy clicky behaviour from the girls. at least it seems to suit more of the girls that aren’t so bothered with that or at least from what I’ve observed.
I do think there is a very high proportion of slightly more neuro diverse type of children, and it does suit the more quirky kid better than GL I would think as the girls we know who chose GL were very vanilla if that makes sense… Not a bad thing but more a certain type. At least the ones that we know. We have spoken about the schools among parents since then and it does seem there were quite a few mean girl behaviours already at GL in last years cohort , However the school apparently dealt with it very well and have been great otherwise so it could be cohort specific as can happen anywhere . I really think you couldn’t go wrong. They’re both excellent schools one. Other point to note is LU is getting a new headmistress next year. From what I’ve heard. The feedback on her is phenomenal so a really positive move for the school in my view. The GL head I actually quite liked the offer holders event more than at the general open days. She had a very nice calm manner about her. However she’s been there for a long time ( possible move also?) and it does feel a lot more homogenous in the senior management team at GL. Where is LU is much more dynamic- At least from my observation. Good luck with you choice ! Feel free to PM me if you want more info.

Just to add to @berrymummy's comments, have also heard very positive things about the new LU head both on a personal and professional level.
Would also agree about LU being big and busy ( although the girls in DS's year are just as noisy!). DS is in Y9 and I think it took him a while to grow into the school ( although he started in covid so all bit odd in y7). Strict around phone use but don't think the other rules are much stricter than other secondary schools ( except the absolute zero tolerance on drugs- that policy is definitely more strongly worded than at some other schools).

To add a bit more as someone with two dds at the top of LU - there is every different type of child at LU, mine are both pretty geeky and they're absolutely not singled out as "different." Equally, there are sporty dc, "cool" dc, they find their tribes. Some boys can be noisy and annoying, equally some are sweet and shy and quiet, but both dd are adamant they are happy to have got used to boys now in a "workplace" environment rather than later at uni, they're utterly unfazed by them. But OP, without knowing what your exact dilemma is, it's impossible to advise further

We are also deliberating between these two schools, finding the decision quite tricky as they are both great schools. We have attended the Latymer Upper offer holders evening and tour which were very good. My dd is not phased by it being coed, she genuinely doesn't mind all girls or coed. My fear with GL is that it may have too many alpha girls and the bitchiness/competitiveness. Anyone had experience with both schools? I've heard of GL girls that move to L in the sixth form as they want to get away from all girls. On the flip side I worry Latymer is too big and might be overwhelming given she is currently at a small school. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I'd only say nearly everyone has moved from a small school and though it all might seem a bit overwhelming for the first couple of weeks I've never heard of it being in a problem - they're in small form group. What I really like about LU is it's big enough to find your type of people, I've heard of smaller schools where one predominant culture rules and it's hard if you don't fit into that. As I've said in another thread neither of my dds are cool, partying types and absolutely oblivious to the gang who are that way - everyone seems to live and let live. But I am not on commission from LU so everyone must do what they think best!

I think it is avoidable to have alpha girls in girls' schools without a balanced gender environment. It should be more serious in leading independent schools as some girls are from well-off families. They never had big failure thus being overly confident. I have a DD at one of them (not G&L). She always complains about a few individuals. Sometimes I feel sick of hearing the stories.

A year in any advice to give a parent who is having to make choice between Lu and G&L?

We chose G&L over LU last year (despite what our DD wanted) and she does not regret it. The girls in her form are really lovely and kind. She says she is very happy we made this choice and have not regret. She is very easy going and I am sure she would have settled very well at LU as well.
We chose it because of IB and smaller cohort mainly.

This is very reassuring and helps with our decision making.