Independents close to or easy access from Oval underground station/SW9

[CurlsnSunshinetime4tea]

The parents are only interested in independent options from a home close to the Oval station/Kennington Park.
Currently they bike or drive to Clapham but not really keen on a much longer journey.

JAGS/Alleyn's under 3 miles away
Francis Holland Sloan Square under 3 miles away
Streatham and Clapham HS just over 3 miles away
Queen's College just under 4 miles away
Queen's Gate just over 4 miles away

Please help what schools need to be added to the list or scrapped...it works both ways ;)

@CurlsnSunshinetime4tea agree that important to 'experience the journey', including which areas the DC will need to walk through. Maybe something that the parents can explore before applying, ideally at similar times to school starting and finishing times. Quite a few of the schools mentioned are very close to the station (e.g. WHS, KGS,... ) and others in quite residential areas (e.g. PHS) which would make things easier on that front.
Personally, I would favour a journey with no changes, especially if changes are in a very busy station, but I can see lots of kids doing it every day.
Also worth considering that they are not 11 forever - it seems obvious but sometimes it can be useful to remember that. Although at the beginning it can be attractive to drive them (and we know some parents that do that in Y7) the DC are keen to get their independence - so a school with good public transport links and, ideally, in an area where they can meet with friends after school.

We also live very close but in Y6 so slightly ahead and a boy so looking at different options, though mostly co-ed.

I'd agree with what others who've said that the key thing is looking at the journey by public transport and how easy that is, rather than just actual distance. Driving to secondary school in London is not the norm. I also grew up in S London and went to one of the Dulwich schools, and barely anyone was driven then either. Lots got the coaches laid on by the schools, or public transport and even some cycling.

From the Oval the Dulwich schools are pretty straight forward. The 185 bus goes from right by Oval station and it's a short walk at the other end to Alleyn's and JAGS. It's not particularly quick but it's a straight forward journey. When we went to an open afternoon a few weeks ago quite a few Alleyn's children were getting it at the same time. It's also not too far to cycle, which our son would probably do.

We're also looking at Emanuel which as others have said is very easy from Vauxhall. I'm surprised to hear that your son-in-law has heard negative things about it. Everything I have heard is positive. We visited recently and liked it, though not as much as some of the others.

Our other option is St Dunstan's in Catford. There is a direct train from Elephant and Castle which works for us. It also maybe worth looking at some of the Hammersmith schools. We looked at Latymer Upper and the journey by tube is not too bad. It is a a bit longer but there is just one change and the walk at the other end is quite short. I think it is similar for Godolphin and Latymer. We ultimately decided that the journey was a bit much for us and we didn't like it enough. However, it's worth going to look at those schools and then weigh up the pros and cons.

I also saw that your daughter and son-in-law are thinking of boarding. It may be that leavers from their current school board but there really is no need for them to think that is necessary. I would say that going on to board is now pretty unusual for London based families. There's no practical need as there are so many schools in London and it really is easy to travel around.

All the suggestions I have have already been mentioned, but I would reiterate what's been said about considering commuting time by whatever means make most sense (bus/train/tube) rather than distance. Distance is an irrelevance in London!

To add one more point is how reliable the public transport is and if there is alternative way to commute if the main transport is down, e.g. the frequent strike and cancellations of some of the trains service, can you do bus or other way to the school? Check the service reliability ranking of different London underground and overground line too

If you are using the Northern line I would have thought that the Hampstead/Highgate schools would also be fairly accessible.