CLSG v QUEENS COLLEGE

[Carpediem12]

DD has received offers from both CLSG and Queens. She is bright and sociable, doesn't like sports. I liked Queens for the ethos, Headmaster's vision was great to hear. However everyone I speak to says CLSG. My concern is that DD stays happy. I have heard CLSG has large amounts of homework and pressure is intense. Any views?

my DDs are both CLSG and love it. it is a very academic school and suits kids who enjoy academic work.

Queens used to have a reputation for being very non-academic, mainly kids who failed to get in elsewhere. I believe they are trying to change that, but I don't know if they have.

look at the lists of leavers destinations for each school which are on their websites somewhere. which do you think would suit your child?

parietal thank you this is really helpful. We applied a bit blind to CLSG because our current school Head recommended that we did. I need to read a lot more - we just applied to three schools without much thought!

Hi Carpediem. Have you booked on to Queens offer holders’ day? I imagine City has one too.
we are choosing between channing, fhs and queens, WL for shhs. DD loves loves Queens.

Hi laughinglemons, yes we have booked onto the offer holders day for both. Hopefully will be clearer in my mind once we've visited again. I'm not surprised your DD loves Queens. It has a fantastic atmosphere, community feel and the girls were just so happy!

Carpediem - her heart is set plus academic scholarship - thrilled, trouble is accepting means turning down 2 music scholarships.. we are going to look at all 3 again.
city girls and queens are so different , hopefully you and DD will know where feels right when you go back , bit like buying a house. I do think that the results at queens will catch up with Channing over the next few years.

My DD is currently at Queen’s College and loves it there. She is an academically driven student but adores the arts as well. Queen’s has offered her fabulous opportunities in both fields.

We were looking for a school that ticked both the academic & pastoral boxes equally and that is just what we are experiencing. A great open door policy with all the staff and a genuine feeling of community amongst the pupils & teachers.

We decided not to go to CLGS or FHSS and it’s a decision we haven’t regretted.

Please do go to the offer holder event - it’s a great opportunity to experience the school.

Do send me a message if I can help with any other questions - these forums helped me so much when we were doing this during lockdown 2!

Shopwithmother thank you. That is helpful and will definitely go to the offer holder event. I was wondering what pastoral care would be like at CLSG, and what the atmosphere is like. DD being happy is something that is really important to us - I will drop you a message, thank you for the feedback - it is reassuring.

If your DD was unhappy at City it would be much easier to move to Queen's say in Year 8 than the other way round. BTW, Queens piles on the homework, much more than most of the other girls schools.

Are Queens pushy with academics ? I worry with teenage years about mental health what with everything else they have to cope with. Pastoral care is what I'm interested in. DD has academic scholarship offers from two other schools but looking at the terms and conditions of the offers they are quite onerous. I hadn't thought about a move at year 8. That is a good point you make Soma. I'm hoping offer holders day makes things clearer.

Mr Tillet, the headmaster at Queens has come to education from a mental health background. Pastoral care is a significant reason why we will probably choose queens and reject 2 scholarships. As part of the queen’s thrive program the girls are taught to disagree agreeably, their smart phones are replaced for a week with old nokias, all pupils and staff share a personal experience of failure during failure week. They had their phones in every morning. There is a contract with parents and girls to agree no messaging after 8pm.

Soma, what is your experience of Queens? Former parent, aunt to existing girl? Doesn’t sound as if your DD is there. GCSEs 77% 7-9, the old A grades. This is from the latest sunday times list… they have homework! We know girls in years 7 and 11.

No vacancies for year 8 sep 2024. I know this because my friend called in January. Year 9 is more likely if girls are going to boarding school.

Yes, Queens sets a lot of homework.
There is always movement in all the London girls independent schools at various times of the year. Either to other schools in London (one year a group of 8 City girls moved to another London girls school), boarding or abroad.

Are you a city parent?

No.

I've no complaints on the clsg pastoral care but both my kids are pretty chilled and haven't needed to use it much. They do make an effort to be supportive, with an extra program for their star performers in music/drama/sport too.

I think the academic pressure comes from the girls pushing themselves as much as anything.

Carpediem. I was scrolling through the QCL instagram for the last 6 months and I saw this.
Independent School of the Year
for Student Well-Being Finalist - Queen College London.

My daughter is at QCL and absolutely loves it. She started in Year 7 and has now been there a few years.

I agree with everything @Shopwithmother has said about it.

I don't find they have too much homework; it is a good balance.

I don't feel there is pressure either.

There is a very positive attitude to everything and I feel they get the balance right in terms of navigating the curriculum, mental health and everything else.

The pastoral care is absolutely unbelievable.

What you see on Open Days is very much what it is like.

The entire school is like an open door and every time I have needed something and emailed Mr Tillett, he gets on top of it immediately. He is extremely hands on and responsive and it trickles down from the top.

As a parent, QCL is very inclusive and you can be as much or as little invilved as you like. It has a real sense of community which is hard to find in a senior school.

I am now looking for senior schools for my son and am really struggling as I cannot find anything even remotely close to QCL.

I've no complaints on the clsg pastoral care but both my kids are pretty chilled and haven't needed to use it much

I could have written the above. There’s no question I’d choose city above any of consortium schools.

If I were you I’d ask CLSG directly about specific pastoral care concerns you may have?

Initially I was concerned that DD1 would be too quiet for city but the school has brought out her confidence.

I found city a kind and down to earth school that offers excellent academics to the girls. Both my DDs found the workload comfortable till YR9. GCSE involved a bit more studying.

If your DD got in and is academically inclined then she can thrive at the school.

As city has a ‘fierce’ reputation maybe the cohort sent there is a bit more resilient?

I have a very happy dd in year 8 at Queen’s. They definitely don’t have excessive homework. It’s completely manageable usually and they have special homework-free weeks and nothing in the holidays. This is part of their emphasis on wellbeing. I think if happiness is a priority, Queen’s is a brilliant place to choose. They are so good at injecting fun into school life and building a sense of community. There is academic challenge and scholarly enrichment, but no hothouse pressure.

ThanksZebedee79. We were at a Queens offer holders yesterday afternoon but forgot to ask, do the girls play hockey?

No, there’s no hockey (at least not for everyone as part of PE. It might be an optional club, I’m not sure).

Thanks Zebedee. Shame. No club either 😕. Football is prioritised. I loved hockey. V odd when Regents Park is at the top of the street. I was at FHS and we used to just walk to the park for PE lessons on the pitches or netball / tennis courts. Not sure this will both my DD but it bothers me! No school is perfect!

From the open day visits I was impressed with the facilities at CLSG - they have a pool and tennis courts in central London!

It’s great that your daughter got into bothe schools and she will have an amazing education at either.

We have a daughter at QCL so I can share our experience. The things we like about the school are;

• pastoral care and their excellent thrive programme
• music and the arts are outstanding
• well rounded education (they examine subjects and topics from many angles)
• passionate and friendly teachers
• kind, happy and intelligent student body
• high academic standard without being at the detriment of the students wellbeing

Our daughter settled into secondary school very quickly and is thriving at QCL. I think the open days and offer event are great for getting a feel of the school.

I do not think Queen's could compare with City academically, but I can confirm pastoral care is astounding. It is not only my current experience: a few friends went through pretty rough patches - parents' divorce or illnesses with severe impact on the girls - and the school, starting from Tillet, went... beyond. But I have no clue about City in similar cases.