Getting the academics “just right” has been a priority for us- we want somewhere reasonably high achieving but not hot-house. That said I’m not bothered if a school is 30th or 90th in the tables, the differences are unlikely to be huge or tell you anything about how your child will fare at one school versus another.
However, it’s worth remembering that a school can be high achieving but have mediocre teaching - the good results may be due to being highly academically selective and having very driven kids/families (who may be having tutoring in addition). Not suggesting this is the case with SAS, just that it’s always a possibility.
You can also have lower performing schools where the teaching is excellent and they do a fantastic job of getting their pupils to reach their potential, whatever that may be. So if you have a high ability child they will still do very well.
Eg, we’ve been wondering about Queenswood for our DD - it has a reputation as not being as academic as other schools but they say their girls achieve in average a grade higher than they would be predicted on entry to the school (or something along these lines). So if that’s the case a high ability child should do well, all else being equal.
Of course that’s not to say that all lower performing schools are like this, some may be failing to attract high flyers precisely because the teaching is mediocre and this is reflected in the results.
It can be very hard to assess this as a prospective parent, particularly as indies unlike state schools don’t publish Progress 8 scores.
But it might be worth pressing the less academic schools on how they ensure high ability kids get enough stretch, and asking parents (on MN or at offer holders evenings) what their experience is etc.
There’s also something to be said about happy children being more likely to succeed and achieve well at school.