Anyone waiting for Herts / N London 11+ results?

[bluegreencherry]

Our DS is only sitting two - Habs and St Albans. Second round for Habs next week, waiting to hear whether he will get invited back for second round of St Albans. I'm finding all this waiting is shredding my nerves, so if anyone else is in a similar position with these schools and fancies a pointless chat / baseless speculation on impact of VAT on applications / the process / Plan Bs, please say so!

@pembatheart hope you have received the Habs girls letter now. We received our Habs boys one on Saturday

Hey, no decisions here! Feel so fortunate to have offers from both our schools. Love them both. Can't decide. DD has a taster day at the second school next week and then it will be time to commit. It may come down to travel as one is much closer and easier to get to. The other, though, is fabulous and she's been offered a scholarship. But an hour door-to-door. GAH.

Do you have any gentle leaning towards one or the other?

Ahh hope the taster day goes well @DawsonsGeek! We sway wildly day by day 😂. I think for us the commute will swing it to St Albans - I worked out how much extra time would be spent travelling per day (two ways) and per week and it just feels like a lot if we think about all the other things (reading comics, playing FIFA, you know solid 11 year old boy stuff!) that could be done in that time. DS would benefit from a pushy environment (I say this with love) so I do think he'd get a lot from Habs. I think their super-curricula is deeper than St A too for the things DS enjoys. But but but the commute... about 40 mins in traffic I think. And we did love St Albans.

An hour door to door is a lot as you say! Def worth it for the right school but a much harder decision if you also have another great offer closer to home.

DS doesn't know anyone at all so also hoping he has the chance to make friends in both schools - that neither of them are filled with boys who already know each other and have set cliques.

They’re both fantastic schools, I really don’t think you can go wrong. Easier commute is definitely a thing. And I’m sure DS will make good friends wherever he goes. There’ll be children from so many different schools, many who don’t know anyone else. And the ones that do might be in different classes anyway. At DD’s taster day a couple of weeks ago she said she’d made friends with a lovely group of girls from the junior school, they welcomed her in and weren’t cliquey at all.

Good luck with decision making, a lovely position to be in but still mind boggling, just in different ways!

Hello, just wondering if those of you debating 2+ offers have now decided on a school? Hopefully the offer holder events were helpful.

Yes! We made our decision this week and accepted a place yesterday. DD is going to Forest School. Good luck to those of you still deciding.

Congratulations @DawsonsGeek! So nice to have the certainty and start making plans for the new school 😀.

@DawsonsGeek great to have made a decision and start looking forward. Congratulations on making it through the horrible process and with an excellent and happy result ☺️

@BarqsHasBite we are deciding tomorrow as I think we would all like some certainty! Ultimately I think commute will win out for us. Both Habs and St Albans seem brilliant schools, Habs offering some better opportunities in the areas DS loves, but the commute is longer. I've had about a thousand conversations with different parents at the different schools and the overall message seems to be that most parents are happy with their school and definitely think it is better than the other choice 😂.

@bluegreencherry if you love them both I’d go for the easier commute. It’ll make such a difference to your family’s life. That’s what swung it for us in the end. Both of your options are fab. Good luck with the final decision!

@bluegreencherry I agree with Dawsons - they’re both great schools but if you’re torn then easier commute should win it hands down.

However, if you are still hesitating to jump for SAS despite the better commute (which really will make your lives much easier), then maybe that means deep down that Habs is your first choice…

Afternoon everyone, we are in the same boat. We released 2 offers but are torn by 3 different schools in different settings and commute distance (coach vs bus or tube) DD is very keen on Habs so I think that is the best one can hope for at this stage. Although the other half wants a school closer to local transport links just in case and co-ed vs single sex…..what a pallava…hoping this isn’t an ongoing topic of debate once school starts this September🙏

The good thing about Habs is that it’s single sex but with lots of links to the boys school next door so some might say best of both worlds if you’re struggling to decide. Also, from memory, they have late coaches so no club pick ups needed. I went many moons ago and there were definitely a handful of occasions when we missed the coach and a disgruntled parent had to drive us. But it was rare. Are your other options much closer?

Good luck with whatever you decide, once you accept and start getting excited for September, the agonising will become a distant memory!

@Plasticmama if your DD has a strong preference and it's a good school then it is hard to ignore! As Dawsons said Habs does seem to try and maximise co-ed things within its single sex setting - lots of chat in our assessment and offer holder days of co-curricular being with the girls school, the uniform has changed so it's the same/ similar, sports day is together, at least one A-level subject is fully co-ed and there are plans to integrate further where they can I think (though core education will remain single sex up to end of GCSE). Good luck in making a decision.

@BarqsHasBite I feel I have thought about this so much I don't really know what I think anymore?! Habs has been much slicker and more personal in their approach to us post offer and I think I have been swayed by that a bit so need to ignore it as obviously it shouldn't be relevant to the choice!

Hello all 👋 sorry to hear the stress and worry of the decision making

@bluegreencherry which school would you most regret not taking? To be honest it sounds like you’re heart is with Habs? Is it a 40 minute commute? It’s very common to be fair and if DS loves the school maybe it’s worth it?

@bluegreencherry is the coach stop walkable from your house? If it is and all DS has is a short stroll then a coach straight to school, maybe the commute is not so bad? Is SAS super close by in comparison?

It does sound like your heart is with Habs. What is DS thinking?

Our heads were nearly turned by a school because every interaction we had there was so positive and personal. The marketing was absolutely incredible, a model in how to do it. But in the end we went for our first choice from the start which is much closer. It was heartbreaking filling in the refusal form for the other school, I almost felt like I was dumping a kind and lovely boyfriend 🤣. But in truth, two days later, all I can think of is the school we’ve chosen and how excited we all are. I’ve moved on pretty quick!

Whatever you decide, I’m sure DS will thrive and once you’ve made your decision, you can finally move on and enjoy the good stuff.

Can I also just say what a lovely and supportive thread this has been. Thank you to everyone, it’s been a pleasure going on this journey with you all.

Just coming back to update the thread. After much deliberation we decided to accept St Albans. Your description of feeling like you were dumping a kind and lovely boyfriend feels very apt @DawsonsGeek, though for us rejecting Habs felt like rejecting an handsome charmer who deep down I suspected wasn't that into me 🤣. Now we've made the choice we are all much happier! Looking forward to matriculation evening at St Albans next Monday. I wonder if they have managed to fill all their spaces with the combo of VAT and lower birth rate year.

Yes @DawsonsGeek I agree this thread has been really supportive and so nice to have somewhere to chat as we went through it!

Hope all the Y6s go onto have very happy secondary school experiences and the waiting and choice agonising becomes a distant memory!

“rejecting an handsome charmer who deep down I suspected wasn't that into me”
🤣

@bluegreencherry that’s fantastic news, congratulations on joining [the] SAS!

After all our months of anxious fretting I wonder if it’s the admissions team that is now feeling the pressure to see how many acceptances they have by tomorrow’s deadline….?

It’s trickier given that private messaging has been disabled but we’ll have to work out how to say hi IRL at some point. If I remember I can post what I’m wearing on Monday if you want to try to find me.

So glad you’ve decided @bluegreencherry it must feel like such a relief! Congratulations 👏 I know how tough it is! We are all geared up for our school now and DS doesn’t even think about the options though they seemed so attractive at the time

Congratulations on joining St Albans and become a part of the lovely community! My DS is looking forwards to the Matriculation evening next week.

“rejecting a handsome charmer who deep down I suspected wasn't that into me 🤣”

I love this so much!

Huge congratulations on making your decision and it sounds like you’re in very good company with lots of lovely fellow SAS parents on this thread. Now the agonising is over and the looking forward can begin!

@bluegreencherry good to hear your update!

We also made our final decision today and what it came down to was the journey was just too long for St Albans, we had a go over the holidays and it turned out to be a lot longer than expected so had to say no to SAS which was really really hard to do. But we are happy with our school choice (Forest) and feel it will maintain balance for our family. Good luck to everyone on this thread in your future schools! It was a pleasure going on this journey with you all.

@SunnyIslandSea Ooh another Forester! This is exciting! Congrats to you all on making the decision. We are super excited about Forest, we loved the school from the moment we first went to see it and are very happy with our choice.

Hello all, we went for Mount House with a scholarship in the end and wonder if anyone else will also be attending?

Congrats on making your decision @bluegreencherry, I hope you find some fellow MH parents.

@bluegreencherry @relaxingparenting and anyone else who is going to the St Albans School matriculation this evening - if there is a chance to mingle and anyone wants to say hi, I’ll be wearing this hopefully distinctive jumper.

Gah, photo may be blocked temporarily, let’s see if this link works: https://images.app.goo.gl/wjJTLT6aHDtqPKwF7