London grammar and private senior school entry 2025 part 2

[CruCru]

Here is the new thread for when part 1 is full.

Thanks, good to know!

@SamPoodle123 @ACavalierDream we are between Guildford High and G&L, we will be declining the others. Before you think I am crazy 😅, we postponed out house move till after 11+ so we can be more flexible with our choices. We selected based on potential fit rather than location but now we are struggling as they were our top 2 choices and got lucky 🤣

Thank you @Magnoliasunrise that's very helpful. We are really struggling to decide between LU and G&L. I think we will just have to see how the offer holder events go next week and make a decision. Gut feel says LU as I feel it may be more down to earth (partly linked to large bursary scheme), modern, and be a better preparation for the world beyond. G&L however sounds like an all-round great school - it feels like maybe a safer choice.

How would people say the sport and drama compare? My DD loves to get involved in things but is not highly skilled in any one thing... she has been at a state school and opportunities to get involved in competitive sports have been minimal. Which school do people think is more inclusive of girls who are not exceptionally skilled/talented but just want to get involved?

Most schools have teams A-f I think. At least G&L does and even a development team for netball. Many opportunities for sport. Dd also came from state school and ended up B team for netball and hockey (hockey she never played until she started at G&L)! She is also on the athletics and tennis team. Plenty of opportunities for sport or other clubs. Music is big there too.

I would like to hear more about the LU sport, particularly for boys. DS has been offered a sports scholarship at Emanuel, so is quite sporty. Curious how the sport is at LU.

@SamPoodle123 - there is a lot of sport for boys but every year group is slightly different. eg my sons year wasn't great for rugby as more boys into football and they started in Covid so the first intro to rugby for lots of boys was all a bit rubbish! They still had A-C teams though. The year below seem to be very good though and the year above is better!
There's lots of other sports they can try in addition to the main ones in clubs etc and it's great to have the rowing club on site.

@SamPoodle123 as a previous PP said LUS now have a new sports site at Chiswick on Hartington Road - the old Westminster University ground. The pitches have been reseeded/resurfaced and I think from next academic year most fixtures/training will be here or in the sports hall. The sports hall has a 25m pool with an adjustable floor. I have a DD so can't comment on the boys teams but I know the girls field A to F teams at hockey and netball.
The drama department is great and in Year 7 they have a "play festival" and they're performed at Christmas - all kids regardless of talent are invited to join and the short plays are directed by the 6th formers.
There are also loads of clubs which the kids can join - most of them are at lunch so they don't need to hang around after school, From memory there are about 150 clubs to choose from.
I think your offer days will sway you one way or the other.
Don't forget all these schools are absolutely amazing.

Struggling too..
I'm genuinely excited and curious about what LU can offer to my child. I love the ethos, the innovative approach and the confidence to execute. I really admire what they're trying to do. But realistically thinking that my child is there and the what ifs.. I know even in a great school with fantastic support anyone could be unhappy and decide to move on for various reasons.. can we actually switch to a different school in an unpredicted circumstance? Are we blocking all other options..? Am I thinking too much?
We also have Putney and G&L in the mix along with a couple others.. both feel quite similar and safe choices.
I'm personally a risk taker.. should I do the same for my DD?

@meuntilmarch2025 - I've been surprised at the number of children moving throughout secondary school. Not so much at LU (although children have joined and left since y7) but at my DDs school there is lots of movement in and out, not just at sixth form. Not necessarily because the child was particularly unhappy but they developed interests they felt might be supported better elsewhere, wanted flexi boarding, financial reasons, outgrew the school etc. I think it tends to happen at single sex schools more.

We have a Year 11 daughter at LUS (God bless us with upcoming GCSEs) and will be sending with delight our youngest daughter there. Fully support transition out of GCSEs; not having been educated in British system ourselves, we do not fully understand its purpose for so many subjects, and in particular the claim that "being marked by an independent body" is somehow a better yardstick for knowledge level vis-a-vis being assessed by own teachers. LUS philosophy of broadening curriculum by utilizing time currently used in Year 10-11 for mechanical revision and adherence to a rigid marking scheme just makes sense for us (although appreciate may not be for everyone, particularly those who came from or are focused to stay within confines of British system), and this translates into a similarly broad curriculum offering at A-level with internally developed courses and EPQ. Outside of academics, we cannot be happier with extracurriculars, between sports (where our non-sporty elder found her niche and flourished, with LUS fielding lots of teams across sports and anyone can find a niche, whether competitive or for enjoyment), to clubs to amazing trips (activities week and academic trips) and department events (theater / performance trips, art events, sport tickets for those involved in certain sports i.e. Wimbledon tennis trip and etc) (obviously all this comes at additional cost and up to family to decide how allocate additional resources but opportunities that are offered are abound). For elder DD LUS was not initially a top choice but we and she were sold at open holders event; no other school offered / was willing to give so much access to teachers and heads of departments and walk through the academic details of middle and senior school journey. I encourage everyone to come to offer holders event and see for yourself if environment and school's philosophy fit what your child and you are looking for. On our side, we could not be happier how our daughter, as noted in her recent report, "has developed into markedly intellectual confident young lady" and are keen to see the youngest one through her journey at LUS. Hopefully this would be useful to those who are struggling to make decision but again can only encourage everyone to go to offer holders event and see / speak with teachers and administration what interests / worries you the most.

All four schools sound wonderful and I don’t think you can make a wrong choice, if I am honest. If you have a strong academic child who will thrive in the most rigorous academic environment, then SPGS is no brainer.

SPGS aside, the other three schools seem to be very similar in terms of academic results, so you need to consider some other factors to make a choice. For me it would probably be the location. NW and SW have a different vibe, so that would help to eliminate at least one of the schools. I would expect that atmosphere and type of girls attending the three schools are also quite different. All are very academic, but there is something else. I would suggest going to the offer holder days in all schools and trust your gut feeling. But, as mentioned above, does not look like you could make a wrong choice here.

I have a DD in one of these schools. She loves it there, but I am quite certain she would feel the same about the other ones. Possibly, other than SPGS, as my DD has interests outside the academic subjects and SPGS, her friends say, is leaning heavily towards just academic subjects.

Is anyone deciding between Emanuel, Alleyn’s and Dulwich? Emanuel is walking distance and other two schools will be a 30-45 min. Any current parents at any of the schools to shed some information please and are DCs happy? Does the travelling take its toll when lots of homework etc and silly to not accept a school closer?

Hope everyone is happy with their offers and good luck with the decisions!

Hi everyone,
King’s College was always our top choice but when it is time to give a decision I couldn't keep my self scrolling searching and asking for the other boys and co-ed schools which he has offer such as Dulwich, Hampton, LU, and KGS
What can you say about Hampton and Kings will be very helpful 🙏🏼

We chose LU over Hampton and Kings ( and Tiffin) but was due to gut feel that it was a better fit and, probably just as importantly, location and ease of travel.
I'm sure he would have ben fine at any of them though, although our lives are much easier with LU!

Does anyone have any rough numbers on any of the girls schools this year - as in how many applied - how many to interview and how many offered? Interested in G&L, NHEHS, FHSS and SPGS in particular! Thanks

Do you feel strongly about co-ed or single sex? That should narrow it down. Is your son sporty? Kings doesn’t have all its sports provision on site as Hampton does. Are academic results your top priority? Then it’s surely KCS or Hampton.

FWIW, we deliberated between KCS and another school. We didn’t choose KCS in the end because my son was joining at 13+ and I felt the fact that they had reduced their Year 9 intake to only 30 boys and were admitting the majority at Year 7 might disadvantage my son. I really loved the school otherwise.

My son has friends at Hampton and they all seem to be very happy. He has one friend at KCS who definitely took longer to settle and find friends - he joined at Year 9.

Think also about the area the school is in. Is it safe? A lot of the super academic schools are in and around Hammersmith which can be a dodgy area. KCS, by contrast, is in a lovely spot.

Hampton and LU are very similar results wise so I wouldn't use that as a factor- all 3 are academic schools where your Son will do well if he works!

Location wise- Hampton is in ten middle of nowhere unless you live nearby and you will reliant on the school buses.

LU is in busy Hammersmith but the positive is there are lots of transport options and lots of people around day or night. DS has never had any trouble even if leaving school in the late evening. 1 minute walk to the tube!

KCS is of course in leafy Wimbledon! But it's very quiet around the common later on and quite a walk to the nearest public transport.

I think they are all quite different but good. The boys we know at each are quite different as well.

The other thing with location is where his friends will live. Hampton will have boys coming from a wide area. Friends seem to hang out in Kingston as a hub. KCS have buses as well but won't be many boys coming from north of the river. LU don't have school buses and are more central so tend to have some from N London and lots from Chiswick, Hammersmith, Barnes, reaching to Richmond as easy on the tube.

All great schools and your DS has done brilliantly to get offers from all three. When we had a similar choice, we chose Dulwich despite living walking distance from Emanuel. We have no regrets and Dulwich is still easy to get to. The size and scale of the school give so many opportunities and, on a practical note, its sports pitches are on site so Saturday sport fixtures are easy. Emanuel sports pitches and boathouse are a bit of a way out.
It is hard to find parents at your three schools who aren't really happy, and, had we not had an offer from Dulwich, we would have been super happy with Emanuel.

As an 11+ mum a few years ago, looking back, these are my sincere advices. Firstly, pick a school where you expect your child to be above average, preferably in the top 1/3 or 1/4. It is not good both for the child and for the parents if the child is way below average. You would not have the same resources or the same motivation if you are in the bottom set. The child will most likely get better results and better uni if he goes to a school where he is above average, preferably among the top 1/3 or 1/4. Think carefully whenever you apply to an aspirational school.

Secondly, always go to a school where the travelling time is reasonable, not more than average of the students attending that school. It doesn't have to be the school which is closest to home, but you child should not be one of the few who lives very far away. He or she would be very tired, coupled with being among the bottom sets, severely affect his or her academics.

I made the wrong choice a few years ago, choosing a very top school (always in top several) and living far away. If time could turn back, I would choose the 2nd choice (a school usually ranked 20-40 but still very good schoolwith 10% a year to Oxbridge and most others to good uni), where my child would do better, be happier, and are us parents.

This is very good advice but at this stage how do you know they are going to be in the bottom set? Do you have cat scores as an indicator?

Can I ask how many of your children are moving from prep schools vs from state primaries? Our daughter is currently in a state primary but we’re considering moving to a prep for year 5 and 6 to better prepare her for the 11+ with a view to sending her to a central London independent for secondary. Her current state primary is fine, with much higher than national average results for SATS but I feel that she is not stretched because there aren’t the resources.

@CrownCoats if your daughter is happy at her current school, you can probably go a long way towards replicating the prep experience by getting into the habit of doing some Atom and/or workbooks every evening. My DC has been at a prep, and while they did do reasoning lessons from year 4 onwards, there were definitely still gaps in understanding and exam technique that we needed to fill. If she is bored at school currently it might make sense to move her though.

We are moving from a prep, but there are quite a few kids in my DC’s year who joined in Y5 from state for this reason (one joined in Y6 but I think it’s too late really as the prep is done mainly Y5).

That said it really does depend on your preferred prep as not all are created equal.

Our prep put on exam prep sessions in school holidays and did a lot of mock excercises first term year 6. But almost all students in my DC’s year had tutoring still - ranging from some additional Atom/Bond etc at home with parents so full on 4 hours a week stuff 1:1 (it’s a non selective intake prep though).

Preps can be good as they do have relationships with schools (how much sway is debatable) and also will be able to guide as to what school they think is achievable for your children. I would also look at the destination schools of their previous cohorts and that should give an idea as to whether the prep will be good for preparing for your target schools.

good luck, this process is madness…!

Thanks, this is really helpful. We’re considering Francis Holland, who seem to prep well from what I’ve heard. I appreciate that the kids there will probably still be tutored within an inch of their lives.

Francis Holland goes on to 18. Such schools normally expect most children to stay at their school.