London grammar and private senior school entry 2025 part 2

[CruCru]

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

That’s less good! It does put me off JAGS. It seems strange to force children down a science route when they could be adding an extra humanities or language subject which they’re passionate about. Definitely a big point to consider….

Thank you for clarifying it for me, big help!

I did not make it. But dh and ds went. They said it was ram packed and they were not able to talk to any teachers. But I think perhaps it is because it was busy and dh found someone he knew so ended up chatting to that person instead of making an effort to find a teacher to speak with.

Thank you for replying. I also spoke to a friend this morning who was there. They said the same, it was so busy and they couldn’t talk to any teachers. It was mainly about questions to the kids. I think she was a bit frustrated 😬

I went to Emanuel today and it was great, managed to talk to all the teachers.

Has anyone been to Alleyn’s yet? How was it?
Going on Friday. Interesting the news today, they are expanding to Regent’s Park and Hampstead.

Alleyn’s North is with Cognita, private equity firm funded. So more a marketing branding move and they follow Alleyn’s curriculum. So I don’t think the experience would be the same as Alleyn’s.

We went yesterday and DD loved it which is lucky as we have already turned down Emanuel. It was nice to see the school again and have a chat with some of the staff who were very impressive and really nice to DD. Didn’t speak to the Head but her comments were enthusiastic and informal/fun. DD enjoyed the sample lesson. The tour was a bit of a waste of time given we’d done it before but DD enjoyed chatting to the pupil who showed us around. Very pleased with the decision.

Thank you @TidyLion. It sounds really positive. We look forward to it, too.

They are rebranding the current North Bridge houses with the Alleyns name. It seems they aim to enter the scarce coed market in North/Central London.

Cognita has done the same with Brighton College Kensington (prep to 13) - very successfully, I might add, as the entire senior leadership team and some key teachers came with decades of experience at various Brighton College schools.

Well we are done. Offer accepted and all others now declined.

Good luck to those who are still making a decision.

Off to drink a lot of gin and thank my stars I only have one child so don’t have to do this again….

@Namechangenancy99 amazing! That is definitely something big to celebrate! What did you end up going for?

How funny, so were we in the morning! DD had a danse sample "lesson", I think it was all to be nice and light, and to make them feel welcome, very informal, but very easy to chat to staff, I spoke to a teacher and was able to ask multiple questions, she had a DC at the school too so was very helpful, and to the teacher who had organised the AS which I recognised, again, very friendly. We then went on a tour with a Y8, and had time to ask questions about PE at the pool site, and have a look at the school during a "normal" day which was interesting too. Again we could ask questions and student was very pleasant. DD felt confident that this was the one, and we let go of Jags, we had let go of WH last week.

This was Alleyn's...

Queen’s College. It was a front runner from the start, and although we received offers for schools that are seen as a little more academic like Channing, our daughter (and us) felt like QCL was the best fit for her.

Was VERY hard to send declines for some of the schools we really liked - she worked so hard for the offers and after a wobble that she wouldn’t get any to getting offers from all schools ‘breaking up’ with some really good schools was hard 😂

That is us done. We have accepted an offer at SHHS and have declined the other offers. They were all terrific schools but we could only pick one.

Thanks to all of you for keeping me company during this rather weird process! I have found it a real help - you are an amiable and supportive bunch of people.

I think it's because double science still involves all 3 of them, so if you put the kids in for double science plus an extra optional, they're basically studying for 11 GCSEs with the time commitment etc.
My DC is foul at science and brilliant at humanities/languages so I feel your pain! But there we go, it is what it is.
And honestly, I suspect most of the highly academic schools are exactly the same so if this really is a sticking point, at 11, make sure you check (& be prepared for the fact that things may in any event change between Y7 and Y9).
Basically- I wouldn't make the decision for 11+ based on putative double versus triple science.

Making some progress…. We have declined Wycombe Abbey and SHHS thus far

Still deciding between CLSG, LU and G&L. Didn’t get an SPGS offer but DD is first child and probably for the best (post-rationalise much? LOL). No doubt it is an incredible school in so many ways but final exam day was exceedingly not diverse (at least on our half of the alphabet). Congrats to all those that did receive an offer - great “problem” to have ;-)

Good luck to all on their final decisions

Thanks so much for your thoughts on this. My husband had to do three sciences and thinks it’s normal. I had to do minimum of two. I take your point on it all and thank you for taking the time to post about it including whether to consider it at 11 as a factor. Still don’t love it as a concept 😂

We've also narrowed down to LU, G&L and PHS in the order of preference so far from our family priorities... rejected CLSG, WHS and waitlist for SPGS. Also waiting for Tiffin Girls but trying to pick one independent option and be ready to make a decision between the two if that happens. I'm fascinated by what LU is trying to do, though at the same time appreciate it is a risky move. But if no one does it will never change or improve. Happy to be part of that great initiative. The girls' schools are really safe options which is also nice, but somehow I keep feeling I want to keep my DD out of that bubble.

My daughter started Surbiton last September and absolutely loved it. She was also one of the girls who did the tour on Monday. I remember from our offer holder event last year, it was more for the parents and didn’t have any activities for the girls. If anyone has any questions about the school, pls message me:-)

Sounds like we might both end up deciding between the same pair (fingers crossed for your SPG WL in the meantime!). but perhaps find ourselves on opposite sides of this coin… ;-)

have many friends with children at both LU and G&L, including some with one DD at each right now - all are loving their current experience. One friend had her fourth (!) child graduate LU… she could not be more positive about their experience (but all pre GCSE change and they are a rather exceptional family)

I hear you on the bubble… that’s partly why we loved CLSG as it was so “not west london” but it just doesn’t have the sports facilities (and frankly requires a very long commute)

@w8parentalunit we already let go of the SPGS waitlist, DD wasn’t particularly keen and I was not impressed with the imbalanced demographics I observed throughout the process. It just didn’t feel right for us. CLSG gave a similar vibe but it could have just been me.. it is also too far from where we live anyways.. LU seems really busy which I love but also worry a bit about because DD has always been in a calm prep environment. She would definitely feel more at home at the girls schools.
Have many friends at LU and G&L too, maybe we have some overlap!
Good luck with the decision making!

We were deciding between LU, G&L and Putney High and have decided to go for LU, having attended events at all 3 this week. Love the buzz and vibe of LU and their innovative approach. Also prefer co-ed.. Think it will suit my DD best and she also loves it. I spoke to the Deputy Head about the curriculum reform and I feel excited about it, and that is it a really positive move for the school.

Good luck to all who are waiting for state school offers on Monday! I hope you get what you want.

Hello, can you expand on the unbalanced demographic? We’re considering for next year.