Habs boys vs st albans boys vs John Lyon 13+

[Mumooooof1]

My son is an all rounder and good at academics but also does sports. He has received offers from 3 of these schools but we need help of the pros and cons of each ones.

These schools have very different levels of academic achievement and vibes

I would have thought for most people it would be a straightforward choice of Habs absent other factors like distance, siblings etc

I would have thought the order was as you have them in your question. What’s to think about?

Do u know anyone who has gone habs or st albans because my son is struggling to decide because he has heard the habs environment is extremely pressurised but doesent focus much on soft skills? What are the cons of habs and st albans and which has better facilities and education

It's the environment for us. Have heard bad things abt habs and that the kids don't really develop other skills for an all rounder like my son

STABS is very good for the right sort of boy, academic and applied. I know some lovely lads that go there and love it. I can’t really compare and contrast but a sporty girl left HABS as the only extra curricular seemed to be the library!

I've heard bad things about St Albans and all the boys i know that went there left before A'levels. Two although passed their gcses well were told they weren't high enough for their A'levels (by that meaning all A's) and should find another 'suitable' school. One was kicked out after GCSE because he was over excited after GCSE exams and burnt his text books. Constant letters home if an assignment showed a grade slip, letters home about other petty behaviour related things. Not much in the extra curricular dept much emphasis on academics.

hi OP, I also replied to your other post with this question. Have you visited both schools? I think they have a very different feel. Depends what you and your DS prefer. I know happy (all rounder) boys at both.

I don't know anyone at John Lyon but by reputation it isn't in the same league as Habs, or St Albans.

Results, facilities and "desirability" wise, the order is Habs, St Albans and then JL as the other posters have said. That said different factors such as feel, commute, scholarships, siblings etc come into play and different families will make different decisions.

Oh yes, if you’re not smashing it out the park, you very quickly get a tap on the shoulder. Those grades aren’t made by kid gloves.

Have you been to visit them to see the facilities ? Which one did you prefer?

who have you heard these things from?

did you and your son go to open days and talk to students and teachers?

do you know current parents?

why not ask for another visit?

you will get a bunch of opinions on a forum. Some informed and current and first hand and some outdated and second hand

i think it is a busy school focused on academics at its core but with many opportunities beyond that assuming your son is generally keeping up with the learning side.

It’s also become a lot more nurturing and focused on providing an all round education vs just results in recent years (see the recent good schools review for example)

your son is 13 so relatively mature and should have a good sense of which school is a good fit and vice versa all of these schools must think he is a good fit to make him an offer.

Assuming he is at a prep what does the school think?

“Not much in the extra curricular department…” at St Albans?!

“CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE:
Sport
Athletics
Basketball
Chess
Climbing Club
Cricket
Cross Country
Dance Club
Dedicated Athlete Scheme
Fitness
Fit Fun Fridays
Girls' Netball
Girls' Rugby
Girls' Lacrosse
Hockey
Rugby and Rugby 7's
Scuba Diving Club
Shooting
Strength Training
Swimming (Autumn and Spring Term)
Tennis
Water Polo Club
Improvers Swimming
Indoor Games
Nerf Club
Football Club
Sports Team Conditioning
Art and Design
Art Club
Optic Photographic Society
Young Designer Makers Club
Drama
Drama Lower School Production
Middle School Drama Club
Music
Brass Ensembles
Chamber Ensembles
Chamber Orchestra
Choir
Clarinet Ensemble
Close Harmony Group
Concert Band
Flute Group
Guitar Group
Jazz Band
Live Band Workshop
Orchestra
Percussion Ensemble
Recorder Ensemble
Recording Studio
Sax Ensemble
String Orchestra
Wind Band
Science
Astronomy Club
BioChem and Beyond Club
Dissection Club
Science Club
Third Form STEM Club
Stephen Hawking Society
Gaming
Board Game Club
Bridge Club
Chess Club
Indoor Games
VEX IQ Club
Warhammer Club
English and Reading
Book Club
English Allsorts
Literary Society
Religious Societies
Christian Group
Islamic Society
Jewish Society
Sikh Society
Languages
Deutsches Film Café
French Book Club
German Lower School Games Club
Japanese Language and Culture Club
Languages Puzzle Club
Spanish Society
Computer Science
Coding Club
Computer Science Club
CCF and DofE
CCF
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Misc
Cooking Club
Flight Club
Geominds Society
Gaia Society
Gay-Straight Alliance
Green Council
Junior Geominds
Lower School and Third
Mindfulness Club
Form Hub (wellbeing)
Quiz Club
Maths and Economics
The Harry Schofield Mathematical Society
Economics Charity Challenge
Economics Journal
Economics Society
Mathsplus
Maths Club
History and Politics
History Film Club
History and Politics Society
Debating
Debating Club
Junior Debating
Model United Nations (MUN)
Classics
Classical Greek Club
The Hylocomian Society
Lower School Classics Club”

This, OP, is why you should take the opinions of random Mumsnetters with a kilo or two of salt.…Best of luck in making a decision.

@BarqsHasBite When i visited the school, the only extra curricular that they emphasised was Choir and singing events that take place at the nearby cathedral. This is confirmed by those i know who went there who once there, dropped the extra curriculars they used to do at prep because there was so much emphasis on academics. Almost every private school will say they do extra curriculars but what happens once you are there is a different story. This my direct experience St Albans school is not the school that all rounders who want to give equal weight to extras go to and my dc school sends lots of boys there, a particular type of boy. I'm sure Habs has a long list of extra curriculars on their website too but locally they are not the school you go to for an all rounder education.

From personal experience a couple of years back, I can speak highly of St Albans. My son enjoyed his time there and was heavily involved with sports and he made several life time friends. It's not for everyone but he speaks highly of the school even several years after leaving it. Some of their supervised study/ detentions were a bit heavy handed, in my opinion. There is a new head there now since the beginning of September 2024 ( I believe)

My son goes to a grammar school and I have heard negative comments about Habs's environment by my friend who has 2 children currently at habs. Apparently the children are given 1 hour + homework each day and do not focus on many extracurriculars at all and the environment is quite toxic.

Habs's facilities are far better in my opinion but it's the environment and the pressure. I've heard many stories that they put results first before pupils

How do they manage with the homework. I have heard they are overloaded each day with over an hours. Is the habs and st albans environment good? And do habs have a clinic because I know st albans does where the children can go to get extra tutoring or help for each subject or get pushed. Please try find out if they have that for me. But the environment is a crucial factor because the children at habs are supposedly laser focused on academics and do not have good soft skills (I've just heard this).

@Mumooooof1 you seem to have a list of negative points for Habs - this would certainly put me off. Wherever they go will always be a leap of faith. Make no mistake though that it's no coincidence such schools achieve stellar results.

What do you mean?

I think you need to decide if 1hr homework a night is reasonable or not for a year 9/10 student and what your acceptable baseline is.

Good grades need hard work along with natural ability so you need to decide what you and your son find acceptable

what does your sons grammar do? I know friends at a london grammar and they do 1+ hrs a day or homework in year 9 onwards although they do say the marking / review of the work is more relaxed

friends at a N London comp with good results have 45mins a night from yr8

many schools publish homework policies. Have you had a look online?

why not ask the schools about this directly

Habs kids are busy and there is a huge array of extra curricular. I genuinely think they have made moves in the last 5 years or so to be a much more nurturing school than was the reputation before then. The boys is a bit ‘tougher’ thank the girls but the opportunities are undeniably vast.

st Albans is not I think on the same positive trajectory as Habs. JL is an odd choice if you’ve got a place at Habs.

At my son's current grammar school he gets less than an hours homework a week. He still studies alot but an hour each night may not be possible because of extracurriculars.

Why would you say st albans is not on a good positive trajectory compared to habs? Thanks for the response.

It’s a feeling about the academic leadership but I must stress it’s just an impression, I’m afraid I don’t have anything concrete.

I don’t think you’ll find many academic schools who won’t expect an hour of homework a night. Don’t forget it can be done in chunks- 20 mins before school or half an hour at lunchtime can add up quickly. I suppose it depends on the commute

Thanks this was very helpful