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.

Following with interest as we are considering SAS and HABS for DS.

My DS is at SAS and loves it. It's academic, but not oppressively so and he and his friends are all doing well. A couple of their less academic friends left after GCSE, because the school requires certain grades to take certain A levels and they didn't get the grades. It has excellent sports, masses of clubs and activities, a broad range of trips and outings and my DS has a solid group of friends who are really nice boys. We have no regrets about sending him there.

Regardless of the name of the pitches, it’s the SAS that’s doing it. Awful move.

Following as we have just sat both St Albans and habs for 11 plus

We will also be applying for 11+ entry to Habs and SAS in 2027.

As Habs have merged with Lochinver and St Martin's, and SAS with Beechwood Park, does anyone have any information about how many places might be available for boys not coming from these prep schools?

From my understanding, both Habs and SAS will prioritise boys from their feeder schools (Habs already prioritises kids from Habs Prep, if I'm correct), so I assume that there will be many more applicants for each remaining place reserved for children from other schools.

From the 2025 GCSE and A-level results, it seems that Habs were the best in the area, Merchant Taylor's second, and SAS third. Presumably, there will now be even more competition for places at MT, too?

It's not just boys @DBHall - SAS is going fully co-ed in Sept.

Falling birth rates and VAT on fees mean a downward trend for applicant numbers. So there may not be such a huge squeeze for remaining places.

As Beechwood Park goes up to Y8 the SAS priority pathway will probably apply to 13+ transfers, and not much impact on 11+, but I’m not sure if they’ve yet made public how it will all work.

Thanks for your thoughts, @zurigo and @BarqsHasBite. Having been to the recent open days of SAS, Habs and MT, we really liked all of them. We have no preferences for boys only / co-ed. As two of out of these top three schools in the area have merged with prep schools, it feels like they are closing their doors slightly to children from other schools. It seems like entry to these schools, which was difficult enough in the past, just got a lot harder. Hopefully, there won't be as many applications this year.

Completely understand where you’re coming from @DBHall - we’re currently waiting for STAHS 11+ results for DD and I’m fretting as STAHS is stepping in to help a school that’s shutting down in N London and is offering guaranteed places to any girl that wants them. Which could reduce 11+ offers by maybe 10-15 places for the rest of us (in addition to the 10 or so who now automatically transfer from Stormont, never mind STAHS prep) 😩

But the reason for the HABS and SAS tie-ins is because applications are falling and they are trying to future-proof. Even before these tie-ins I suspect a decent number of pupils from Beechwood Park, Lochinver etc already transferred to SAS and Habs. So the additional transferees might not do much more than make up for the falling numbers overall.

I really don’t think they want to become more “exclusive” or shut the door to applicants from other schools, they are just trying to ensure bums on seats during challenging times.

Habs prioritise boys from Habs prep because they have already been academically selected. Boys at Lochinver etc will have to meet the academic standard and won’t be prioritised over brighter boys from other preps.

For Habs it’s about getting the brightest cohort they can.

My DS is also at SAS although younger than this poster’s and I would echo everything she has said. My DS loves it, he is one of the more “fun loving” kids and would not have coped at Habs academically, but he is pushed the right amount at SAS and is on track for mostly 8-9 at GCSE. We have been very happy with the school so far. He missed a place at MTS by a couple of marks, but we prefer St Albans anyway - much more diverse and he loves the city location which is another point in its favour as Habs is in the middle of nowhere.

I’m neutral about it going fully co-ed. I think my DS preferred a boys only environment but can understand the school needs to make changes to secure its future.

Happy to answer questions if people want to PM me.