What secondary private school and grammar school good for Girls into STEM and English

[SRKMC]

We are looking for a school that our girl can really thrive in, she's very into gaming- minecraft, computer science, building -design tech, creative arts particularly anime and English literature. We checked Haileybury but not fond of the Saturday mandatory attendance other than that was very impressed. Any advice, tips, culture, ethos and overview on the following schools will be great. If anyone has children going there currently of in the near future that will be great to hear about lived experiences and exam tips, preparation processes, interviews, scholarships etc. Also are extra curricular activities/clubs Included in the fees or we have to pay in addition if our girl chooses to do drama, dance or music swimming etc.

Private
Queenswood
Haileybury

Grammar
Dame Alice Owen
Latymer

The Broxbourne
Goffs Oak Academy
Chancellors

If there are any other schools to recommend near Goffs oak, Cheshunt/Broxbourne please let me know.

Many thanks

Have you had a look at St Francis in Letchworth? It sounds like it would be a good fit for her, they run a coach service from Potters Bar which isn't too far a drive from Goffs Oak, lots of girls come from that way. They've a great ICT program where they learn things like photoshop which might interest her if she enjoys gaming and things. Really friendly culture, good extracurricular opportunities (a lot of which are included within the fees), and good GCSE + A Level results. Well worth a look round. St Francis College Welcome to the Senior School - St Francis College

@xmasdealhunter thank you will have a look at this.

No problem. They have a 'meet the head' event coming up in June :)

Yep I just registered 😀. Will you be going?

My girls are past that age unfortunately! My niece is in the upper years though, and loves the school

The headmaster at Haileybury is not a good man.

City of London School for Girls is excellent (but difficult to get into) and is an easy journey from Cuffley station because it's close to Moorgate station

Have you looked at St Albans High School for Girls? It's a bit a away but you should def look at transport x

Re - Queenswood

Has a very similar vibe to Haileybury without Saturday school. Lots of the girls there have brothers at Haileybury. H has grander buildings though and is a much bigger school.

Q supports girls in whatever it is that interests them and does it extremely well. I have one really creative DD and one into STEM and it suits both of them fantastically.

There’s a lot of scholarships available but the majority don’t give a discount on fees. They are about really enriching and stretching the girls in their area of talent. For example, drama scholars put on a scholars only play and get free LAMDA lessons, music scholars get free music lessons, sports scholars get extra training etc. All the info is on the website. There’s a lot of talented girls there - representing the country in sport and music for example.

Academically they look for “average and above” in their entrance exams. As a result many see it as a “backup” school for the top London day schools. That’s a real shame as if you can’t see everything else the school offers because you are so focussed on exam results then you are totally missing the point of what Q offers.

They have a huge array of extra curricular clubs. The majority don’t attract any additional fees. Those that do are where an external provider is used e.g. horse riding and trampolining, or where your DD is having private or small group lessons in LAMDA, ISTD dance or ABRSM / Trinity music exams - but I think you’ll find that the case at any school. Plenty of dance, music and performing arts clubs with no fees though.

My kids are at Haileybury. They do long days and Saturday mornings. It’s tough at 11 but as they get older they are with their friends which is where they want to be when they’re in their teens. Better than roaming the streets! It’s a lovely school with good pastoral care. V strong sport and music. Ours came from a state primary and there’s been no issues ‘fitting in’. There’s a mix of academic ability. No chance of any financial help though - they offer academic, sport and music scholarships but not with much financial benefit - just quite a lot extra for their specialities.
All extra curricular is included apart from individual music and lamda lessons.

Is this Eugene du toit? I think he is new. Would. E good to know what issues there are. Thanks

Thanks have not looked at that, any tips will be great. Thanks

I heard about it but feel it's too far, I will certainly go to the open day with my girl to get a feeling of the school.

Thanks for all the info really helpful, my daughter does swimming lessons at Queenswood and we will attend the open day soon. Would you say Haileybury is more academic and Queenswood more sports, performing arts and music.

@SRKMC Queenswood is an academic school in the sense that girls study hard and reach their personal potential. Their results are exemplary considering their broad intake. Bright girls are very well supported and do get the exceptionally high grades they would have got if they had been at one of the super academic schools. It’s just not full of super academic girls due to the raft of ridiculously selective girls independent schools nearby (St Albans, NLCS, Habs, SHHS etc). I guess if you are judging a school based entirely on results then no it’s not perceived as academic though. What they are is wholly transparent in all their results

www.queenswood.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Queenswood-Results-and-Destinations-2024.pdf

My youngest in particular has thrived being in an all girls school - so much more confident than at her coed prep school.

Haileybury is somewhat more cagey in the results it publishes. For example, no discrete numbers split by subject - only percentages. In including the results of GCSEs in native languages (Chinese, Russian and Turkish for example), this could well skew and hide where other subjects don’t look quite so good.

Look at the Classical Civilisation line - 28% failed to even get a grade 5 if this data (and my sums 😂😂😂) are correct.

https://www.haileybury.com/content/uploads/2024/11/2024-EXAM-RESULTS_GCSE.pdf

Haileybury does also offer the IB though which is seen as extremely rigorous.

I think both schools have very similar offerings otherwise and a similar intake. Your main decision should be coed vs single sex and Saturday school or not.

Haileybury head has only been in post since September. So far, he is v involved with the day to day life of the school, and is well liked by students and we’ve not heard a bad word about him. Seems keen to communicate and consult with parents. Perhaps earlier poster was referring to a previous head? Although we also found Mr Collier to be good - but perhaps more old school.

@RatherBeOnVacation thanks for all the links, it's so hard to make a decision, it is early too so we have time and just want my little one to be happy with the choice she makes.

Have a look at RMS For Girls, https://rmsforgirls.com/

Excellent academic attainment. Huge range of activities and clubs available. Good transport links. And offers bordering should that be of interest.

Highgate is excellent for STEM (and very supportive of girls taking up STEM) but its v hard to get into.

@SeedyMdo your kids board in haileybury? do u know the boarding life or culture there?

hello! no my kids don’t board - we live near enough and with 3 it would be too much extra money. However the day pupils join a boarding house in year 9 and they all mix together. They love the house life tbh, especially my daughter. They have house nights most weeks where they all to an activity, watch a movie, karaoke etc, play games. They have their own desk area (and bed obviously if they board) which they all decorate. The house parents and matrons are really lovely and caring. As far as I can tell the kids who board are v happy. There is a lot of parent involvement if you want it, but you don’t have to. The only negative I think is that they don’t have their own rooms until I think year 11 - there’s 2 or 3 to a room. Hope that helps - feel free to DM if you want any more info. ps the food is excellent