Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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whoisfk
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:30 am

Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by whoisfk »

Please recommend some private schools near Watford.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by Daogroupie »

I think you need to expand on your query or it will be ignored. Are you looking for a prep schools or a school with a Y7 intake or a Y9 intake or both. Are you looking for girls or boys or unisex? Royal Masonic is a girls school with a good reputation. DG
noonynunu
Posts: 318
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:31 pm

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by noonynunu »

Daogroupie wrote:I think you need to expand on your query or it will be ignored. Are you looking for a prep schools or a school with a Y7 intake or a Y9 intake or both. Are you looking for girls or boys or unisex? Royal Masonic is a girls school with a good reputation. DG
I know someone with a DC at the Royal Masonic and they are very happy with their choice.

I also know someone who has a son at Merchant Taylor's and they too are very happy with their choice.

As DG has said, if you can be more specific about what you are looking for, it will help a lot.
whoisfk
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:30 am

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by whoisfk »

Thanks. I would have never realised that.

My daughter is in Year 5 and preparing for 11plus.

In addition to Comprehensive school , I would like to keep my options open for private Secondary school.

So need advice on that.
whoisfk
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:30 am

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by whoisfk »

Girls only would be our first preference.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by Daogroupie »

I would recommend that you do the North London Consortium which is a group of schools who use the same exam. So you sit one paper and the result is sent to all the schools. There are schools in the Watford area in the Consortium. If you google it you will get the website and a list of all the schools. You will not need to apply until November but if you are doing the Watford consortium only and not doing an English paper I would recommend you start now on English preparation. You will be up against girls who have done a lot of prep for DAO and HBS and their English will be of a very high quality. There was an example a few years ago of a student in the top 5% at Kent who could not get an interview at these schols as she had not had to do an English paper in Kent and then was up against those who were way beyond her in English. Take a look at some of the past papers for North London and you will see what I mean. I would also recommend St Albans High School for girls and Habs girls. Habs is not in the consortium but their papers are broadly the same, you would not need to prepare differently. But you will not get into these schools without preparation for the English paper. It is always the English paper that poses the problem, the same for the boys schools. DG
whoisfk
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:30 am

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by whoisfk »

Thank you so much Daogroupie. This is such a useful piece of information.
As we were focusing on Herts Consortium didn't do much on English , though she is getting tutored for Creative writtting . As recommended will go through the past papers.

Thanks once again
whoisfk
Jean.Brodie
Posts: 451
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:55 pm

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by Jean.Brodie »

We live at the end of the M1 in London, so I guess a lot of these schools are equally accessible for both our families.

We had no idea how able our DD was, especially compared with the competition. So we applied to a range of indy schools, as well as some grammar schools. It is something you may want to consider.

One other school to bear in mind: North London Collegiate School is highly rated and will be leaving the N L Consortium. It is Stanmore way, in Canons Park, and not that far from you.
whoisfk
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:30 am

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by whoisfk »

Yes Jean.Brodie ,

exactly same plan. Preparing for Grammar as first choice and keeping doors open for indy.
yes Stanmore is not very far.

I will dig into North London consortium.

Thanks very much.
noonynunu
Posts: 318
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:31 pm

Re: Recommendations for private schools near Watford

Post by noonynunu »

whoisfk wrote:Yes Jean.Brodie ,

exactly same plan. Preparing for Grammar as first choice and keeping doors open for indy.
yes Stanmore is not very far.
One question I do have is: at what point should I start preparing my DS if I wanted to have an indie school as a realistic back up option?

I know that a fair number of local parents, this year particularly, are putting a lot of effort into preparing for indie as well as SW Herts 11 plus. This is come from the fact that there is a projected short fall of school places in SW Herts for the next sitting. People are not prepared to wait to find out if their DC will be one of the ones without a local school place and are making sure there is a solid fall back option.

With more people looking to gain an indie place as a safe guard against not getting a ranked school place, will this push up the cut off marks for gaining a place at an indie?
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