Commute to CLSG from West London

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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jadsima
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:25 pm

Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by jadsima »

Hi there,
DD has an offer from CLSG to start year 7 in September and is very keen to go. My husband is however understandably concerned about the underground commute. He's done the trip with DD a couple of times and is still unconvinced as he's worried about the journey and also wondering how she'll be able to cope with homework etc after the long day at school and long commute. We live on the central line so it's definitely doable and I'm sure others must have done it. Majority of the students in the school might be from South or East London however as we have other good school options in North London consortium/Habs.
We have offers from other schools but DD doesn't want us to rule this school out yet. Is there anyone whose DD/DS have started City of London schools in year 7 and have had to travel independently from West London - Ealing, Ruislip, Harrow etc and surrounding areas?
Thanks in advance.
SleepyHead
Posts: 484
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 10:41 am

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by SleepyHead »

Hi Jadsima - congrats to your DD.

Would it be possible to call the admissions office and ask them if they have any current year 7/8 girls travelling from your area and whether they have already received acceptances from any current year 6s in your area.

Also, has DD tried the commute on a regular school day (not half term)?

Just a few thoughts...
Sleepyhead
Jean.Brodie
Posts: 451
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:55 pm

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by Jean.Brodie »

Hi jadisma!

CLSG is a fine school, but there are other fine schools closer to you. Four years ago, we were in a similar position living in a North London suburb. But we decided we were not happy about the safety of the commute and, quite separately, we did not want our child to spend so much time and energy commuting. ( One of us commuted a lot as a kid and still regrets its impact.) We also wanted her to have mainly local schoolmates. So we applied to NLCS and others in NW London, as well as HBS as a grammar school.

For four academic years now, our DD has done a lot of extra curricular and after school activities, both at school and locally: they mean the world to her, she's made different groups of friends through them and they have offered her extra dimensions of growth, challenge and fun. And she still has time to keep up with studies and, of course, lots of social time and some down time and some Grandma time, too!

Although SleepyHead makes a valid point, those extra hours of time and bundles of energy freed up by not commuting - every day - are priceless.

Finally, warmest congratulations to you and your DD on earning such wonderful options.
GGMum
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:13 pm

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by GGMum »

Hi jadsima,
My eldest daughter is in Y8 at CLSG. She commutes on the Northern Line from Golders Green. At the beginning of year 7 she had a travel buddy - a 6th former who was lovely and travelled from the same station. This year she felt so confident that she volunteered to be a travel buddy for a Y7.
It's a very easy commute. The girls all travel together and meet up on the line. They are not during the worst of the rush hour and it's not very busy. Once in the City, they go straight up onto the Barbican high walks so there is very little traffic risk.
It's a relatively long commute (30-45 minutes) but she is with her friends, reads, listens to music. She's never complained about it. In fact the CLSG girls are very proud of being public-transport-savvy.
The girls come from all over. In my daughter's year they were grouped in forms by geography, so most of her form also comes from North London and the West London girls are together as well. That means she can travel with her friends. I don't know if they still do this.
I wouldn't rule the school out just on the basis of the commute.
Best
GGMum
jadsima
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:25 pm

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by jadsima »

Thank you all so much for taking time to respond. We are again visiting the school on the 26th of February where we'll get a chance to speak to current students and teachers and raise all our concerns.
We would certainly prefer a more local school but DD wants the independence. Having a senior buddy will definitely make a difference for the first year.

We'll keep all options on the table till after the visit next week. In response to the question asked, DD and her dad visited the school during normal rush hour but didn't see any CLSG students as they probably start school a bit earlier.
Middlesexmum
Posts: 1008
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:54 am

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by Middlesexmum »

What other schools are you considering? Are you also waiting for state school results?

I would think very carefully about the journey before accepting, even if your dd is very keen. A 10/11 year old can fall in love with a school and not see the implications of doing the journey day in day out for 7 years. It's good they travel together for safety but what about after school clubs? Is it likely she'd be coming home alone then in the dark?
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by Daogroupie »

I have posted a lot about this because I changed my opinion. I used to think that a great school was worth the commute. Now I don't. My dd's commute by train to school but there is a great gaggle of them that do it and they have local friends and we have a local network that springs into action if there are problems with the trains which has only happened 3 times and elder dd is in Y10. If there are other girls doing the same journey and if there are other routes if there is a problems with the main route then she should be fine but on her own it will be miserable. She will not understand this now because she is dazzled by the school and so she should be. It is your job to be the parent and see the bigger picture. Contact the school and ask them to ask any parents that live locally to you if they would be prepared to contact you and give you some advice. It would be great to have a buddy if you do decide to go ahead. But she needs to do the journey with heavy school bags at the time that she will need to do it by herself and then see how she feels. DG
Devotedmummy
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:42 pm

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by Devotedmummy »

Very sensible advice DAOGroupie...
jadsima
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:25 pm

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by jadsima »

Thanks again for the great advice. I agree that initial enthusiasm will wane eventually if the journey proves to be more difficult and lonely than anticipated. I will go along on Wednesday and speak to the school. Great idea about asking local parents to contact us if possible.
In answer to the question, no we are not awaiting any state options however we have a further Indy result expected on Wednesday which might be a game changer. Either way we have some other great alternatives, we just need to convince DD. Hopefully the visit on Wednesday will help put things into perspective.
Ellie
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:53 pm

Re: Commute to CLSG from West London

Post by Ellie »

We live in West London and there are lots of CLSG girls travelling on the Central Line from West London straight to St Pauls and it is not a difficult commute if you do not live too far from the tube station. The school will put you in touch with other girls who live near you to enable them to meet and travel to school and back together.
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