LEH or Putney High

[drama queen]

My DD has offers from both and I am really not sure which is the best for her .I know this is a nice position to be in but I want to make the right decision for her. Putney is much easier to travel to and the journey to LEH would be considerably longer , this concerns me.Also I haven't heard anything about the pastoral care at LEH and wondered if any of you with girls at LEH can fill me in .What I mean here is that I have heard it is a v high pressure school which is understandable given the results but are the girls well supported through this process or is it unthinkable that a girl would at times find the pressure hard ?
My DD is a very determined little girl who quite likes being unique and not going with the crowd etc .
She has been for a second sight visit at Putney and liked it and they play football which she is passionate about .
She really liked LEH but really thats not surprising as the grounds and facilities are v impressive .
Do they put them in classes based on where they live at LEH and does this work well ?
Any feedback at all would be really appreciated as we are struggling with this decision
Thanks ! :

[Womblemania]

Drama - firstly congratulations! What a great quandary to be in.

We're also considering the merits of two schools - Putney and JAGS. I'm coming to the conclusion that distance is a huge consideration and, that said, I think we'll go for Putney.

We had an interview at JAGS on a day all the trains were cancelled and ended up in a minicab. For Putney DD could tube or bus it and be home very quickly.

I know Hampton area very well and I'd worry about options for public transport if the buses had gone.

You also need to think about where her friends will live. We were at the 2nd sight visit on Thursday and we asked one of the girls where she met her friends at the weekend. She said Putney! For JAGS the girls might be from Blackheath or Greenwich, for LEH they could be in Oxshott.

If you have other DC you might want to think about where their lives are focused. I like the idea that Putney is close to my DS1 and DS2 school - and the two seem to socialise.

HTH.

[KB]

Majority view on such threads tends to be that number one you should choose where your child will be happy - which isn't always easy to figure out!
But most seem to agree that if you have a really good school that's easy to get to then you would have to have a really strong reason to go elsewhere.
Academic league tables are deceiving because a lot depends on the children going in to the school and whether they suit the school. If your child doesn't fit and is less academic to start with then the results of others aren't going to help!

A contented teenager is a rare thing but being able to get easily back and forth to school and friends shouldn't be understated.
In some areas there is no choice because good schools are few and far between but if you have a good local option rejoice!

[drama queen]

Thanks Womblemania and many congrats to you too!
I agree there is a lot to be said for easy travel and being near to DD1 and DS2 who are both very local , this is tipping the balance towards Putney for me.KB you are right -I am really trying to work out what the extra benefits to balance the longer journey and less local friends would be in the long term .LEH is a very good school but so is Putney and I agree with you that league tables are deceiving because if you have a happy thriving child they will achieve at all these schools.
Also as Womblemania points out transport is important e.g. I am not sure how much extra curricular takes place at LEH outside of school hours when school bus not an option and this would mean her getting back very late in the evening etc.Having said all that DD is leaning towards LEH so the dilemma goes on ...