SPGS v JAGS

[sunandcloud]

DD got offers from all schools and so far we have narrowed it down to JAGS and SPGS.
We feel very lucky to have choices, but dd likes both schools equally.
SPGS:
We always liked the school, dd finds it hard to put down SPGS offer, but 50 min - 1 hour away (door to door-1 direct tube line with different travel option).

JAGS:
Very friendly school-given us academic+music scholarship. 45 mins away from door to door (one simple change of train).

However, dd is from state school and I worry about social/financial mixture at SPGS as we are from East London. I am concerned for my dd's friendship outside of school time, as I know girls need to meet quite often (although dd told me she is very confident and backgrounds do not concern her).
DD says that SPGS is such a good school that it seems a shame to put down the offer but I feel the same for JAGS.
We understand that SPGS is suitable for certain girls, and dd has the right character, but I don't want dd to be pressurised at school, and JAGS is quite relaxed in comparison.

Could anyone give us an insight through experience?

Many thanks.

SC

[mad?]

Don't just think about travel time think about ease of travel. A direct line ( with alternatives) might be better than route which involves a change as there is 50% less to go wrong and you don't have to factor in the time taken to change, which will always be more than you think. Think also about socialising, SPGS seems to draw kids for a huge catchment so might involve more travel, but lots of kids seem to head back into town after school so maybe there are more from your area? JAGS probably draws kids largely from south London, is your DD going to be easily able to get to friends houses from were you are?

Also, It might not be an issue for you but there is an almost 10K gap annual fees. This would be the deciding for most I would imagine. Well done to your DD.

[Bazelle]

Wwell done to your DD! It must be hard to decide, 2 years ago a friend's DD had to choose from SPGS and LEH and it was agony to turn down SPGS but they choose LEH in the end for lots of reasons. The SPGS offer will always be with her.

[PettswoodFiona]

I have two friends with DDs at JAGS they can't fault the school. However whilst it may appear relaxed there is emphasis on achievement but they seem to strike a miraculous balance in getting it out of the girls without seeming pressured. It is a very high achieving school. JAGS also benefits from being part of the charitable trust that encompasses Dulwich and Alleyns so benefits from the balance of being smallish within a larger network - another example of how it balances its credentials perfectly. I don't have a DD there so all this is second hand.

[Daogroupie]

If you live in East London why would you want to send your dd to a school in West London?

She may think she is confident surrounded by her friends at primary school but she will have very little idea of what it will be like travelling two hours a day by herself with commuter traffic and being in a school where she knows nobody but there are group of dds from the same prep school who have known each other since they were 4.

Yes these are good schools but to be able to thrive in them you have to be prepared to move to live close to them.

Every year I know of students who apply for schools many miles away from where they live. but when they get a place their parents move so they can have a wonderful time in a school they can get to and with local friends. DG

[sunandcloud]

Thank you for all insight!
We talked a lot about this and DD read all your comments and other posts.
However, she is now more attached to SPGS. She said SPGS is very homely for her and the only school that promised 'anything is possible'.(She loved their interview and music audition process)

mad?: Yes, JAGS can be easier for me to drive in case of emergency and no problem with friendship due the coach coming near our area and we know some students there.
I also know two older girls from SPGS but they live in south London.

Bazelle & PWF: JAGS might be similar to LEH. Happy + academic. I personally love JAGS and impressed their approach. I hope my DD2(year5) can be lucky enough to get offer from JAGS next year

DG: That's the point what I concern. We have CLSG offer as well which is just 25minutes(2 tube stops away) and sure it will make our life much easy, even her best friend will go to CLSG. But DD wants field for hockey and other sports.
DD is very caring and easy to make friends, not scared in a new place. Maybe after DD2's 11+ process, we might (but not easy to do at the moment) relocate.

Luckily we all have half term holiday to digest.
Thank you for all advice.

SC

[OldBean]

The shorter tube journey (and the fact in emergency you can get to JAGS by car) plus girls living local to you would entice me to go to JAGS to be honest. Just noticed she got into CLSG too and that's much closer with friends also attending. For me that would be a no brainier. I don't think a 10/11 year old is best placed to make decisions at this stage as they have no idea how a 2 hour+ tube journey is going to feel every day after a few months (or the hassle and stress when the lines go down) or the importance of having friends living locally when they are in their teens. I wouldn't be put off by lack of hockey field, if she likes hockey she can find somewhere else to play it. I don't think SPGS adds enough value over CLSG to sacrifice a social life for. Just my 2 penneth.

[LostInTheShuffle]

Sunandcloud: I have PM'd you on your original post. To supplement the comments of other posters:

- Many Y7 girls at SPGS are the lone representative from their primary school but they do make friends from the start, in part due to small tutor groups (10-11) and policy of avoiding putting girls from the same primary school in the same tutor group. From DD's comments, it doesn't seem that girls coming from the same primary school are cliquish or exclusionary.

- Girls at SPGS come from all over London (east, west, north, south). At least for now, this is not an issue because they typically do their extra-curricular activities during the day and most go straight home after school. We have considered moving closer to the school (we live in north London) but DD said that she likes not being too close to school. Encouragingly, DD has formed friendships with a different set of SPGS girls on the train journey (it was really comforting to us that at the start of the school year last Sept, a couple of older girls taking the same train looked out for DD and befriended her).

- Yes, logistically for us, it is not the most convenient to get to SPGS (we also had options of schools closer to where we live) but the different travel options to get to Hammersmith make it less of a pain

- The sense that "anything is possible" also came across for us and also that all the girls could be themselves. Really, there isn't a single or dominant type at SPGS - although some are outgoing, others are shy. In terms of interests, some are highly athletic, some are bookish, some pursue drama, others are into music, etc. They all have in common a keen interest in learning and discovering the world around them.

[Daogroupie]

Anything is possible comes from the individual, not the school. Perhaps your dd should do the journey a couple of times over half term so she can have some sense of what her daily life would be like.

You are the parent here. No school would be worth this journey.

City is a fantastic school and gives your dd one hour a day of her life back. They are many forum members who would love to have a offer from City right now.

A ten year old has no concept of daily travelling twice a day for seven years. She is only thinking about being in the school and how exciting that would be.

Many adults would not contemplate a journey like this for themselves let alone for an eleven year old.

SPGS does not have anything special that does not exist in any other school. It is the girls that go there and the teachers that make a school.

The equation is very simple. If you can be with other students who want to learn and have teachers who want to teach you then any student who also wants to learn can soar.

I expect all the schools that you got offers from can offer your dd that.

How your dd gets to school and back should be the number one consideration in your choice. DG

[mad?]

+1 DG
Plus OP, if your daughter wants to play hockey join a club.