MT vs City scholarship

[n.w.mum]

Hi

We are in a very fortunate position of being offered a place at MTs (no scholarship) and an academic scholarship at City of London. Our son is quite sporty so MT was going to be our first choice but the scholarship at city is appealing. The journey to city would be longer but not horrendous (40 min). I have heard friendships are an issue at City as children come from all over London so may not meet up regularly. However I think being a scholar he would thrive there.

Any advice would be much appreciated, confused!

[kenyancowgirl]

I don't know either school, but was in the position of our DS being offered a particular grant which equated to no fees at a very good school near us. What we considered was which school was the best fit? Where would he feel most comfortable? How many "scholars" were in a year group (we were staggered to find that it was about 40%...some major like ours, but most really minor - only about £200 but they were all still required to take additional "scholar" classes each week and go on special trips etc). When we looked into this further, we could see that being a scholar might actually conflict with his ability to get engaged with the things he really wanted to, like sport, and the pressure to keep up his grades would be relentless (we knew this from other friends who had major awards). As the alternative was much more appealing, when we took the finance side out of it, it was a no brainer for us.

[AML]

We are in exactly the same dilemma! We know a couple of friends DS who have scholarships from city. The change in head will be something to find out about at their coffee morning.

[Cityparent]

I have changed username for this but have been knocking around on these boards for a while. My son is at City and absolutely loves it. Mrs Fletcher leaving is a mild concern (we thought she was fantastic) but everyone else is so good and it is such an amazing school that I'm sure they will attract someone every bit as strong.

The local friends thing is an issue but then there are some children in most areas - the problem is they might not be the ones your child is best mates with. The pros hugely out weigh the cons though for us. There are plenty of North London boys. The travel makes them very independent in a good way. Sport is football focused not rugby.

The school is a shade more liberal and homework less than other schools friends kids go to, yet the results are very good with 40 Oxbridge offers this year from a slightly smaller cohort than e.g. Habs as far as I know (I might be wrong on the latter point).

[Bazelle]

We were in the same position 2 years ago and went for City after an agonising decision making process and DS is really happy there, the journey for us is just under an hour and it is true that his best friends are miles away. The present head has just been there for 3 years, so didn't really have a huge impact I think, despite the fact that the results have improved, so it is a shame she is leaving. 40% of the kids have a scholarship or bursary, the social mix is excellent IMO, the atmosphere is excellent, people are nice, the homework load is really manageable, no fixtures on Saturdays except A team cricket during the summer, and the scholarship coupled with the already lower fees was making it difficult to ignore. We went to the open day for people with offers and liked what we saw.

[Cityparent]

Another very happy City family here. The only downside is indeed the boys are more spread out. There will probably be one or two close by still.
It's a wonderful school in an incredible location and I don't regret him going there at all. I'm also finding he gets less homework than any of his friends at both top private and various state schools which is surprising.

It's a shame Mrs Fletcher is leaving as we thought she was marvellous but I have no doubt the school's unique location and nature will attract someone else outstanding.

[Cityparent]

Another very happy City family here. The only downside is indeed the boys are more spread out. There will probably be one or two close by still.
It's a wonderful school in an incredible location and I don't regret him going there at all. I'm also finding he gets less homework than any of his friends at both top private and various state schools which is surprising.

It's a shame Mrs Fletcher is leaving as we thought she was marvellous but I have no doubt the school's unique location and nature will attract someone else outstanding.

[CandyCrush]

I don't envy your dilemma - that's a tough decision to make.

Proximity is a key consideration - travelling time aside, will your ds enjoy the city environment or will he prefer MTS in its large grounds and rural setting?

If your son's sporty, he'll love the Saturday fixtures and after school matches/tournaments - rugby, hockey and cricket are the main sports at MTS but tennis, swimming, squash and football are also offered (and many more). I don't believe City play rugby, only football, but please correct me if I'm wrong. MTS is currently reaping the rewards of introducing its sports scholarship programme a few years ago.

It's a shame Sarah Fletcher is moving on to pastures new, I have heard good things about her. Simon Everson has been in post at MTS for 4 years now and has a strong leadership team on board with little staff turnover. The tutor system works very well indeed.

It's great you have the opportunity to visit both schools again to see which one "feels right".

Best of luck in making your decision!

[CandyCrush]

..... and if MTS is still your son's preferred school after the coffee mornings, it may be worth calling the Bursars Office to discuss your situation.

[Umisan]

We were in the same position 2 years ago for DS1 as well as a scholarship place at Habs. We chose City after preparing a list of key points and scoring each category and ended up with a higher total for City overall. The decision was made by DS ultimately and I think helped him to appreciate and value what the school meant to him.

We have not regretted our decision at all as DS1 settled in very quickly and the pastoral care from day 1 was fantastic. The academic standard is high but there is fair balance with sports and other interests.

We are fortunate to have a choice for our DS2 this time around but without any scholarship and City is DS2's first choice.

The concern about the commute is valid but rather surprisingly the boys do not have any issue but actually learn to be very independent and street savvy very quickly.

Go to the coffee morning and see whether son enjoys the feel of the two schools. Both are excellent schools so no doubt your DS will do well at either one.