Hi – similar to the earlier StressedOurMother post… our family too is wrestling with the issue of which indie offer to accept. I guess it’s a nice problem to have but none-the-less we are finding it tough to make a decision and would appreciate advice from those who know the relevant schools.

DS has offers from Habs boys and Stabs. We live in St Albans and he will have friends going to Stabs, he could walk or cycle to school, slightly less expensive fee wise and also no coach costs (Habs would be a coach there and back). Stabs is my preference.

However, we did love Habs on the open day and this is our DS’s preference. Does anyone with knowledge of Habs know if many St Albans boys go there (given we have Stabs on our doorstep)?

One issue that concerns me is that he won’t have local friends at Habs as Habs boys come from far and wide. Wondering if anyone knows if there is a reasonable number of Habs boys coming from St Albans most years. They run a coach so there must be a few but I don’t know anyone at the school who lives locally who can give me a view.

Any information or advice appreciated. Many thanks

Hi, I have a DS at SAS (first rule is don't call it Stabs!) and a DD at Habs and we live in St Albans. Boys come from all over to SAS on the coaches - you are no more likely to make local friends IMO at either school, in fact as a boy who walks to/ from the school he is in a minority.

My DD gets the Habs coach, there are plenty of boys and 3 full coach routes serving the city.

We chose local for one child and the commute for another because the schools themselves were the best fit for the child. If your DS prefers Habs, I would say the journey is very manageable and if you do need to drive it's still only 25mins in rush hour.

HTH

St Albans stated at their open day that over 50% of their boys come from St Albans.

I know several ds and dds that are currently choosing between Habs and St Albans and both the St Albans schools are definitely the most local private schools that I have encountered. That is certainly one of the key features to be considered.

What are the features of Habs that you prefer? DG

Interesting DAO, it doesn't feel that way as a parent but maybe it's just my DS's choice of friends skewing it.

Yes. I was surprised as I know a lot of students who come from Hatfield, WGC, Radlett, Harpenden etc to both schools and there are a lot of coaches bringing students from further afield. DG

I would agree that a lot of boys come from the local area. I think this has become more of a trend in recent years. I would consider carefully the amount of travel involved especially if your son is likely to be involved in weekend sports.

Thank you for your insights.

Yes, I also picked up on the Head at St. Albans saying it was about 50% local boys.

My query was more as to whether there is a decent sized local cohort from St Albans going to Habs - as I have less insight re Habs. Sounds as though there's quite a lot of St Albans children at Habs. Various coach routes from St Albans and surrounding areas.

DG, thank you for your comment. As to what it is about Habs we particularly liked, I and my DH really liked both schools. However, our DS has a firm preference for Habs. He chatted to some lovely teachers and pupils there, was wowed by the facilities and the sun was shining when he looked round! I am sure equally lovely staff and boys at SAS but he happened to be particularly struck by those at Habs. Habs also seemed less rigid about the sports the boys do - big focus on sport but not just rugby & hockey. Of course our son is only 11 but his preference is an important factor.

We might also have Parmiters in the mix depending on where the cutoff is. But that's a whole other thread......