I've never lived closer to Barnet than the Knebworth/Stevenage area, which was a very long time ago, when we were considering playgroups rather than secondary schools. But friends who have recently moved from Ealing to Solihull (and were able to get a much larger house, grrrr!!!) comment very favourably on the easier journeys (despite the rush hour jams on the M42) and the closeness to "real" countryside compared to the sprawling busyness of London.

The question is , Op - which school does your ds prefer? and you?

You cannot possibly expect anyone on this board to have direct experience of both schools because they are in completely different cities. And even the craziest of QE parents (and there are more than a few) wouldn't force their dc to commute from Birmingham to Barnet. I hope.

Your ds must have visited the schools in order to take the exams, so I am presuming you accompanied him? what impressions did you form?

You have itemised your criteria and explained them in your post, so clearly you have already answered your own questions.

I have no idea about house prices in Birmingham but I can tell you that I live near High Barnet and house prices are crazy.

The OP logged in on Saturday and posted the message and then logged out, hasn't reappeared to look at any answers so perhaps not curious about what people have had to say on the matter. Could be any number of reasons for that.

Another troll?

who knows?