Views on Latymer and comparison vs St Michael

[Sla212]

Great to have so many choices, although sometimes that makes the final decision very hard!

I have friends with children at all those schools....I'd personally put Camden first, then Latymer, then St Michael's.

Children from our Muswell Hill primary school go to Latymer every year, my child would have gone if we hadn't taken our indie choice....maybe it depends which side of Muswell Hill they're on but our group are all on the 7.15am bus, getting home 5/5.15pm....I bumped into a Yr8 Muswell Hill Latymer mum just last week & she does think it's a tiring journey. Having said that she was waiting on news that her second child will hopefully have a place for next Sept....she's happy with the school & says it definitely suits "a particular type of child"....which is probably what you need to decide....what does your daughter really love?

I have a friend with a Yr8 daughter at St M's....she loves the academic side but is struggling with friendships....my friend says the school does seem small.

Good luck!

[CestMoi]

I can't help noticing the "anywhere except St Michael's" attitude on this thread and on the wider board, or the fact that the school is ignored entirely by prominent posters. Is that the anti-Catholic/liberal sentiment that is fashionable in the UK today? Is it the fact the school has a different pupil profile (not as middle class, more diverse) to the other selective schools on this board?

I have tried to help prospective St M parents, many of whom self-tutor as I did myself. But I'm done now.

Sla- yesterday I heard of a girl who moved forms to escape bullying on one of the schools most mentioned on this board. I won't name the school or give any further details as isolated unhappiness occurs in every school.

[Amber]

I can't help noticing the "anywhere except St Michael's" attitude on this thread and on the wider board, or the fact that the school is ignored entirely by prominent posters. Is that the anti-Catholic/liberal sentiment that is fashionable in the UK today? Is it the fact the school has a different pupil profile (not as middle class, more diverse) to the other selective schools on this board?.

Just read back across this thread and really can't see what you mean.
I had never heard of the school until this thread. Perhaps it escapes attention because it doesn't attract some of the highly driven and, er, thrusting, parents which some of the other schools in the region seem to?

[loobylou]

I also don't think you're correct.
Because it's a Catholic school, the number of girls eligible to apply is much smaller than the other N London selectives. Therefore fewer people are interested and most people probably know fewer people there.
My personal taste is for mixed sex schools and for big schools to maximise the chance of finding like-minded friends - but I don't know enough about St Ms to comment about anything else. (And I'm liberal but not anti-Catholic ).

[wisdom]

Hello, we live in Muswell Hill and have had two DDs through St Michaels. One finished, one still there. We can highly recommend the school. Both times, it was our first choice school.

Both have loved their time at the school. One big advantage is the short bus ride to the school which means that there is extra time for other activities such as sports etc. Both DDs have made lovely friends but it is true that they are generally spread out geographically. The school is obviously academic and teachers have high expectations but my DDs did not find it at all pressured, although there is quite a lot of homework from the start. Also, I disagree that girls compete with each other, in our experience they support each other and collaborate to achieve their best. Relationships with teachers are very good, partly because it is small so everyone knows each other.

The school sport facilities are not the best but they do make an effort to participate in, for example, netball, athletics and dance competitions. If your child is really into a particular sport, they would probably have to pursue it outside school.

Finally, all subjects are taught well but I think maths, science and MFL are a particular strength. The language teaching is exceptional in my view.

Hope this helps and good luck with you decision!

[Sla212]

I can't help noticing the "anywhere except St Michael's" attitude on this thread and on the wider board, or the fact that the school is ignored entirely by prominent posters. Is that the anti-Catholic/liberal sentiment that is fashionable in the UK today? Is it the fact the school has a different pupil profile (not as middle class, more diverse) to the other selective schools on this board?

I have tried to help prospective St M parents, many of whom self-tutor as I did myself. But I'm done now.

Sla- yesterday I heard of a girl who moved forms to escape bullying on one of the schools most mentioned on this board. I won't name the school or give any further details as isolated unhappiness occurs in every school.

St M's appears to get mentioned less than other schools on this board but when it is talked about it's in positive terms....it is a smaller school & less well known. It matters not one bit to me that it's Catholic.

I was simply giving my personal view - my children went to a 2 form entry primary school, I wanted a bigger secondary school for them....I also wanted co-ed. The OP asked for opinions/experiences, I was just sharing mine....and that of a friend with a child there whose opinion I sought before commenting.

I completely agree that unhappiness happens at every school.

[Lunamum]

Thank you all for the kind replies. We were fortunate to have the choice amongst such great schools, and I think ultimately opinions on actual preference vary depending on the alignment to the family style, approaches and beliefs. In Spain single sex schools are very rare for example, but I have learnt to understand the drivers behind some people’s preference for them in this country.

I wish everyone best of luck with your choices for these little persons that bring such joy and meaning to our lives. I wish they didn’t grow this quickly though! And most of all I wish we all select the school where they will be the happiest and thrive to become the best version of themselves possible.

[BGGSM]

I can't help noticing the "anywhere except St Michael's" attitude on this thread and on the wider board, or the fact that the school is ignored entirely by prominent posters. Is that the anti-Catholic/liberal sentiment that is fashionable in the UK today? Is it the fact the school has a different pupil profile (not as middle class, more diverse) to the other selective schools on this board?

I have tried to help prospective St M parents, many of whom self-tutor as I did myself. But I'm done now.

Sla- yesterday I heard of a girl who moved forms to escape bullying on one of the schools most mentioned on this board. I won't name the school or give any further details as isolated unhappiness occurs in every school.

In the Catholic community (for want of a better description), St. Michael’s is well known and revered and the few families I know with DDs who attend the school only have excellent things to say about it.

It’s true that it appears to be ignored by many ‘prominent’ posters, but I’m assuming that this would be because of the Catholic criteria required to even sit the tests, how much more attend the school - this disqualifies many.

The tests are just as rigorous as any of the other selective schools (if not even more) as the girls spend the day (from 8am to 3pm) doing Maths, English, VR and NVR tests. They are big on Creative Writing and this year, the girls had to do two pieces of writing - one formal and the other informal, and from what I’ve read on the forum, a lot of children found the tests quite difficult - so it’s no walk in the park!

St Michael’s continues to do very well results-wise and regularly appears in the Top 10 - Top 20 Grammar Schools - among and even above some of the popularly mentioned schools on here. So it is indeed a force to be reckoned with.

They’re good in other aspects too, such as music (which as I understand, is open to girls of all abilities, not just Grade 5 and above), and sports (predominantly Netball, I think) and the girls really love the school. They strike a good balance between work and play.

@Cestmoi, thanks for answering the few questions I’ve had - it is much appreciated. I think we are blessed and privileged to have this school, as I for one did not see the need for my DD to sit other school exams like DAO or Latymer.

@Lunamum, all the best to your DD wherever she goes. I’m sure all our DCs will excel wherever they go.

[Daogroupie]

The OP had three concerns: one of which was commute times for her dd, the second was that they were very happy where they lived and didn't really want to move and the final one was lining up a school for her ds.

St M's is a great school and is discussed very positively when it does come up, but simply because you have to be a church going Catholic female in order to even apply, it is not going to come up as much as DAO that is a co-ed school with a huge catchment area spanning over three four different boroughs/counties and Latymer, HBS and QE which are all non catchment to sit the exam.

Had the OP had two dds instead of a dd and a ds then the advice on the thread would have been quite different. St Ms would have definitely been the better option rather than having to move

I originally suggested Latymer because of her ds but when the op added the extra information of being on the waiting list Camden then a possible option emerged where the op could stay in her existing residence which was something she wanted to do.

If you did not have to be a church going Catholic female St Ms could well be the most over subscribed school in North London, but because the vast majority of the cohort cannot even apply, they are forced to look for other options. DG

[Lunamum]

Hi DG,

Thank you for the valuable advice. Really helpful.

Do you know how much the music waitlist actually moves at Camden (or stats from previous years)? Also what is your view on Grey Coat vs Camden?