This could be specific question - but we are at a point to decide which school to prefer in CAF. In general, what should be criteria in choosing school ?

Our DS has achieved a score sufficient enough for securing a place at QE Barnet as well as King Edward VI Camp Hill Birmingham. Location is not a constraint for us. But, we are not able to decide, which one to choose.

May be experienced members of group can help in highlighting any criteria which we may not have considered. We considered office & School commute, siblings school, homework, kids passing from school, extra-curricular activities, strictness at school.

What do you think should be the choice, considering that we are keeping open mind for both ? Thank you for your time.

if you are happy with either school it comes down to whether you prefer London or Birmingham as a family.

John Lewis Brent Cross vs John Lewis Grand Central?

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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

WOW - terribly out of date didn't realise that the was a JL at Grand Central - fab, we have finally got one in Leeds now


re the London / Birmingham choice - which accent do you prefer

How much you willing to spend on mortgage/rent?

Is this for real? I very much doubt you will find anyone on this forum or indeed anywhere else who could give a considered comparison of two no doubt excellent schools in completely different parts of the country, over 100 miles apart.

I am presuming (to be kind,and after thinking about the possible circumstances behind the post following initial astonishment) that you are relocating to the UK from overseas and have no UK address yet, and that these are two schools for which there is no distance criterion at which your child has scored very highly. In which case I strongly suggest you decide whether YOU as a family want/need to live in the South Midlands or in North London because I suspect the differences in daily life, house prices etc will make a far larger difference than the choice of school (as your child is clearly in the top 1% of the country and will no doubt succeed academically at either place, and probably also at many other less selective establishments with such parental resources). I'm sure many others on here will also suggest that a shorter commute for children is much to be preferred - ideally a walk to school especially at younger ages) so look at whether you'd rather live in/ close to either Kings Heath or Barnet - you will at the very least be visiting them frequently for school events I'm sure, as parental involvement and interest is key to success at all schools. Please don't decide without visiting both schools and both areas with your child, however inconvenient and expensive this might be.

(Barnet will be a MUCH more expensive area to live btw, but obviously if the wage-earner is commuting to central London that will be an important factor. Although once HS2 is open .....)

Have you visited both areas to look at places to live and what local amenities are available?

Have you also visited the schools themselves to see if one ‘feels’ better than the other?

there is also John Lewis Solihull, the area providing a relatively high proportion of Camp Hill pupils (judging by the Green Bus routes), which I find easier to navigate than the Grand Central one....

Oh yes, now I do know that one - though was a bit bemused when trying to get my bearings when I visited. There used to be a couple of very jolly dentists who worked out of a house on Herbert Road but seems the whole row of houses disappeared under a car park

Grand Central has been open for a couple of years now, although I haven't actually got round to checking it out yet on my infrequent visits to the city. DS1 currently lives above a second-hand white goods shop, so who needs JL anyway? We now even have a rather dinky JL up the way in Chelmsford, should I need a fix of pink grapefruit drizzle cake with my coffee (must ask for the recipe).

But seriously, only knowing either school from what is written about them here on the forum, and being quite done of Brum, if I had to choose, I would probably veer towards Camp Hill. Not a very scientific way of doing it, though.

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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx