Francis Holland (Clarence gate) or South Hampstead High School ???

[lilpre]

My daughter has gained places at Francis Holland with a scholarship and south Hampstead high school for the sixth form.Any advice about which school I should send her to ?

[livinginlondon2]

Well done to your daughter. What a good start to 2012 ! Both schools are good, and she can do well in either one.

I suppose the questions are :

What a levels is she going to do ? Does either school have particular strengths in her chosen subjects ?

How much sway does the scholarship hold ? Does it affect your decision financially ?

Isn't South Hampstead about to embark on a huge building project ? How wil that affect her as she is only there for two years.

Did she like either school more ? Or get a better feel from either school's subject teachers ?

Is she likely to prefer a smaller cosier sixth form, or a larger one ?

Well done again. Happy New Year.

[lilpre]

Thank you very much for your prompt answer.
You have nailed all our concerns very well.
The scholarship and the building problem will not sway our decision either way, although one can not ignore them totally.
We were very impressed with the atmosphere at Francis Holland. We also have to remember that is the reason for choosing the school is the education.
My daughter wants to do the following subjects in the 6th form: Maths, Economics, French and History.
I wonder 1/ where the teaching is the best in the subjects my daughter has chosen and 2/ where she will have girls of a higher standard in those subjects to keep the competition. Of course every year can produce different standards...I have seen very big swings in exam results from Francis Holland and I hear that a lot of girls are thinking of leaving South Hampstead due to the building works.
Many thanks for your help and a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR

[realhousewifeoffitzrovia]

Congrats on having such a choice to make but quick question - aren't the exams coming up in the next few weeks? How did your DD get in already? Thanks

[realhousewifeoffitzrovia]

Sorry - just realised you were speaking about the 6th form. Please ignore my post

[livinginlondon2]

I am afraid I don't know enough to comment on individual teaching in either school, but perhaps a look at class size would be helpful. You are right that it helps to have an ambitious peer group to keep standards high. Alternatively an ambitious teacher.

Francis Holland has the smaller sixth form I think, so you would expect results to fluctuate more. That doesn't mean the teaching is worse, just that the statistics are likely to be more variable. I see they don't have subject results on their web site - do you know how they are for your subjects.

You flagged that a lot of girls are leaving SHHS because of the building works - at this stage presumably it is a lot of girls thinking of leaving, as, like you, they won't have committed to new schools, and many of them will probably end up staying.

Another thing I would be looking at is extra-curricular activities - what does your daughter enjoy, and are they well served by each school ?

[MsAverage]

Lilpre, can I ask, what did you choose and are you happy with the choice?

[pumpum]

Hi I am thinking between south hampstead and francis holland for my dd she has cleared the exam for both