Lae or ncs???

Both LAE Stratford and NCS have already started term, and I still haven’t decided which one to go to, someone help!!! Anyone please tell me which one to go to and maybe explain why, thanks!!

I am probably bias because I go to LAE but i’ve heard the NCS dress code is really strict and for me that was a deal breaker. Although for both it’s required that you wear formal wear, LAE is quite lax with their dress code and you can get away with wearing anything within reason. Understandably, this may not necessarily be a major concern for you - it all depends on your priorities.

LAE is also probably slightly better in terms of academics but NCS is really great if you’re considering applying to American universities (which is something LAE honestly lacks in).

Regardless of which you pick, I’m sure you will do amazing considering you got the grades to enrol in two amazing schools!

Was going lae, then last second i went back to ncs, its done now. bye.

As you’ve seen I was very stressed about choosing between lae and ncs, truth be told I also attended Brampton last year… and there’s a pretty popular lae thread that’s now closed that I started. So feel free to ask me any questions about the other two (fyi both are better than Brampton). There is no common room but there is a canteen area where you can sit and socialise. The mobile phone policy is a bit strict unfortunately, can’t use it anywhere indoors but you can go to the canteen or go outside and use it. Class room size depends, because I do mainly stem subjects they’re between 20-25, I know psychology as very small class sizes of less than 15 but that’s due to many people dropping it. The teachers are good!! Many have graduated from Oxbridge and some of the ones who haven’t are even better teachers! Making friends is fairly easier since everyone is friendly here, as long as you make the effort to talk, they’ll reciprocate the effort. For the atmosphere I can only say for myself, some people don’t like it but personally I think it has a nice atmosphere, we have many things such as Oxbridge supervisions (I personally chose to do 3 per week) which are basically when you learn about a subject in university at depth, there is also super-curricular where you learn about a topic, I did viruses for the first half term and learnt a lot! And did conflicts for the second half term which was also fun debating and discussing with my classmates, so the atmosphere I’d say is a nice learning environment. In terms of being competitive, it isn’t competitive! Everyone is already smart but there’s not a big competition, it’s more of a positive environment where we praise each other for doing well. And do I like it? YES! I can only speak for myself but I can say that I’m actually enjoying it, from the many opportunities such as the lectures from academics and renowned people, to the many trips that go on to the city of London private school and other places such as Cambridge, law firms and medical schools, the supercurriculars, the Oxbridge supervisions, (we also have something called ignite, which is actually pretty boring and useless but we move..) we also have clubs and sports but they’re not compulsory unlike other schools! So you can choose whether you want to go to a club or a sport, we get an iPad and the best part is all of our lessons and resources are on there which is very convenient, we have cool events such as biology week or charity week where we have a bunch of fun activities, one thing that should be noted and that people don’t like is the fact that they stopped serving food, but personally… I love that they did that! Might seem a bit selfish but since they don’t serve food and I’m free school meals they give me £15 weekly of vouchers from a selections of shops of my choice! (Meaning I can quite literally buy ANYTHING I want from it, you’re meant to only use it for food but… ) but if you aren’t free school meals… you have the shops on barking road! So those are all the opportunities that make me enjoy this school, but the last points might be a bit too personal to me and not matter for you, but personally I live quite close to the school, meaning it’s very convenient for me, and school finished at 12:50 on Fridays!! Which is great because it means I can go to my favourite mosque for jummah in time, very convenient. But that’s just my opinion, I’ve heard of others not enjoying the school, so my best advice to you is not to listen to opinions of people, but rather look at what they’ve told you about facts, such as what the school offers in terms of opportunities, how the timetable is like etc. Hope you’re able to make an informed decision and aren’t stuck like me! Good luck on your GCSEs!

Has anyone received an invitation to the taster days for Newham Collegiate Sixth Form?