Thoughts on KCLMS

Anyone that goes to KCLMS/ used to go. What's is like? Is it worth the commute? What's the dress code like? What's the workload like? Does it require a lot of study at home? Is it hard in like a healthy challenging way or in a breakdown once a week kind of way? just any general information or anything you feel would be helpful would be highly appreciated.

Reply 1

A__human

Original post by violet0723

It is quite worth the commute, average commuting time is roughly around 40-1hr. There is no dress code as long as it does not affect your learning and is not too explicit. Workload i would say is decent, most weeks you get 1 homework per subject. Recommended additional study time is around 15-25 hours a week. It is hard in a healthy challenging way.

Reply 2

MouldyVinegar

Original post by A__human

I'm currently in Year 13. I'm assuming you got an offer, so congratulations on that!

I don't think there is a dress code; in fact, they're quite lax about what you wear. For commuting, I know a good number of people commute by about an hour each way by train, but they still go here regardless so I'd wager they think the journey is worth it. (There are also bursaries available to cover some of the travel costs. I think these bursaries are applicable to basically every sixth form in London, so you should look into them regardless of whether you go KCLMS or not). My journey is "short" compared to many others; only 40 minutes by bus each way, but I personally don't mind.

As for things like workload, I honestly don't think it's too much. I don't recieve that much homework for example (but that also depends on your teacher for your subject). However, they do expect that you do at least some revision (something I should definitely do much more of), and provide boosters, and other sessions if you fall behind in your lessons. As for difficulty, they do challenge you such as with the Senior Maths Challenge, but again if you do struggle with anything the teachers provide a tonne of support.

Personally, I'd recommend going here. I've genuinely enjoyed my time here, and there's a reason the Sunday Times said KCLMS was the school of the decade (https://archive.ph/Bcdnr free link :smile:

). Of course this is my opinion and probably differs somewhat to others. If you go elsewhere, that's completely up to you, and if you have any more questions do ask.

Reply 3

MouldyVinegar

Original post by magnetodespacito

hi so I got an offer and Ill be starting in september, but was wondering do a lot of people at kclms have relatively strong interests outside of maths / physics etc? I was going to do english as its basically tied with maths as my fav subject, but obvs I cant do it at kclms lol. by other interests I mean literally anything like reading, sports, history, chemistry whatever really. it sounds like a great place from what youv said, definitely makes it a bit less daunting lol

Of course people have strong interests outside of Maths and Physics (I for one like computer science, and truth be told I don't like physics that much :smile:

); music and chess are two pretty big things I can think of off the top of my head. Also, with having over 70 people in your year, regardless of where you go you are basically guaranteed to find someone who likes the same sport, hobby or whatever as you.

In terms of English, I know some people have decided to sit the Linguistics Olympiad this year, so it's not like pursuing something other than maths is banned. There is also a book club; I've never attended it so there's not much else I can say about it.