Anonymous
04/09/2026 14:15
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
This tracks with my girls’ experiences (they have both graduated). They have incredibly kind and tight knit friends from their classes and are deeply appreciative of the education they received. It is a place very focused on learning vs just chasing grades or checking any kind of testing boxes.
Anonymous
04/09/2026 14:12
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
I’m sorry that you had a bad experience with STA parents and that exactly 7 other families have as well. That’s of course unfortunate and there are some real wierdo moms and dads, for sure. Actually, come to think of it, a couple of the NCS moms I’ve met were totally not my people and kind of off my opinion. Also true for some of my colleagues. In fact, I have this neighbor who is an utter freakshow. Truthfully, I think the nature of a lot of ultra nerdy lawyer types lends itself in my work, home and school lives to awkward social encounters with people who’d prefer not to have them (I mean social interactions).
Luckily, my sons aren’t weirdly hanging out with these unfortunate moms and dads. And the ones who go to my son’s games are very nice and friendly to me despite not having any contact with them besides our kids playing sports together. They are all pretty normal and I feel pretty lucky with the STA families we’ve gotten to know. But, I hear you that like everywhere in DC there are some odd ducks to be sure. We’ve not encountered any weird cults but if we do I’ll be sure to post back here.
Is this a troll response? The writing and grammar and just overall style of writing does not sound like an adult parent?
Anonymous
04/09/2026 06:52
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
Many, many parents I know sent their sons to STA and chose schools other than NCS for their daughters (myself included).
STA's student and parent body tends to lean conservative, while NCS's is more liberal.
Anonymous
04/09/2026 05:01
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
Surprising given there’s so much overlap.
DP. Actually only 30 percent overlap of families that have kids in both schools. Many families have one gender - only daughters or only sons.
For others - they send elsewhere.
Several sisters in our grade were sent to more conservative Catholic schools like Holy Child, Stoneridge, or Visi
You mean the son goes to an Episcopalian school and his sisters go to Catholic schools? That seems odd.
It’s a reality.
Anonymous
04/09/2026 01:01
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
Surprising given there’s so much overlap.
DP. Actually only 30 percent overlap of families that have kids in both schools. Many families have one gender - only daughters or only sons.
For others - they send elsewhere.
Several sisters in our grade were sent to more conservative Catholic schools like Holy Child, Stoneridge, or Visi
You mean the son goes to an Episcopalian school and his sisters go to Catholic schools? That seems odd.
Anonymous
04/08/2026 23:07
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
This is one of the craziest things I have read here and it is absolutely exactly the opposite of our experience. Our DS was not an STA lifer and we did not know one person when he began school there. He and all of his friends loved their STA experience (some were better students than others), and I am confident these boys will be his lifelong friends. They talk about sending their own sons there. As a parent, several of my closest friends are other parents I met at STA - there are many smart, interesting and thoughtful adults there. Many, many parents I know sent their sons to STA and chose schools other than NCS for their daughters (myself included).
Anonymous
04/08/2026 22:26
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
Surprising given there’s so much overlap.
DP. Actually only 30 percent overlap of families that have kids in both schools. Many families have one gender - only daughters or only sons.
For others - they send elsewhere.
Several sisters in our grade were sent to more conservative Catholic schools like Holy Child, Stoneridge, or Visi
That’s not a very conservative set of schools….
Anonymous
04/08/2026 22:06
Subject: St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I went to NCS and would have complained about it in college.
But now that I have watched my own kids go through MCPS, I absolutely appreciate the education I got at NCS.
And yes, NCS prepares you to thrive in life, in that you strive for excellence, you know how to work hard, etc.
But it's not for every kid. And watch out for that since you are at BVR - your kid has an admissions advantage and that may mean she gets in even though she maybe shouldn't.
Go to NCS if you want your kid to be in an environment where she learns to work hard and strive to do her best.
My kids' MCPS schools had a very slacker-ish atmosphere. My kids expected to do basically no homework. Maybe one hour a night. They were used to their teachers giving them time to do it in class. College has been an adjustment. And they took the hardest classes available in HS.
Oh, I forgot to add. I hate STA. Such an obnoxious, sexist, mean atmosphere. I would send my son to MCPS again over STA.
It’s interesting how many NCS alumnae I know who feel this way, well into middle age adulthood.
Anonymous
04/08/2026 22:01
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
I’m sorry that you had a bad experience with STA parents and that exactly 7 other families have as well. That’s of course unfortunate and there are some real wierdo moms and dads, for sure. Actually, come to think of it, a couple of the NCS moms I’ve met were totally not my people and kind of off my opinion. Also true for some of my colleagues. In fact, I have this neighbor who is an utter freakshow. Truthfully, I think the nature of a lot of ultra nerdy lawyer types lends itself in my work, home and school lives to awkward social encounters with people who’d prefer not to have them (I mean social interactions).
Luckily, my sons aren’t weirdly hanging out with these unfortunate moms and dads. And the ones who go to my son’s games are very nice and friendly to me despite not having any contact with them besides our kids playing sports together. They are all pretty normal and I feel pretty lucky with the STA families we’ve gotten to know. But, I hear you that like everywhere in DC there are some odd ducks to be sure. We’ve not encountered any weird cults but if we do I’ll be sure to post back here.
PP didn't say STA parents were weird or odd; she said they weren't nice.
You sound judgy, which illustrates PP's point.
Anonymous
04/08/2026 21:45
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
I’m sorry that you had a bad experience with STA parents and that exactly 7 other families have as well. That’s of course unfortunate and there are some real wierdo moms and dads, for sure. Actually, come to think of it, a couple of the NCS moms I’ve met were totally not my people and kind of off my opinion. Also true for some of my colleagues. In fact, I have this neighbor who is an utter freakshow. Truthfully, I think the nature of a lot of ultra nerdy lawyer types lends itself in my work, home and school lives to awkward social encounters with people who’d prefer not to have them (I mean social interactions).
Luckily, my sons aren’t weirdly hanging out with these unfortunate moms and dads. And the ones who go to my son’s games are very nice and friendly to me despite not having any contact with them besides our kids playing sports together. They are all pretty normal and I feel pretty lucky with the STA families we’ve gotten to know. But, I hear you that like everywhere in DC there are some odd ducks to be sure. We’ve not encountered any weird cults but if we do I’ll be sure to post back here.
Anonymous
04/08/2026 21:15
Subject: St Alban's and NCS
NCS US parent here; DD arrived in 9th grade, was looking for a competitive environment with motivated peers, found it, and is thriving. This thread considered in toto is the fairest description I have seen of the school and its complexities on this site. Well done, all!
Anonymous
04/08/2026 16:30
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
Surprising given there’s so much overlap.
DP. Actually only 30 percent overlap of families that have kids in both schools. Many families have one gender - only daughters or only sons.
For others - they send elsewhere.
Several sisters in our grade were sent to more conservative Catholic schools like Holy Child, Stoneridge, or Visi
Anonymous
04/08/2026 16:23
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
Surprising given there’s so much overlap.
DP. Actually only 30 percent overlap of families that have kids in both schools. Many families have one gender - only daughters or only sons.
For others - they send elsewhere.
Anonymous
04/08/2026 15:46
Subject: Re:St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have a HS student at NCS and it is the right school for her. I've read about "toxic" and "mean girls" and "pressure cooker" on DCUM for years and years, but she felt like it was the right place for her, and I trusted that.
She's really happy and has found a nice group of friends who are not private jet to the second home kind of wealthy. She's playing sports and looks to be tracking into the advanced/honors classes. She is quite bright - was insufficiently challenged in middle school - and she is loving the challenge. Not to be overly rosy - of course she has bad days, and the work load is serious, but so far she's able to manage it without huge problems.
Our experience just does not track with all the horror stories I read here, so I thought I would chime in to say that. If you have a smart, driven, self-motivated kid who loves learning, it might be the perfect place for her.
My daughter loves NCS. Some of the things offered there she now appreciates even more. The parent community overall is much much nicer than St. Albans in our experience. You won't find parent friends as easily at St. Albans as at NCS and that is the same experience that at least 7 plus other families we know that have had kids at both schools have had as well. St. Albans parents can be brutal.
Surprising given there’s so much overlap.
Anonymous
04/08/2026 15:15
Subject: St Alban's and NCS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have girls at NCS and so far it has been great. Not a lot pressure on my opinion, but we are not in US yet. My kids are doing great and love their school and friends. I have heard that the current 5th grade is quite unhappy, but I have no idea why because I don’t have kids in that grade.
No eating disorders or need for psychological help that I know of.
This is rising 6th you are speaking of? Can anyone shed light on the issues? [/quot
Yeah I’d love to know too!