Thomas's Academy

[BigMamaMama]

Hi,

Anyone familiar with this new academy school? How much is the management of the Thomas independent schools involved? What have been the changes since they've taken over? How is the quality of teaching? What are the families that go to this school like?

Thanks!

[Starter4ten]

Hi, I did a tour of this school early last year (it had only just re-branded in September 2015) and I was really impressed.

The space and facilities are great - equal to or better than some of the private schools I looked at in Fulham. They have specialised teachers for PE, art and music (some of these teachers are shared with the private Thomas's schools) as well as native Spanish language teachers. The IT lab is amazing. They have an on-site kitchen and a (free) pre-school for children from age 3.

In terms of input from the management of the independent group, I am not certain to what extent they are involved, although as I say, they are sharing the independent schools' specialist art, pe and music teachers which is a major boon for the children at the academy.

The headmaster also seems really focused on continuing to improve the school. It was formerly New Kings Primary which had a slightly bad rep and even though the current headmaster had really improved things, he was struggling to attract the type of families that would list, for instance, All Saints or St John's as their top preference. The re-branding is definitely starting to change things in that regard due to the "goodwill" attached to the Thomas's name.

The headmaster seems innovative - he has introduced new initiatives over the years such as a different method of teaching maths called "Maths Mastery" which he said is getting good results.

On the negative side, I did notice as I toured the school that there were a couple of children in each class who were not concentrating/engaged. I didn't view other state schools/academies, so don't have a valid point of comparison, but this was not something I saw when I toured the private schools.

The demographic is quite diverse.

I know a few people with children there and they are very happy.

[user1498902376]

Anyone heard an update re Thomas Academy? I believe their OFSTED report is due soon...

[contessa101163]

I am putting it down as my 5th choice - it is a large building on many floors for a child to navigate around say compared to holy cross which is on on one level....really liked the headmaster, miles chester and impressed with Art and Science lab and the teachers...probably the negative would be more funding needs to be spent on outside areas (some cushioned flooring woud be safer)

[simona28]

Any update on their OFSTED ratings from Sep 2017? I am torn between sending my kids to State school for a few years vs sending them private right from the begining. An Outstanding rating would flip my decision!

I was comparing academic results etc with other state schools like St John's and it seemed like Thomas's had better outcomes?