Anyone here with daughters in these state schools (London)? Honest opinions please.

[NobodyIsHere]

• Ricards Lodge High
  
• Burntwood
  
• Lady Margaret
  
• Fulham Cross
  
• St Martin in the Fields
  
• Tiffins
  
• Greycoat
  
  Thanks

[yummymumtobe]

I have heard Ricards isn't great. Tiffin always used to be one of the best state schools in the coubtry

[NobodyIsHere]

Thanks
Just checked Tiffins properly and it will be awkward to get there every day.

[Eastpoint]

I know someone who picked Greycoat over Lady Margaret & is very happy with her choice.

[Elibean]

I know 3 people at Lady Margarets. Two have dds who are/were very happy there, one has a dd who didn't settle, found her year group cliquey, and moved to RPA and is now far happier.

I think so much depends on friendship groups and cohorts, as well as the obvious, but it really is often horses for courses. I'm going round all the ones we can reach/I like the sound of and then taking dd1 to see the ones I like best.

[NobodyIsHere]

Elibean is the girl who didn't settle the youngest? I heard LMS is rapidly changing.
Are going round any of the schools I mentioned?

[Elibean]

I'm not sure, tbh, sorry! Good luck choosing

[Elibean]

Oh - re looking round, no, we're not. Not quite the same area, by the sound of it. The only state option for us, that I'm interested in, is RPA...its our nearest, and I do know many happy parents and children there now, thankfully. But we're also looking at some indies to give dd some sort of choice - the church options aren't open to us, and I'm not keen on West London for dd, so thats about it

[NobodyIsHere]

Interesting. I don't think Dd will have a chance at RPA due to our postcode.

[sickandtiredofitall]

My DD is in year 10 of LMS and is very happy. been no problems at all and is doing very well academically

[One4TheRd]

Teaching at Fulham Cross is very very good! DD had a particularly tough year group and just couldn't settle and be happy. We moved her to RPA where she is much happier socially. All girls schools can be tricky and don't suit everyone.

[NobodyIsHere]

Thanks very much sickandtired it is great to hear this.

Would you mind saying how close or far you are from the school and wether your dd was admitted under foundation place? Sorry if I am asking too personal questions, and you don't ned to answer if you don't want to.

[NobodyIsHere]

Gosh, jut had a look at Fulham Cross website and it is too pink for my liking.

[tess73]

You won't have this "choice" unless you have an unlimited budget to move house. Is that your plan?
Tiffin is for top 2% and even then it is very unpredictable ime.

[NobodyIsHere]

Sorry tess what "choice" are you talking about?? The whole list?

I am new to the whole secondary application system and just trying to start to understand it all.

I was under the impression that the distance between home and school don't have much to do with the admission, guess I am wrong. Or is it an issue with some schools only?
Sometimes I see people here discussing children travelling to school, is it for independent schools only?

I will short list to
*LadyMargaret and Greycoat due to foundation criteria.
*Burntwood and Rickard Lodge due to distance.
*St Martin in the Fields /Tiffins - don't know much about, must research.

I got my list by putting in my postcode at the Good Schools Guide but I don't have subscription so their info is a bit limited.

[tess73]

For state school (free, not independent) you have to be in the catchment, often this is under 1 mile.
For some faith schools the intake is more complex. You can get in from further away but have to meet certain criteria, eg attend x church regularly.
Tiffin is a selective grammar where 2000+ children sit 2 rounds of tests for 150 places . Only the super bright / super tutored get in. They also now have a list of postcodes you have to live in (but it is vast).
So your best bet is contact your local education authority to see which school(s) you are eligible for. The choice is likely to be very limited.
Sorry not trying to be negative but there certainly is not free choice.

[NobodyIsHere]

Thanks tess you helped a lot.

[Celeriacacaca]

We're waiting for outcome next month of DD's application with LMS at top of list and with a realistic chance of getting in. DS, who started secondary in September, has a friend who started at Ricards and was then offered a place at LMS, which she has taken.

Best to go and look around to choose best fit for YOUR child ie don't be swayed too much by opinions of others as you'll find a lot who have opinions, not always based on fact, about everything to do with secondary schooling!

Good luck.

[AintNobodyHereButUsKittens]

I have a friend with a daughter at Greycoat from a few miles away due (I think) to faith criteria, well worth a try if you have been attending a C of E church weekly for many years. They also have a Language Aptitude test, and if you score very highly on that then you will be able to attend from miles away.

[Elibean]

RPA are currently undersubscribed (I think) so postcode may not be a barrier. But travelling times are another matter - close is always good!

[Hessy]

St Martins in Tulse Hill?

[Everhopeful]

DD goes to Grey Coat and commutes some way for it, but we both loved the school and still do since she started in September. They do work the girls hard, are pretty strict in a number of ways, but you can just see the benefit. No school works for everyone though and undoubtedly there will be some who hate the place, we just haven't met them!

Though DD has a friend whose second choice was LMS (they thought it a good school, just liked GCH better), I'm only slightly familiar with Ricards from my childhood. Back then, it was the kind of school you'd pay to stay out of. I did have a brief look at it and the exam results looked pretty bland, so I don't know it's improved that much. Hope that helps!

[LocalEditorMerton]

Hi OP

Would you like to consider copying your thread into the relevant Mumsnet Local sites too? You might get some more insight into the schools that way!

For example, Ricard's Lodge is in Merton. I will post your thread on the Mumsnet Merton Facebook page and see if local Mumsnetters who really do know the school can give you a clearer idea...

Best wishes

[NobodyIsHere]

Thanks you all.

[GoldenBeagle]

St Martins is in the Good Schools Guide?

You know the Good Schools Guide doesn't actually work on the basis of objective evidenced criteria?

Are you a regular church attender? For entry to the faith schools?

[Willemdefoeismine]

Hi

I can only help with advice on a couple of these schools although I have no direct experience myself (DS is secondary school age) but do have friends with DDs currently at some of the schools.

Ricards Lodge is definitely on the 'up' with a much, much more visibly middle-class demographic of girls in recent years. I think if you look at any of thes pan-London maps which show where children at a school come from, you will find the catchment area for RL is shrinking year-on-year to the point where all the girls will be Merton or Wandsworth-based. I think it's very good for girls with a leaning towards drama, art too. I have friends with discerning standards who are happy with how their girls are doing there!

Burntwood seems to have a very good reputation, particularly in the sciences, but in recent years seems to have attracted an increasingly Muslim intake. That isn't of course a problem in itself but it might have an impact on out-of-school friendships etc...I'm sure I read somewhere that this demographic of girls accounts for some 70% of the total!

Tiffin Girls is quite different from the other schools you've mentioned in that it is an extraordinarily over-subscribed super-selective grammar. We have known some very clever boys who've got into the super-selective grammars in Sutton/Wallington BUT have never known anyone get into the Tiffin Schools. It is an extreme long-shot and not an option to be taken lightly.....

Greycoat School - my information is out-of-date as I had a Uni friend who had been there (she was a vicar's daughter). But I have perused the school website (idle curiosity) in the past year or so and got the decided impression that it's highly unlikely that one would get a place unless living on the doorstep or from a very church-attending background. Is it possibly the C&E equivalent of St Philomena's in terms of difficulty of gaining a place?