Ibstock School

[smilesandsun]

Hi
We are sitting the 11+ this year..... right now...
And we are sitting a few schools of which Ibstock is one. Ive heard mixed reviews (second hand) in recent years and am looking for some first hand comments on the school from year 11 to end of A levels

thanks

[EvaBlu]

It’s a beautiful school. Tends to attract a very moneyed crowd, even more privileged than other London day schools.

There is a lot of talk about the school having become much more academic and hard to get into. In fact it is still possible for a pretty non academic child to get in. Last year nobody in my DS’ prep class failed to get in & some of them really thought they would.

[newyearnearlynewme]

We're doing it this year. Not our top choice but live nearby.
A fair few kids go from DCs state primary- they are all from pretty down to earth middle class families- certainly not super moneyed so whilst there are a lot of very rich kids (like a lot of SW London secondaries) there are a lot of more normal families there as well.

[Celeriacacaca]

Google compare secondary schools which will take you to the DfE official comparison site. Search by borough for all Wandsworth secondaries and you will see state and private progress/value added stats. It makes interesting reading, especially ref. Ibstock to see how much students do/don’t make additional progress.

[AnotherNewt]

Ibstock doesn't seem to get talked about as much as other schools in that part of London possibly because it's not easy to reach from most directions using public transport, so it has a narrower footprint IYSWIM.

It's no longer a Froebel school.

Which of the schools you are sitting for does your DC like best? That might be the most important thing (assuming all are good schools)

[SquirmOfEels]

Celeriacacaca

Could you link directly to the page that has the comparison? My googling has taken me only to pages where all the independent schools have 'data unavailable' for progress etc (and I've never seen one that does compare, given that they don't have the same baseline SATS in that sector).

[smilesandsun]

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=212&geographic=la&phase=secondary&for=secondary&basedon=Overall%20performance&show=All%20pupils&datasetFilter=final

[smilesandsun]

that doesn't read too well Celeriacacaca but it is just statistics for one year

[Needmoresleep]

These figures are meaningless. Looks to me as if Ibstock are taking some iGCSEs. Please don't tell me that no pupil at Putney High gets C or better in maths and English!

[smilesandsun]

yes needmoresleep I agree, the figures look incorrect across a number of independent schools that Ive searched up

Celeriacacaca is this something the independent schools must provide data for or is it complied on a best effort approach?

[SquirmOfEels]

Thank you for the link!

Progress (value added scores) aren't provided for any independent schools. And other scores based on exam grades might be skewed if independent schools are using IGCSE.

I don't think DofEd publish actual data on numbers of exam passes any more. Only this collated data which isn't straightforward to compare (unless you happen to know exactly which exams each independent school is using)

[Machu]

My dc has just left Ibstock after A levels and is at a Russell group university now. It is true that it is a marmite school due to the Head, however, many of my dc's teachers are fantastic and the school facilities are amazing. The quality of the Music department outstanding - unusually for a private London school the Head of Music puts as much effort into the pupils who like rock music as classical. Music was important to us as my dc is a singer and was able to sing on choir trips in Paris, New York and at St Mark's basilica and in the many plays and concerts at the school. However, what sold us was the children, they are kind to each other and very supportive. The parents are really not all super moneyed either....not sure where this comes from....my stepchildren are at other London schools where the parents are much richer. The parents are a pretty friendly bunch too and there are many school events where you can meet up. No school is ever perfect and I could do a post about the faults at Ibstock, but I am very glad that we made the choice we did, my DC and their classmates got top grade IGCSEs and A levels and went to the universities of their choice, they also made friends for life. I can't really ask for more than that.

[smilesandsun]

thanks Machu. Thats really helpful. & you are certainly right, no school is perfect!

[nerbek]

This is super useful to know I also heared that less academic kids get left behind is this true?

[Aspraminded]

Hello
Has anyone a child who is currently in Y9, sitting the Ibstock examination to get into Y10 next September?