Cardinal Wiseman, Greenford vs Drayton Manor, Hanwell

[MurielPuce]

Anyone have any experience with choosing between these two schools? We are Catholic and have the paperwork to prove it for CW, but DD was equally impressed by Drayton Manor. While we know lots of people who went to Drayton Manor, we don’t actually know anyone who went to Wiseman. Is there anyone out there who has & would be willing to share their experience? How churchy is Wiseman? How much extracurricular activities can she get involved in? Is Drayton at all fun? I know it’s a good situation to be stuck between 2 outstanding schools, but we’re too stuck to make a decision. Any advice welcome!

[fyfe65]

Having experience of both schools through work I would say Cardinal Wiseman, it's outstanding ofsted is very recent whereas DMHS is very out of date, they must be due a visit soon. CW is a warm inclusive school whereas DMHS tends to be very cliquey with a high turnover of staff. DMHS isn't awful but if the choice were mine it would be Wiseman

[minesawine]

I have children in CW and my nephews go to DM. CW is amazing, my DC's have done so well. Its not too churchy, but just enough to keep them in line. Not perfect but very supportive. DM has had bullying issues and would not be a choice for me.

[MurielPuce]

Thanks so much, really helpful. I should mention we live across the street from DMHS, whereas CW is an 8-min bus ride, but I’m not sure how much an issue that really is. Still very up in the air though & time is running out!

[AhBut]

They’re very different schools as I’m sure you know, not least the heavy religious influence at CW. Most kids I know love DM, I’ve not come across a bullying issue but different year groups may vary. Sir Singh’s autocracy doesn’t seem to filter down to the students and I’ve always been impressed with the strong teacher-student relationships. They do have some turnover, but I don’t think that’s uncommon in inner city schools and they’re good at attracting bright young staff, even just for 2 or 3 years. DM had at least 2 focused inspections whilst DS was there - G&T and Safeguarding- so it’s not as if it’s not been monitored. DS finished year 11 with 9 x 9s, and performance among his peers was also high, so academically it was great for this group.

[MurielPuce]

Thank you thank you! Still undecided over here... we are tying ourselves in knots!