Secondary schools North London

Do you know anyone in Barnet? Wondering if you could accompany a friend of a friend on open evenings this Autumn?
Ashmole catchment about 0.7mile, Compton 0.6mile. FBS improving & has the advantage of being small. Wouldn't even consider TTA. If you're thinking High Barnet/east barnet, then Southgate school would be within catchment & is excellent.
5 years is a long time though - they're thinking if building another school by EBS I believe. And wren are creating a primary - if you wanted a church school, that might be a good way in...

Thanks. I also hear good things about the Archer, Wren and Compton. I know the Archer have changed their admissions requirements to nominated feeder primaries and so N3 unlikely to get in. Wren look good but its a faith school whereas the Compton is a community comprehensive and gets very good results.

Since my last message Ive found out Compton have held information evenings at Manorside N3 and there will be more at St Marys and Dollis Junior and their website says they're looking for sites for a second school in N3/NW7. So should improve choice of secondaries in Finchley and Mill Hill but website says not opening till Sept 2018

Don't go near Finchley Catholic School if you have a boy and are (or are not) Catholic. It's not a 21st century school and it's very poorly led. I always hear good things about Archer, Compton and The Wren.

I know the Compton head presented to parents at Frith Manor so maybe they are thinking of N12 NW7 as there is sure to be increasing demand due to the ever expanding Millbrook housing development.

Never heard of that, and I'm pretty up to speed on Barnet schools!

There are some huge black spots in the Borough. Totteridge, Woodside Park and Mill Hill are very badly served. Around Frith Manor would be a great location, but that's wishful thinking.

Has anyone heard about another Compton School ? Supposed to be opening a Free School in Barnet but difficult to find out where.
However if it's locate din N3 then I assume it will free up more places for the existing Compton which is always over subscribed and has a tiny catchment area
Any more information much appreciated

Isn't all this postcode lottery of schooling, in this country, just the biggest crock of shite?
I tell various friends abroad about the lengths we parents have to go to, to find a decent school for our kids and they can't believe I am telling the truth

Agree on the black hole that is Woodside Park and Totteridge, but a lot of High Barnet can get QE Girls and East Barnet. No wonder the private schools do a roaring trade there.

I can recommend the Wren- it's C of E but takes all religions. My son is in yr 8 and I feel it to be a safe, nurturing school despite being fairly strict. They have changed their admissions criteria this year so more community places available. So look at their catchment area around N12- also Finchley Catholic for boys but obviously have to be Catholic.
Friern Barnet has a rough reputation - Compton also but tarted itself up recently and gets good results.
Archer is also great but again you need to live very near and East Finchley is pricey.
East Barnet is much cheaper than anywhere with a N postcode and you should be in catchment for East Barnet School (reputable in science/maths ) and Jcoss ( I think its whole/mainly Jewish)
Avoid High Barnet and Woodside Park unless you want to go private as you are in a black hole of good secondary's and will end up in the Totteridge Academy.....

Not sure they were boasting in this case but yes, I take your point that it was taking into account every application, including those who didn't put Archer down as their first choice.

Yes but that's all applications to Archer Academy and in Barnet you can put down up to six schools. That could be 800 children who have put it 6th, have scored high enough for QEB, are moving abroad, planning to go private etc etc.

I know you know this already, but it just really annoys me when new schools (I'm looking at you West London Free School) boast about being massively oversubscribed, 7 pupils per space blah blah blah, when it's a bit disingenuous to say the least as well as creating unnecessary anxiety.

You're right bright - I wrote the above post before I had found out about the latest admissions consultation, the Archer is proposing a change in its admission policy to try and continue offering at least some places to a few children in furthest away primaries in their priority postcodes (who currently would struggle to have any chance of entry, under today's admissions, because of the whopping oversubscription occurring).
800 children applied for 150 places last year....yikes.

Have a read here:
thearcheracademy.org.uk/admissions-consultation-your-questions-answered

I don't think the admissions info regarding the Archer Academy, above, is correct. The AA is currently changing its admissions criteria to a feeder school system. One of the feeder schools is in NW11. Potentially, this could mean families will come from a wide areas. After admissions priority children, siblings & feeder school children, as it's such a small school there will be v few places available for 'catchment' children.

Re: Archer Academy - they have only every taken children from the three priority postcodes from which the founding parents of the school came - namely, N2, N3 and NW11.

This last year's admissions saw some applicants just inside some of these postcodes, disappointed, and this just outside also.

Due to the increasing popularity of schools like these, it is likely that N2 will remain the main postcode feeding into the school, as well as the bit closest to the school in NW11, whereas N3, which has comparatively a very small bit of its area close enough to the school, may be gradually left out altogether.

thearcheracademy.org.uk/Admissions/2015-admissions-data

Never heard of it sorry ... and I live in the area!

Any one has any information regarding North London Grammar school (formerly Wisdom school) or Mill Hill International School (formerly the Mount School)? MHIS seems terribly expensive. Is it good? Any real chance of transferring later from MHIS to Mill Hill school? Thanks!

Did you get my PM op?

If you go a little more west, you could think about St Albans, which has a host of secondaries. All of them bar one are decent to outstanding.

JCoSS: great school, caters for all abilities (and I really emphasize that, from the super bright to the late developers). Great pastoral care, great school cohesion and spirit.

Loads of opportunities too for arts, performing arts, sports...

A lovely school.

PM me if you want to know more!

Mill hill county is part selective and I think the competition is tough. Their catchment is tiny though, I think it's less than a mile. My brother lives just over a mile away and didn't get in

JCoSS: you will need to be Jewish or else living very close by. If you are in the catchment for JcoSS you will probably also make the catchment for East Barnet school but you will be miles away from MHCS, which has entry intakes for music, dance and exam as well as siblings and local families.

EN5 (parts of it - check the school websites) fall into the allocated catchment net for Latymer and DAO, plus there are no catchment boundaries at all for HBS, St. M's or QEB. That's the selective route.

If you are heading for Compton/Archer/Wren Academy then you will need to be in N12 which is North Finchley or N2 for Archer. Wren is opening a primary school this Sept and all junior school children will get automatic entry at Y7. Its catchment is miniscule - most wannabe parents 'find God' and get in via the Foundation route.

FB is considered rough and has no 6th form, but students get 1st preference for Woodhouse College which is highly regarded.

PM me if you want further info - I have loads

JCOSS has 3 feeder schools one is in Essex, one in Shenley, Herts and one in Finchley. By the time siblings & feeder allocations are done there are literally a handful of places left. In response to parents with children in other schools, JCOSS has agreed to lower the numbers of feeder places. However, the lower number is always plus siblings. It is going to take several years before the intake of Jcoss becomes more of a mix & not just the children and siblings of its 3 feeder schools. However, the school does reserve 18 places for those children living nearest to the school (mainly East & new Barnet).