Taking tube to secondary school

Welcome to PM me but not going to post on here

@applepieicecream you’ve really piqued my interest... What’s the school? I’ve never heard of one coming anywhere close to that.

@applepieicecream can’t possibly be 9-5 including English and Maths if it’s a comp.

@JoJoSM2 it is indeed 85% including English and maths and it is a comp. Actually it’s over 90% without English and maths.

@applepieicecream can’t possibly be 9-5 including English and Maths if it’s a comp.

School buses are not the norm for schools in central London. Have you tried doing the journey together and letting him decide? Schools often buddy up kids coming from the same area so that they can travel together, which is also a help, especially in the beginning.

OP we didn't go private. We were lucky enough to get a great secondary, one of the ones people travel over an hour to get to. And luckily for us it's right on our doorstep.

So the decision was made for us.

We did look at CLSB (I know this isn't the school you're on about) but I didn't like it, and one of the reasons I didn't like it was I didn't want DS on the tube for an hour or so each day.

What are the schools in question?
There'll be people on here who would be able to give very specific advice.

PS I know the school you’re looking at isn’t City!!!

For me 48% is too low I’m afraid. If the private school is significantly higher then it’s worth the journey. My kids state school is 85%, we turned down City because in that situation it wasn’t worth the journey. In your situation and if you can afford it then the private school probably is worth it as you have a choice.

48% is still above the national average of 43.3%. OP, I think you mentioned 40% of pupils on free school meals? For such a deprived intake it sounds really good to get above average attainment. But do check their progress scores as that’s a very useful measure.

48% a bit low, agree, On the compare website which others mention above you can break down the data by prior level of achievement (just discovered this, sorry if you already knew). If you see prior high strainers with negative progress 8 scores, that’s when i’d worry a bit.

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk

Type in name of school ( you can compare a few)

Results by characteristic

Prior attainment (to use this I guess you’d have to know, or take a good guess, as to if you’re child will be a low, middle or high attainer).

We live in Zone 6, my older DC attend our local Catholic secondary. Their commute is 45 minutes to an hour by bus.

Both had a tricky first week including getting on the bus in the wrong direction coming home (or not, as it happens), but they soon learn.

Even in outer London there can be transport issues. One day DS rang me to say the high street was shut due to an accident and he didn’t know how else to get home. Fortunately each has money kept on their Zip cards, told him to catch the train then where to pick up the bus for the remainder of the journey.

With those choices I would opt for a Private and the commute. If you think he may lack motivation, much harder to hide that in a smaller class,

Can you delve deeper into the state school statistics and look for the low, middle and high attainer grades/stats?

It's not City Boys - OP's made that clear. I can guess which school it is and I don't think it's worth paying for or travelling to. A reasonable state is a much better option as you'll get a much better range of kids academically speaking - there will be some super clever ones which you won't get the private (if it's the school I'm thinking of).

My kids go to pretty sought-after London day schools (similar to City) with an easier journey than that and I'm still not convinced it's worth it in comparison to our local state (rougher, worse results than yours).

I think it depends on which state school you’re trying to avoid and which private school is the only option.

Maybe start a thread about both and see if some more info helps?

Avala, where I live (Dulwich), the school that everyone wants to get into has 69% of kids achieving grades 5-8. For a state school that doesn’t recruit on ability, these are great result which couldn’t be achieved if pupils didn't behave in class. I can’t comment on pupil safety as I don’t know your school.

If you’re looking st City then all the kids take the tube and train. He will find some other local kids to travel with, it’s not a problem

maybe get an au pair/nanny to look after him in the morning and on the way back

This is a terrible idea and will make him a figure of fun. Bar the first week or so, no children without additional needs will be travelling to school with an adult unless a parent happens to be travelling in the same direction for work.

OP having RTFT I would go private. He'll get used to it. Lots of DC at my DC's secondary travel for an hour or more to get there and they are all fine about it.

I did this. I travelled from zone A to zone 2 for the whole of my private secondary education. It was fine. I knew no different.

The school organised each form by geography so people could live as close to each other as possible (though no one lives near me)! I know it sounds wanky to say it but my school was (is still!) one of the best in the country so the commute was worth it for the opportunities and development it gave me. If the school is the right one for your child then I say, 'go for it!'