St John's Senior Private School (Enfield)

Sorry, will reply individually in a bit, but here's a short pros and cons list about St John's (my personal opinion):

What I found great:

The grounds are gorgeous. Acres and acres of beautiful parkland, fields and ponds. They used to even have horses there in the past, but don't have them anymore. I found it quite therapeutic spending time there and you really see what you're paying for.

The kids are very nice. All the ones I have met have been lovely, polite and the parents (those I have met) were also very nice and normal. The majority of kids are quite studious.

All homework always gets marked and there are constant tests and assessments to ensure kids don't fall behind. The teachers have high standards and are very strict on bad behaviour.

GCSE results are great especially considering it's not extremely selective.

Price/sports - it's the cheapest of of the London independent secondaries as far as I know because they get subsidised by Arsenal football club I believe (although I'm not 100% sure on this). There are a number of footballer's kids there and many kids play in the Arsenal academy. They are the U12 National champions. Although they also do a lot of athletics, so it might actually suit an athletics kid. There is even a bit of horse riding at Trent Park.

The family that owns the school clearly care about it a lot and invest a lot of money in its facilities. The sports hall and changing rooms for example are brand new and clean. They are building new classrooms and a new library and the sixth form building is beautiful with a pool and fitness studio. All grounds and facilities are very well-maintained.

The bus service is amazing. It's door-to-door and the driver even agreed to drop my daughter off at her out-of-school activity in the afternoon (although it was close to the school). It's really convenient.

They do great trips abroad and even did an amazing ski trip during the more uncertain times when most other schools cancelled theirs.

It's small and quite intimate and the Head gets to know all the kids.

i also go into Enfield schools (and some Barnet) as part of my job. Both Wrens overly strict, no pastoral care unless a very high achiever that they will want to hold onto. Ark John Keats overly strict, pastoral care ok. Pastoral care at Edmonton county very good. Don’t know much about the independents, my friends daughter went to mount house enjoyed her time there

@AlmondMilkTea Their website reminded me so much of Sussex house prep and Trevor Roberts before they updated it. Both very exclusive. Maybe that's the vibe they're going for lol.

@AlmondMilkTea The family got an inheritance, moved west of the borough and into private. I'm sure if their budgets were the same as pre inheritance they would've stayed put. I was just amazed that they got the kid up to a 7+ standard for the N London Indies.
@Soma not a taster day, but she did go in to sit tests and we got offers. Queenswood seems the most apprehensive about taking her on and we are still waiting to see if she will be offered a space. She is a scrape a 4 student with lots of support, not a 6 or 7, if you get what I mean. DD started GCSEs in year 9 so we've not even looked at schools that have different exam boards/subjects. These 3 were kind of matching at a push.

@Meadowbreeze have you seen Queenswood's SEN dept? They have their own dedicated building. Has your DD done a taster day at any of the schools? Also, have you considered St Margaret's Bushey?

@Soma No, day. Things have broken down at our state school so we are moving. DD has pretty bad dyslexia so we are worried. We need to make a decision asap as it's so late in the year already. I'm worried queenswood will be too academic but it's our favourite option. DD has a friend at MH so it's the obvious choice but the stories she's been hearing about drugs and mental health issues have scared me off a bit.

@Meadowbreeze Are you looking for boarding? Without a doubt, Queenswood or Mill Hill. Although I think Queenswood has the edge.

@AlmondMilkTea I get what you mean by the catchment for Ark. I'm not sure how far you are from it but I know a very happy child who went to the primary part and than was very successful at 7+ without tutoring. I was really impressed. It seems to get incredible grades out of not very good starting points.

@XelaM if you don't mind me asking, what year did your daughter leave St Johns? Did she leave because of the things you mentioned?
We are currently in the middle of a very last minute Y10 wobble and have offers from Mill Hill, St Johns and poss Queenswood but still need to visit them again.

Kingsmead by no means the worst. I know someone whose son goes there and he's lovely and did really well in his GCSEs. However, I can't give a definitive reason but don't think I'd send my kids there.

My daughter is not particularly studious and found the kids too "goody-goody" and not particularly "cool" (which was definitely a plus in my books) and she said the football boys got special treatment. The teachers were very strict and traditional so she used to get into trouble a lot. She also hated the uniform because it was frumpy and you had to wear an uncomfortable bow around your neck in the winter. But for kids to whom these are not important considerations- it's a good school.

My only concern was that I thought they were quite strict on GCSE options and didn't have a particularly wide choice.

The bus service was amazing though! I still miss it. It used to take my daughter from home (even though we lived quite out of the way of the bus route) and then drop her off to wherever we asked them to. Really convenient.

Ah just saw this! My daughter was at St John's but now left. I must say I really liked the school but she didn't (she didn't like the strict teachers, not the kids). It's very traditional and great for anyone who is very studious and/or into football. It's cheap for what you get - huge beautiful grounds, door-to-door bus service, great trips abroad, German language (which I really liked as I grew up in Germany). It's a bit of a marmite school. Many parents love it but also I know a number of families who have left and changed to Mount House. It's definitely a football school, so if your kid is into football they will be in high regard and get many opportunities because of the Arsenal connection. I'm on my way out but can definitely tell you all about it later.

@AlmondMilkTea can't comment on quality of teaching unfortunately as I visit in a non-educational. Children seem happy at both. I do know quite a few people whose children attend Wren and they have all commented on how authoritarian it is. Also lots and lots of homework.

Not sure what part of Enfield you are in, but have you considered Ark John Keats Academy? Wrong side of the tracks in some people's opinion but good school and lovely children.
Also St Ignatius. Faith school. Results this year have been very good. Head Teacher is brilliant.
Don't be put off by where the school is. Do lots of research and visit the schools. Don't get me wrong there are some schools in Enfield I wouldn't send my kids to. Lea Valley, Edmonton County being two but some would surprise you.

My niece is in Year 9 at Wren Enfield. It's has just had its first Ofsted a couple of weeks ago so keep an eye out for the report being published.
It's extremely strict which I know some people like - but others (incl my sister) feel it is too authoritarian for generally well-behaved young people. My niece suffers from anxiety and the pastoral care has been quite unsympathetic.