Only secondary school is bad - what lengths to avoid?

Plenty exist.

OP I think @AeroChambre makes a very good point. People often say of a school "I would never send my DC there" but in fact it may have many positive points and if a DC is keen and hard working they can still do well. As already said, take advantage of any clubs, trips etc.

I am also a bit puzzled @Curlewwoohoo about where all the DC from the excellent primary go for secondary? Also you later said that "many failed the 111+" – does that mean you are in a grammar area? So this is the secondary modern?

Do you mean that a lot of bright DC despite being bright didn't pass the 11+ so will end up improving the year group at the poorer school? Is your DC in this year group? did they fail the 11+ and are about to be allocated the poor sec mod?

If so I suspect some suggestions here are moot (in terms of your issue) as there's not time to move and get into a better school.

What I personally would do – if I lived somewhere with no other options but one school and that was not good, I would visit the school and see what it was like; I would consider moving; I would consider tutoring if that might sort the issues; I would look at any other possible schools.

I agree very much with @AeroChambre. If this is the most likely outcome for your DC, I would take a second look. Schools can acquire particular reputations quickly, and find it hard to lose them when things change. Even headline data can mask the full picture if not well contextualised. Ask about results - is there a tranche of kids, however small, that achieve highly? Your DC can be part of this group. There will be other parents with the same values as you doing the same.
Obviously if you can move or go private then you have other options, but this is not the reality for lots of people.

My DC go/went to a fully comprehensive school that gets very slightly below average GCSE results, which lots of MNers with access to high performing schools might deem not good enough. It certainly has its challenges - extra curricular is pretty much non existent, there are behaviour challenges in classes, some teachers are ineffective. But it's a diverse and welcoming environment, bullying is rare and pastoral care is good. We do buy in extra curricular outside of school but don't tutor. DC1 passed through the school with good friends and good qualifications, and DC2 is likely to do so as well.

We went Private but we were lucky enough to have that as an option. DD also did the 11+ and was offered a Grammar place

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<point already made!>

What sort of kids do you have OP? And do you and/or DH have the luxury of time? If your kids are naturally organised and driven, I’d put them in the school local to you and rinse private tutoring and extra curricular activities if push goes comes to shove. It’s a lot cheaper than moving house or going private.

I went with this option. I do not regret a thing and indeed feel a bit smug sometimes when the parents who wouldn't dream of just trying it are moaning about their ridiculous journeys and tiredness and the stress they go through in yr 10 and 11 when they have sleepovers and they don't know anyone and are miles away.

If other people go there and do well then yours can too. If other parents not dissimilar to you have dc there then they will also feel like you about attendance, behaviour, paying for trips etc.

I would support and encourage your dc to join in, sign up for clubs, put themselves forward for sports/choir/chess/library/school council etc. Say yes to all the trips and workshops and concerts and plays.

You can support and augment any gaps at home and with tutors if needed. Keep going with clubs, sports and hobbies outside school. Your dc.will have more time for extras if they're not travelling miles for different schools.

My dc have had a great time, tops sets, friends like them, done DofE, concerts, plays etc and been independent getting there, always had local friends and also developed skills in resilience and making good choices if exposed to poor behaviour and some staff changes etc.

Interestingly, our RI undersubscribed school is now really popular and Ofsted Good. I always thought it was good!

Have you visited this school?

We looked at plan B options if son didn’t pass 11+. We felt the private school wasn’t worth the money and agreed to send him for a year to the very mediocre non selective and would see how he got on. We decided moving was off the cards.

Theres something like 4000 state secondaries and my son went to a school which featured in a daily mail articled called 'the worst 250 schools in England'

We didnt go to any lengths to avoid it as we couldnt. Things that worked were a solid group of friends from primary, being in higher sets and having a strong hobby outside of school. Things like cricket club, swim club, Cadets, music - not all of them! But his friendship group did one substantive hobby. He also took advantage of anything the school did offer and being really polite, a lot of teachers liked him so helped him.

As it wss the school got better, by the time he left it was national average.

Relax
i apologised

My Dc and their friends all had the option of:
3 local comprehensives accessible on distance (one great, one ok, one terrible)
1 excellent comp if Roman Catholic
AND
1 very sought after comp, admission on lottery, no distance criteria
Selective Aptitude places at that comp for music and for sport
Aptitude places at for Art and Design, and for Languages
Aptitude places for Performing and visual arts
Super selective stream within a comp.

These were all within a bus ride, but none had distance criteria.

A train or tube ride gave options to apply for schools such as Grey Coats aptitude places, a few super selective grammars in an outer borough.

Plus Catholic schools such as CV, Oratory, etc.

So selection of various types added more options, albeit all v competitive.

We rinsed ourselves to go private. With one child it was less expensive than moving to the catchment of the superb state school 4 miles away.

Are you in Wales? My relatives avoided a school with an awful reputation by opting for a Welsh speaking secondary school. They started year 7 with a Welsh immersion course and successfully sat GCSE and A levels through the medium of Welsh.

We had this exact situation, only secondary we were guaranteed a place at is dire, 400 houses have been built between us and the one we wanted, reducing the catchment to less than a mile.
We’ve gone private.

Oh please. You just didn’t know about selectives and are getting stroppy. It’s no biggie but the trying to make some retrospective point about catchment point is crap- all schools have catchments.

fwiw the catchment for the school I posted is massive, and some selectives have no catchment.

The richest person I know attended a failing comprehensive, he did absolutely nothing at school, but found his niche after, and has built up a hugely successful business. I sometimes wonder if education is the be all and end all.

Indeed. Tiny number and very strict criteria with catchment areas it would seem

I’d move or pay for private. I know it’s not that simple but I probably would have considered this some years before the children were secondary school age

moving for secondary catchment is not al all unusual

To be fair, there aren’t that many as far as I’m aware, and those that are often only offer a very limited number of selective places (eg 10%).

My apologies

That’s ok, I mean you could’ve had a quick google 10 posts back and saved all the bother though.

we don’t actually know what area OP is located in so she may well have the same near her

How far is your younger one off from finishing primary?

and Presumably you’d want your younger to also avoid the shit school so would be in their interests to move as well

This is wrong. There are some state schools which aren’t grammars but award a limited number of places based on academic exam or music for example (admittedly they’re not particularly common). Google will give you a list. Poole High School is one example.