Mary Mags or Central Foundation for secondary school after missing grammar entry

5 replies

Ana19755 · 29/09/2026 14:56

Unfortunately, despite doing well in his mock exams, my son became very nervous during the grammar school entrance exam and didn't pass. I'm now losing hope of getting him into a private school, so I'm considering two options: Mary Mags and Central Foundation. I have more chances of being accepted at Central Foundation
Is Mary Mags really a good school, both academically and in terms of its pupil demographics? How does it compare with Central Foundation? I'd really appreciate hearing from parents with first-hand experience of either school.

OP posts:

SalsiHT · 01/10/2026 13:02

I would not be very hopeful of a place if you are at all far from the catchment of the last few years as it is only becoming more popular. Unless you have any priority

For many of the core subjects the majority of the children get Grade 7+, you have probably seen this on the website. It is a comprehensive school, so there are many children who work very hard just to get a lower pass, and so you will never see everyone getting As in any of the subjects that the children who find learning most difficult take (like Maths, English, Spanish). The children are put in sets for some core subjects from the start of Y7.

I don't know about demographics. We had priority coming from a local CoE primary school, and the other Islington CoE schools do too. I don't know whether that means there are more Christian families than average, there are children there of all religions and none. There are a group of kids each year who get in via the test, they are probably from very school-focused families. In every year there are also a number of kids who are siblings of the test-kids. That probably doubles the number of those type of families in each year. Apart from these quirks, it is a local, comprehensive school and there are families of all types. The school is open until 7pm, so children can do homework there and hopefully it means children who do not have a good working environment at home will have somewhere supportive to work.

whoopsnomore · 01/10/2026 20:40

What do you mean by "pupil demographics"? Do you mean socio-economic groups, or are you (obliquely?) asking about ethnicity?

Original poster

Ana19755 · 14/10/2026 12:53

whoopsnomore · 01/10/2026 20:40

What do you mean by "pupil demographics"? Do you mean socio-economic groups, or are you (obliquely?) asking about ethnicity?

Thanks. I’m not sure whether the right term is “socio-economic background”, but one of my main concerns is whether my child will really flourish in a state-school environment.
He is very talented and academically capable, and I worry that in a school where there are more behavioural or disruptive issues, he might not be able to reach his full potential. I’ve heard mixed things about Central Foundation, particularly about classroom disruption and the different backgrounds of pupils, so I’m trying to understand what the actual environment is like.
Ethnicity isn’t really a concern for me. I just wouldn’t want a school where one particular ethnic group is overwhelmingly dominant.
We have only one child, so naturally we want to give him the best opportunities we can. Initially, I was considering private schools, but now I’m less confident that he would get a place, and financially, the cost is starting to seem quite unrealistic. So I’m trying to find the right balance between giving him a good academic environment and being sensible financially.

OP posts:

SalsiHT · 14/10/2026 13:35

I would highly recommend going for tours if possible, I found these very helpful for feeling the school 'vibe'. On tour SMMA felt calm to me, more so than other places. Our experience has been that class disruption is not a real issue. But that is just our experience.

As the school is quite new, the building is not loud and clattering. There are usually waiting lists for all years so new arrivals are usually very committed. The headteacher told us that it was a deliberate choice to focus on kindness in the school ethos/motto. There are no phones at the school - they are put in pouches before start of day. Maybe these things help (but they might be true at the other school too!).

velomumhackney · 16/10/2026 23:02

my son is at cfsb and we are delighted by how the first half term has gone. he went knowing no other kids but has made some good connections. the co curriculars are great. for a sporty kid is like a candy store.
the science teacher has made a strong and inspiring impression as has the history and classics teacher. it is streamed. which is beneficial for us. the tone of the school communications is good, and the discipline approach is not unduly strict which is good (our local schools have zero tolerance zero adjustment and give detentions if you drop a pen)

Flip