Please tell me about Oxford state secondaries

[arminius]

Posting here for traffic. Moving into the catchment for Cherwell would bankrupt us. Is Cheney really as bad as some of my friends (whose kids are now 18+) say? I hear Matthew Arnold has gone downhill - is that true? Just need some opinions with kids in or very recently out of the system. Thanks

Look at Marston - some of it is Cherwell catchment and a lovely location although not a trendy district. There is also Swan school in Marston which is achieving good results but is very strict in a way that suits some kids and isn’t right for others.

Does it need to be Oxford city?

Some fantastic secondary schools in the small towns surrounding Oxford, and just 20 or 30 mins bus ride into Oxford.

Yes, it needs to be Oxford city. The Swan is a massive no from me. My Oxford friends have warned me off Cheney but I’d like to hear from people who’ve had kids at the school recently. I like the vibe of its website at least - plus it offers rowing and Latin … seems like a very broad school

Cheney is a more diverse school than Cherwell as about 1/3 of its pupils are EAL. But that doesn't really matter as by secondary school they all speak good English. I used to live in East Oxford!

Cherwell is a "posher" area. I mean, they have a Farrow and Ball high street shop nearby... 😂

A friend of mine taught at Cheney and liked teaching there. I think due to being a more deprived area, the average results are lower than Cherwell, but that's purely down to the pupils that attend the school.

You have have a look at online data to show how much progress pupils in each category make at each school:

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137970/the-cherwell-school/secondary/results-by-pupil-characteristics

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/139146/cheney-school/secondary/results-by-pupil-characteristics

Data is just numbers though. It's always best to look round a school to get a feel for it, although not possible in the summer holidays!!

To get into Cherwell you'd have to move pretty darn close to the school.

There's also a fab school in Eynsham, so if you lived at the outskirt of Oxford near the Woodstock Road, the S1 bus is only 20 minutes to this school. It is also VERY over subscribed though.

I don't have a child at Cheney but have friends who do, and on the whole the impression I get is that while there are issues in the school, most of the parents I know are overall happy and feel the school is well run and does its best by the kids and has some real strengths. Happy to chat more over DM if you want.

Wheatley Park is also well regarded, and you could be very close to or even on the edge of Oxford city and perhaps get in there?

Our children were at Cheney from years 7-13 finishing two years ago. They were extremely happy and received excellent support throughout. All went onto top universities and two have graduated and went immediately into jobs. I didn’t pick up on the negativity you imply whilst a parent using this school….

Thanks everyone - good to hear some positive things about Cheney. I will go and have a look in September.