Good Secondary School in London...I know it`s a cliche...help needed

[mrparent]

Hi

I have a 12 year old daughter who needs to attend a new school as she was withdrawn from her last one due to bullying ,other issues.

I am now desperately searching for a new school for her to attend, she is an intelligent child (one of the bullying issues) and I`m prepared to move anywhere within zone 1-3 in london to help her

I have full parentship of her, ex partners participation/relationship is minimal

Any suggestions of a area where is a decent school....?

so you looking for a new school for a September start?

Have you looked at the OFSTED reports, which will tell you which schools are good, and which are outstanding?

Then you just have to look at them for yourself...well the ones that have places anyway.

Which area are you in now?

Waldegrave School (all girls) in Twickenham, Teddington School (Teddington) but zone 4 and both very good so may be full. Why the restriction on zones? Two schools in Acton - Twyford and a girls only school but can't remember the names. All other schools I know are catholic.

Did you withdraw her because she was bullied? And have you contacted Kidscape? They are very good, and have a lot of experience in finding schools that children can resettle in.

There are lots of schools in London that are good. What sort of school do you think would suit her? Arty? Academic? Industrious? Formal? Liberal? Or are you more interested in a school that is strong on pastoral care? A big school? A small school?

If you really are thinking about moving, then you can afford to think about what it is that would make a school good for your daughter, and that you would be moving to.

There's a Good School Guide that you can buy in shops or subscribe to on-line. You could try looking through that to get an idea of the "flavour" of different schools. And there are a lot of good schools that aren't in that guide.

Hi

thanks for all replies:)
did not know about kidscape
she is an arty type
looking for pastoral care
withdrawn because she was bullied
school pushed all issues awy
look at ofsted reports all the time
I`m in east london leytonstone but want a complete start new area
school is required for september

Prendergast school (Hilly Fields) in Brockley is a good girls' school. Bexley Grammar in Welling is good too but is a grammar school so she would need to sit an age-adjusted 11+.

To be honest, until you are in the local area you will only be able to get a place at a school if there's no waiting list and so proximity doesn't matter i.e. not the over-subscribed ones. It's unlikely that you will be able to secure a place in Y8 ready for September at one of the uber-popular schools as most schools start back on the 1st September.

Other schools I've heard good things about are Dame Alice Owen (Potters Bar really) and Marylebone school but competition for places at those is fierce.

Could I ask which school your daughter was at? We live in Leytonstone.

Isn't Walthamstow Girs supposed to be very good?

Arty ... hmmm.

If you are religious, Greycoats is well known, and have an arty entrance requirement, as do Marylebone School for Girls. So I'm guessing they value arty. As others have said, you'd have to be fairly close. I've heard of girls being offered places from further afield (eg. Hackney) in year 8, but it's a bumpy ride.

The Anglo-European in Ingatestone is liberal, though I really don't know how that works out with art specifically, but it might suit because it does seem to promote an ethos of tolerance and respect. And it seems friendly. I think I know of children in Leytonstone who attend it, so perhaps you've crossed it off your list already?

Art at Graveney (Tooting) seems to be very good, but it's a large school, and I wonder if it's as pastoral as you need. It's well-regarded academically, and OK for a London school, but i do wonder if it's a bit "sink or swim" just because of the size. That said, the music department is amazing, and a little school within a school. So if she's musical, she would be fine.

Acland Burghley, (Camden way) though I know almost nothing about it, seems to be very good at taking children after previous bullying experiences, and glueing them back together.

Fortismere is famous. And liberal. Many, many people consider it to be the (London) school at the end of the rainbow.

Mossbourne (Hackney) is very strict, but wouldn't permit bullying. But there are rumours that the head is maybe going to leave, which might change everything ... . Personally, I'm not sure about it, but many like it.

Pastoral is tricky, because you're often then looking for smaller schools, or church schools. And I know this isn't helpful, but it would really help you if you could visit the schools in question. After all, one person's definition of "good" is another's definition of "hideous". You will have to move closer to some of these schools to be sure of a place, and that's a bit worrying, if you're doing it "sight unseen". Though you don't have to be anywhere near as close as if you were applying for year 7 entry.

Can I really recommend you chat to kidscape? And good luck.

Oh, and you should probably look at the Barnet schools, too. Which are all quite quirky, not least because of their entrance criteria ... .

And if you are c of E, Coopers in Upminster has an outstanding academic and pastoral track record. Though I'm not sure that it's that arty.

Hi animula and others
thanks so much for your help,
it`s been a breadth of fresh air

I am looking at 2 at the moment,
highams park school and Woodbridge High School

as I have heard /read good things about these schools
both would be literally mins away from where I could live
the only worry is that its a catch 22 I have to leave the property we are in/lease has run out / but do not wish to move to an area if no places available...but Im going on the premise of criteria (that she is nearer to a school)
as surely the logic is for her to attend as nearer as possible to where she is staying....
however I cannot seem to get an answer on vacancies from both schools

I think given the catch 22 situation, I think you need to find a school you like that has a definite place, not just a waiting list, accept the place, and move near that school.

Good luck..finding a new school is hard work!

Hi
again thanks for the advice

it is a minefield, spoke to an education authority today
mentioned school (s)
reply: (no places)
Asked if any other reccomendations
reply:yes send her to Hainault Forest High School..
Me:But its ofsted report is damming reply; no its a good school....

Face palm

It probably won't be of any comfort to you but I'd place little faith in an Ofsted judgement; the school I used to teach at received a damning report from Ofsted and yet it was a wonderful place where children were cared for and had excellent relationships with the adults, teaching was imaginative and personalised, children performed amazingly well and against all odds. There are all sorts of reasons why a school doesn't receive a favourable report from Ofsted, personally I wouldn't use one to make a decision about a school for my daughters.

Okay...have decided a plan of action
and maybe at the same time it will jolt some people

se13 mummy

I understand what your saying
but I`m going to use a more (grassroots) approach mixed with ofsted reports and education authorities

What a challenge lol!

Hi animula chatting to kidscape friday

A new website has just come out that shows schools on a map with their ofsted ratings

www.locrating.com

i worked at woodbridge high about 3 years ago. it was terrifying, i thought it was incredibly intimidating both in terms of its size and the number of absolutely awful kids from awful homes there. we are moving away from the area primarily because we wouldn't even consider sending our kids there (especially ds1 who is a sensitive little flower and would get eaten alive there)

Try ringing Woodford County High School (state girls Grammar in Redbridge) to see if they have a place. Unlikely but you never know.

Can you afford Private school? If yes try Bancroft's (fabulous school) or Chigwell school. Both are fairly near you and in nice areas. Chigwell is v near to tube station. Normanhusrt in Chingford is supposed to be caring (it's small though and only goes up to 16)

Even if you can't afford private they do have various scholarships (ask) so you never know.

i would imagine woodford county high has a waiting list as long as your arm, and obviously you'd also have to pass the 11+ (i went there a hundred years ago, it's not a bad school, bit smaller than the state comps so might be a better bet)

Animula Just wondering what Barnet's quirky entrance criteria's are!

I think, as the OP is desperate and the child is not going into year 7, it might be worth enquiring about WCHS. I went there too many years ago!

ah, pippop1, gaudeamus igitur, iuvenes dum sumus BIS!

Have a look at Walthamstow Academy

Sorry to go off course but....

Oh LadySanders, I never did know what that meant but I can still sing it. I did once to my son (he's just passed Latin A level) and he was extremely unimpressed with my Latin accent.

To the OP, I put sorting out your child's secondary school down as one of the most stressful times of my life.

Good Luck.

Locrating.com? Are you serious? Their map (using my N4 postcode) reveals that Islington Arts and Media has the same rating (2) as Fortismere. What possible use is this information? Fortismere has a catchment the size of a postage stamp and parents rent flats for a year to get kids in; IAMS doesn't (understatement). Try checking the % number of students who sat and/or passed a modern foreign language at GCSE, you'll get a far better idea.

Hi Mums,

My son goes to Chesnut grove shcool in sw12 area which i am not happy with. He didn't get to Gravaney which he was hoping to go. He is now Y9 and I still wanted him to go any advise how to get Gravaney?

Thanks a lot