can anyone tell me the top secondary state schools in north London?

[cheapandchic]

I keep hearing that secondary schools in my area are not good and we may have to go private.

Are there any great schools that my daughters might excel at? Do you have to live very close to them as is the case with the primary schools?
Any C of E secondary schools someone can recommend?

Can you be more specific re your area of North London?

Have you tried googling league tables for your area- they will come up.

Henrietta Barnett and Latymer.

And Dame Alice Owen.

and qe boys and catholic st michaels(girls) - these schools are all selective.
Non selective are ashmole and southgate school

How do you get into these schools? Do you have to live close to them? Do you have to pass exams and interviews?

where exactly is your area?

All I named selective. Exams but no interviews - DAO and Latymer have catchments.

we are not really settled. may move again soon. but highgate for now.

so does your child have to be exceptionally bright to go to these good secondary schools?? do you tutor for these exams as people do to get into private schools?

Yes and yes.

Highgate you may get fortismere which is an excellent non selective comprehensive otherwise you would try for Henrietta Barnett or QE boys which are much harder to get into than any of the private schools and in answer to your question, yes, yes and yes again to children being tutored. They have about 1400 applicants sitting the exam for 120 /180 places so it is incredibly competitive.

Also define 'top'. Many of the ones mentioned are top of the league tables as you'd expect given their intake. They might not be top at pastoral care, art, drama, adding value or whatever (they might well be too, I've no idea). I certainly wouldn't move to be near one of these selectives as a) many of them don't have catchments and b) it's such a lottery as to whether your child will get in.
I hear good things about Highgate Woods. But it's not 'top' of any league table nor would you expect it to be.

Agree with polly as well.

Also bear in mind that these schools do not suit all children, irrespective of how clever they are.

If you want to be absolutely certain your child will get into a good secondary, you will need to find a good comprehensive and move right next to it, preferably within .5 to .75 miles of your choice. (Catchments expand and contract, but 0.5 will usually do the trick and I'm allowing for the passing of a few years before your DDs apply - exceptions for the insanely sought after like Fortismere). Some good comps have catchments of about 1 mile; you can get this info from council websites. Also be aware that while most award based on distance as a straight line, some have more complex systems.

You can still apply for the selective schools, but don't bother moving right next door, as they do not award on distance. If you want to go for the selectives, have a teacher you trust give you a realistic assessment of your child's chances and then plan on some tutoring, maybe a lot of it.

To find a good comp, first look at Ofsted and league tables to narrow it down - in particular look at % acheiving Eng Bacc - then visit, visit, visit. Because a good school is not all about GCSE results, of course.

Try to find a comp that has had consistently good reviews over a number of years. Many tend to rise and fall with a particular headteacher, who obviously might leave. You'll hear parents say things like, oh we're going for school XX and wouldn't even have considered it 3 years ago, but now it's great. I'd want to know WHY it's suddenly great and whether the improvement looks sustainable. If you visit and get a great feeling, that's a really good sign.

Also be aware that many secondaries have either just become academies or will do in the near future. How this will affect them is anyone's guess.

It's a fucking headache, frankly, and all the best of luck to you.

London is impossible! waiting lists for nursery, catchment areas, competition...the whole schooling process is stressful from day one!

Mill Hill County, small catchment area.

If you want to get into DAO on catchment criteria you will have to buy the house directly outside the school gates. It changes hands every year or so, for a very large amount of money. Living a little further along the road the school is in will not work.

I have heard very good things about Fortismere.

Southgate is supposed to be very good, particularly for Art.

QE girls is supposed to be ok.

All the catchment areas are shrinking very fast as more and more blocks of flats are built in the gardens of family homes that have been bought and demolished by profiteering builders.

Finding a secondary school in London is an incredibly stressful experience.

Fortismere in Muswell Hill! You may not be within the catchment area (about 1/2 mile) in Highgate but you wouldn't have to move far. Fortismere is supposed to be good academically and have a good social life too among pupils - and it specialises in music.

You probably won't get into Fortismere at a full 0.5 miles away. But have a look at Alexandra Park school. Also good, and a less insane catchment.

It makes my head hurt, it really does.

You could move to Chorleywood and you would be in certain catchment for Clement Danes School. Chorleywood is still on the tube. Or you could move to Harpenden. It has three senior schools, St George's, Roundwood Park and Sir John Lawes, all three of them are excellent (far far better than Fortismere). Harpenden to St Pancras takes 26 mins.

maple - I regularly meet my best friend at the National Theatre. She lives in Holland Park and I live in Harpenden. My journey is shorter time-wise than hers. It always makes me laugh when people say they don't want to leave London because they would miss the theatres and stuff.