forest school snaresbrook east london

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My dd has just got into Forest School in east london. I was wondering if there are any parents out there who have any experience of the school. Both negative and positive.
Thanks

anybody!!!

I used to know the school. Bancrofts has had better league table results for the last few years (both at GCSE and A level from memory). In part I think that Forests results are pulled down by the boarders (assuming that some still remain!), and they tended to make more exceptions in terms of entrance requirements for the suitably well connected.

Forest does tend to get significantly more Oxbridge places than Bancrofts. The Head of 6th (MSE) is very well connected in the Oxbridge circles, and puts a lot of effort into matching pupils and colleges (and more specifically tutors!) but must be due to retire at some point. They also do quite well in the London medical schools.

I think that the diamond formation (mixed junior, single sex 11-16 and mixed 6th form) works very well.

The location is a bit of a bind unless you live in South Woodford or in that direction towards Loughton. The bus system is OK for school, but lousy if you are involved in out of school activities (as most are).

The layout of the girls school is rather confusing, and your dd will get lost during the first week!

thanks my daughter did the 7+. she is moving from another independant school whish IMO was just independant in name only. I t was a false economy. Forest had a good feeling .She also appllied for Bancroft but didn't get in. That only starts from 7+ and i was hopin her brother could start the same school as his sister next year 4+. So maybe it was good that she got into forest I must admit in our area the best independant schhool seem to be Bancroft Forest and Chigwell,in that order. PSH what do you mean that they made more exception in terms of entrance requirements. AS far as i know i am not suitably well connected.
Also how did the boarders bring down the results

Girl in my son's primary (state) school went at 11. Didn't do as well as many of her old classmates (male and female) who went to comprehensive which was a surprise considering that she had been one of the brightest kids at the primary.

Entrance test for 4+ seems very daunting especially as the kids are only three when they are being selected. Heard of a few who didn't get in but then went to Forest when the time came (suppose they can't afford to have empty desks)

Roads near school get very congested so travel can be a bit of a pain.

why did you think original school was independent in name only

Thanks astronomer
The other school was independant in name only because

1. it was not Independant schools acredited
2. The majority of its OFSTED comments were 'satisfactory '
3. There was a high turnover of staff and teachers (they were mostly recruited from abroad on a 2yr visa and no checks were done on them.Aslo they would tell me during the parents evening that they did not understand the English system of teaching
4. students joined at anytime of the year and these places did not arise from parents moving out of the area.
5. For a fee paying school i was told that they did not have enough reading books for my DDs year but had to share with another year.

Apart from your freinds child not doing towell academically, how was she socially and confident wise.
To be honest i did read its Independant school report and i was quite pleased with that but just wanted other peoples inside opinion.

Well mannered and reasonably confident but no different from the girls she had been with at primary school.

DS travels on bus with youngsters from Forest (and Bancrofts, Trinity, Woodford Girls) and says there is pushing and shoving from all of them as well as a lot of noise but never anything nasty

Was first school in same general area

No real experience of the 7+, but at 11+ it wasn't uncommon to find that some of the pupils had "failed" the entrance test, but still got offers (certain well connected local families for example as well as weaker siblings). It didn't happen to many but there were probably 3 or 4 each year who got in becuase of who their parents were rather than because they had passed the entrance exam. Most children end up applying for 3 or more private schools, so whilst you hear at 11+ that there are 8 applicants for every place, in reality it is 8 applicants for spaces in 3 or more schools.

Again there were relatively few boarders, and they were rarely in the top streamed forms and there seemed to be a lower entrance threshold required for boarders. If they ended boarders it would probably push their performance up the league tables, but possibly at the expense of art and sport where the boarders were very involved.
It was also a handy perk to be able to opt for boarder's tea if the pupil was rehearsing etc, so the day pupils could get a hot evening meal even if they didn't leave school until 8 or so.
In terms of which is best, Bancroft and Forest have a different feel, mainly due to the former being co-ed. And it depends on what you are looking for ultimately but Forest's Oxbridge results are much stronger.

thanks PSH
No astronomer it wasn't in the same area it was in Redbridge.
to be honest lots of parents are trying to get their kids out of the present school. They do not even seem to want to make their 11+ results open to he parents.
Or could you give me any advise onany other good schools in that area?

If you insist on private then Forest is good, just that I was surprised this girl went there when she had the option of a fantastic state school to go to.

was the state school in the waltham forest area

no, further out

ok