Help - Boston Spa / Wetherby schools

[Doingmybest4u]

Hi there - I’m about to move to Boston Spa with my 3 year old and 1 year old. I’ve started to read about the primary schools (faith and none faith - Primrose Lane, St Mary’s, Lady Elizabeth’s, St Edwards etc) and Boston Spa Academy as the secondary. It seems like a nice well-to-do area but the schools appear very variable. I’m worried now that most kids go to private school there (which we can afford) and therefore the local schools have suffered. I’ve just read some awful reports about bullying at the academy and wonder if there are any local mums around to give me some insider info....

Sorry - we can’t afford not can afford private school...

Anyone??

Boston Spa academy is awful, and yes has considerable bullying problems, Wetherby High also dire.
If you can’t afford private try to get them into Tadcaster Grammar ( not a grammar) or take up / continue with religion and get them into St Aidens / St John Fishers in Harrogate, or don’t move.

We are also moving into the area shortly and will be sending to Boston Spa Academy. The results are very good but will need good pastoral care for my daughter.

And will need a Primary too.

If you haven’t moved yet. I probably would try and ask around personally in that area to try and find out.

Wetherby is much better now than it was and is very good for pastoral support and is quite a small school.
Dont know anything about Boston Spa but agree that a lot of Wetherby children go to the Harrogate religious schools. Maybe more will stick local now with Rossett (comp) in Harrogate getting a dreadful Ofsted recently?

Thanks so much for your replies. Really concerning re secondary schools (we won’t need them for another few years but I’ve heard BS has had issues since 2013 at least). Really tough for what (on paper) should be a great area with solid schools. The best primaries are all religious which isn’t ideal as we don’t fit into that pot easily either.

Loshad what specifically is it about BS that’s the problem?

Primaries are all brilliant in the area with lots of options. For secondary I think Tad Grammar is miles ahead of Boston Academy, although Boston is "under new management" as of the last few years and apparently on the up, so may be a better option by the time yours are secondary age. Schools can change lots in 7 years, so I wouldn't worry about secondary too much yet, particularly if you can afford private (preferred private schools of families i know are Gateways and TGSAL, both easily reached from Boston)

Thanks imabusybee that’s reassuring. We can’t afford private unfortunately. We’re looking at Primrose Lane primary as the non/faith option - unfortunately got a required improvement rating in Jan (having previously been outstanding).

@Doingmybest4u

Thanks imabusybee that’s reassuring. We can’t afford private unfortunately. We’re looking at Primrose Lane primary as the non/faith option - unfortunately got a required improvement rating in Jan (having previously been outstanding).

I didnt know that about Primrose Lane! Its still very highly regarded in the area, my friend who is a primary teacher (& has v high standards!) is sending her little girl there next year, so I'd assumed it was still outstanding.

Sorry I misread your post re: private. Even just considering state secondaries though you have got options, depending on how things play out between now and your children reaching secondary age. I'm not sure where you live currently but by North & East Leeds standards, the secondaries available to Wetherby/Boston residents are good.

That’s so helpful thank you - great to hear re Primrose Lane. We too have high standards so that is really good to hear re your friend. Reading between the Ofsted lines, I think they had some staffing issues and a really bad day. Another day might have been different. We’ve been comparing the secondaries to others in Yorkshire (we’re southerners) on the gov website and they seem fine. But there are some worrying MN and other social media reports that freaked me out.

BS is lovely but Tadcaster Grammar is the best school in that area.
We considered living in BS but decided that the schools were too bad.
I suspect you don't really want to hear that but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw the post title.

@lakesidewinter tough to hear but would much rather hear it now than in 3 months. What made you think they were bad (was it the academy or primaries)?

@Loshad thank you for putting that down (sorry for the need to name change). Sounds like there are significant issues - I will take all that into account and investigate my options.

Hi,
reading this thread with interest as we are moving to the area with our year 5 twins so will need to apply for secondary places later this year.
I had heard that Tadcaster was the better option and that Boston Spa has had terrible issues with bullying in the past but is very much improved since becoming an academy.
The message from Loshad has been deleted but I’d be really interested to know what it said and if the issues they had were recent or not, if anyone who saw the message is willing to give any insight? Thanks.

Hi there - the gist was that the academy is still not good, with high turnover and a bullying problem which is exacerbated by the site layout. Lots of other issues relating to performance which I won’t specify second hand. Also the school is undersubscribed.
All that said, I know a professional mum who has sent her kids (15/13) there and is really happy with it. I have also heard more positive reports on it - but again, all second hand (aside from the mum who I know).

@Adifferentstory2 Thank you so much for your reply, it’s really helpful.
I know we ultimately need to visit the schools in September and decide which feels like the best fit for them, it just seems like such a huge decision so I’d like to be armed with as much information as possible. Thanks again.

Is living in Harrogate an option, maybe in a few years in readiness to be in catchment for the Harrogate secondaries?

Hi, thanks for your reply. Our twins are currently in year 5 so we will have to apply for secondary school places this year. We are moving to care for an elderly relative so not an option to be any further out, really appreciate the thought though, thanks!

My next door neighbours kid went to Boston Spar Academy. He graduated but only lasted a few months at Uni until he was thrown out for bullying a gay lad. His homophobia is so engrained into his mindset from leaving this school hes basically unemployable. This wasn't dealt with by any members of staff throughout his whole school career. Although he has the intelligence to get into Uni, his morality is so warped they can only consider his future in manual labour or possibly the Army.