Do you think I should change my daugthers school?

[purplepinkflower]

Hi there,

My daughter is in Blackheath High GDST school she loves her school and doesn’t prefer to move. She is there since nursery and she has lovely group of friends. We never had any problem with the school. She is extremely happy there. However I was thinking to apply Eltham College next year and I am sure she will have a place because she is super academic child which loves every single subjects. She is above avarage in all subjects and one of the best in her year group at the moment. She is naturally bright and self-motivated. At the moment she loves being in single sex environment, she feel comfortable and happy. But she would like to study a medicine at university in future so I believe she needs to be in more academic, selective school. Eltham College is bigger school so there are more pupil there who applies medicine and they also offer Oxbridge programme in 6th From. And their results are sligly better - dont know maybe this is why they are more selective.

College 2022 results are:
37% of GCSE grades were 9s (the highest grade) and nearly two-thirds of results were 9/8 grades and 85% of all grades were 9/8/7.

Blackheath High results are:
while 34% achieved 9s, 60% 8-9s, , %77 of all grades were 9/8/7.

Do you think its worth to move?

I also has some concerns that Eltham College was boys only school till 2020. And its not fully coed yet - %70 boys, %30 girls - also it is a Christian school and we are not Christian.
And unfortunately there is no direct bus or train to travel Eltham College from our place. So in this case we will need to drive her to school all the time or use school bus which is extra cost and needs a afford.

Meanwhile I have 2.5 years old daughter which might start Balackheath High School next year. We can not apply to Eltham College for her as first year entry is year 3 for Eltham College. Do you think it will be hard for me to manage it? Currently we live in Maze Hill so close to the Blackheath High School.

I will be happy if you share your ideas about this matter because I am so in dilemma. Thank you!!

From, the info you've given, there really is no difference between the schools academically.

Eltham may have an 'Oxbridge programme' in the sixth form but how many students actually end up going there? They're oddly quiet on destinations on their website? Not sure that they are the academic power house the head would like them to be.

Agree with the consensus on here - if your dd is happy leave her there. You can always review at 11 when other schools - which are genuinely more academic - could be an option.

I am going to move to area and I am also considering those schools and made a good online research - I was told that Eltham is really selective and really hard to have an offer but I am not happy with the GCSE results at all! If
Eltham is selective like JAGS, Allenys why Eltham’s results are so lower than JAGS And Alleyns. In your case I wouldn’t move her especially if she happy and settled. I think Blackheath High is doing great job when you consider that they are not selective as Eltham

@larriss - people say Eltham got a lot more selective in the last few years. So current GCSE results (aka 2022 results) will reflect the cohort in Year 11 last year, before the school got very selective. If the school went co-ed to attract more applications and was floundering previously due to being all boys, then it makes sense that the results were not great.

It is difficult to decide what is reality and what is hype. I have heard people say that the children coming in at 7 plus do really well on entry tests. If that is true and most will stay, then in time their GCSE results will be very good.
Results tend to reflect the cohort’s innate ability even more than the school’s ability to teach.

In reality though who knows how many of those children entering at 7 plus will stay. Many might end up leaving for all the grammars locally or more selective independent co-ed schools like Alleyns or Sevenoaks or even Westminster once fully co-ed.