The Latymer School - opinions please

[Simchan]

We live in Enfield and are starting to look at schools. We went to The Latymer School today and my daughter loved it. The results are great, but it also seemed like a friendly school with happy students which I liked. However, I’ve heard mixed reviews about the teaching and the fact that some students have to get tutors. Does anyone have an experiences they could share? Thank you.

My DS goes there (year 9) and seems happy. There's less disruption in his classes than in those of my DD, who goes to a state secondary. The kids I've met have all been lovely, although he wouldn't be friends with any awful ones of course!

He doesn't have a tutor, but I can't speak for any other kids. Many get tutored to pass the entrance exam, which is a challenging one, and perhaps these are the ones who find they need tutors later as well. The teaching seems perfectly fine as far as I know.

Some of the other state schools in Enfield seem quite rough - I'm only basing this on the fact that Latymer students sometimes get warned off the overground station because "a fight between rival schools is planned" - so be careful when you're choosing. (Latymer doesn't appear to be involved in these fights)

DP and I were at the open day today too @Simchan! We were similarly impressed, which I was pleased about as both of us were students at Latymer in the ‘90s and have very happy memories of the school. It had a very similar ‘feel’ to when we were there, and to us it seemed that they had managed to preserve the relaxed, vaguely liberal ethos that was a big feature of the school back then. The students we met all seemed keen, articulate and engaged, and the staff were all very friendly and down-to-Earth (and all subject specialists - a rare thing nowadays!)

I know a few DC who go there and haven’t heard anything about tutoring once pupils have started at the school (different story for the entrance exam of course!). Main complaint seems to be the location of the school, which is certainly ‘edgier’ than when we were there and does put some people off (we know some families who didn’t apply for this reason). Flip side of that I guess is that it keeps the kids grounded and not in too much of a bubble.

Overall we really liked it, with just a few caveats.

hey! my brother's children both go to Latymer and they are really happy there :) they like their teachers, have made good friends and are doing well academically. they did have a tutor for the entrance exams but not anymore. hope this helps x

Latymer is a great school - know lots of happy children who go there or went there.
Lots get tutored to pass the entrance exam - like all the north London selectives it’s a tough one.

What year is your daughter in? Have you started preparing for the 11+?

Hi all. Thanks so much for your feedback. It’s reassuring to hear. She has started prepping. I’m an English teacher and my husband does Maths so we aren’t using a tutor. I think we’ll try a mock test and take it from there. Our other choices in Enfield are Kingsmead and St Anne’s.

I'd also be keen to hear about Latymer, particularly those who know about A-levels there as we're considering it for my DS at sixth form. He's currently at a North London selective indie and doing very well - however, the fees are becoming increasingly unmanageable for us, so a move to a grammar for A-level is appealing.

My reservation about Latymer is the area as @TempsPerdu said - I've heard lots about the neighbourhood being very rough, but I'm wondering how easy this is to avoid. School buses perhaps? Surely it can't be THAT bad around there?!

The one thing I would say is that it’s just off Church Street which is a busy main road. I wasn’t so worried about the location, more About the quality of teaching.

@sparklespingle I don’t have current experience of the school, and obviously those who do will know better, but my hunch is that the idea/image of the area is worse than the reality if that makes sense (as long as your DC is relatively street-smart).

Back in the ‘90s we were told to remove our ties after school, avoid loitering on the rec behind the school and ideally walk in pairs as kids from neighbouring schools would sometimes pick on Latymer kids (my friend once got into a minor altercation with some girls from another school and was told in no uncertain terms by the Head afterwards that Latymer kids don’t fight back!) But there were never any major incidents and I’m not aware of any more recent ones (again, those with DC there might know better!)

The main thing I think is that for some parents the slightly gritty location detracts from the overall ‘cachet’ of the school. Certainly among my own circle DAO now seems to be the more sought after choice, and the leafier, ‘safer’ location is often cited as a reason for that.

Re the sixth form, we actually had a quick chat on the tour yesterday with the current Head of Sixth Form. Basically he said that there was extremely stiff competition for Year 12 places in the maths/science subjects (I believe there’s an additional test for new students wanting to take those?) but slightly less so for other subjects. The school seems generally quite STEM-focused atm (much more so than in my time) - e.g. apparently around 150 of the 189 Year 11s chose to take maths A’level last year.

note the following policy detailed in their admissions arrangements:

"APPLICANTS WHO HAVE TAKEN EARLY GCSE EXAMINATIONS (YEAR 7 TO YEAR 11) Please note that any applicants admitted to the school who have taken early GCSE examinations will follow the normal curriculum in that subject and will be examined at the end of Year 11. The school will not be able to offer individual support outside the curriculum area".

Compare this with the statutory minima detailed in DfE's teachers' standards:

"A teacher must:
1 Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities and dispositions
2 Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
be accountable for pupils’ attainment, progress and outcomes
be aware of pupils’ capabilities and their prior knowledge, and plan teaching to build on these"

In short, if a child is particularly advanced in some area, they don't care - it's somebody else's problem.
I wouldn't send my child to a school whose senior leadership team has absolved themselves of responsibility and written professional negligence into their admissions arrangements.

Your local choices are ok but obvs if your dd can get into Latymer that would be amazing.
You should also consider applying to DAOS and Henrietta Barnett.
For each school make sure you read the admissions criteria and be absolutely clear on what format the entrance exams take. Don’t assume that because you are both teachers that the DIY eleven plus route will be easy. The website
www.elevenplusexams.co.uk is very useful

Latymer is very good for A levels as is DAOS, Woodhouse and APS

@geoger - thanks. I’ve definitely heard great things about DAOS and Woodhouse too. APS - a bit more mixed tbh. Obviously the results would be lower with a less selective intake but I’m also a bit unsure about the option to do 5 A-levels at APS. I understand the logic behind 4, but 5?!

@sparklespingle at APS they all do 4 and have the option to drop down to 3 after the first year. A tiny number will do 5. They have very impressive facilities and are building another floor onto their sixth form centre. But, if I had to choose out of the north London state selectives I would go for DAOS - outstanding ofsted, brilliant results considering it’s only partially selective esp when compared with Latymer etc, fab facilities/site, great teachers and lovely students

Sadly, we are out the catchment for DAO.

What about HBS? Or you could try for Ashmole on a music place

Both excellent choices but Ashmole and HS are quite a journey for my DD. About three buses in total. My other half isn’t keen on her traveling that far on her own.

Hi there,

Did your daughter take the 11 plus exam at Latymer this September ? If yes, how was it? Thanks