St Mary Magdalene academy SMMA

[Kalimero]

What are the most recent thoughts on this secondary school in Islington?

On paper it sounds amazing, during the visit everything sounded and looked amazing.

However I've read few alarming comments about them expelling kids with SEN , not sure if that's possible and allowed?

I know parents with kids there that are very happy with their choice. It is the most sought-after secondary in Islington. Some Islington families prefer it over good private schools further away. If you are not in catchment, the admissions test for the 18 places is competitive. It reaches reportedly around the 80th ranked kid, as several top candidates opt for grammar/indies (most bright kids in Islington will sit the exam, even if for practice). I don’t know about SEN but it is a very academic school, that aims high, and discipline is taken seriously to facilitate learning.

Anyone here whose DC sat the Mary Mags aptitude test yesterday? Any sense of how many kids sat it and how difficult it was? Wondering whether, with the outstanding Ofsted report, and the VAT increase, there were more applicants this year to the school.

Does anyone have a sense of how high up the ranking you need to be in the Mary Magdalene governors test list?. DS is joint 35 but understandably school are vague about where you need to be.

As mentioned above, it goes to around 80, possibly higher. So 35 is very safe (great score btw - congratulations to your DC!). Unless the VAT has had a massive effect, which I doubt. Even then, I would think at least 15 kids in the top 30 have also been successful for Latymer, QE, HBS, or Dame Alice and will put those first in order of preference. I would celebrate 🥳

The intake this year is dropping from 210 to 180, so governors’ places reduce from 21 to 18. That plus VAT may mean 80th place is a stretch for an offer, but I don’t know what it was last year tbh.

Why did they drop 30 places 🤯

The school was designed for 180
and for years they’ve squeezed more in to get funding. They have decided they can manage without the extra funding now in exchange for capacity as designed.

The school told me that in previous years they made offers up to about the 60th place in the individual ranking. Not sure at what point in the year that was. Presumably the cutoff will be lower this year since there are only 18 rather than 21 governors' places.

60 is also lower than the 80 I'd been hearing anecdotally. Does anybody know of people in the 60s and 70s who got in last year or the year before?

Did you get a place at St Mary Magdalene at the end?

I just emailed SMMA to ask to be put on their waiting list for aptitude test places. A very kind lady replied and said that my child was in the low 20s for the aptitude waiting list (and 300+ for the open places waiting list).

Does anyone have a sense of whether we have any chance at all of a place? Thanks a lot!

Hi , may I ask what’s your child Aptitude test ranking?

They won’t have had many (if any) declines yet, so your child will probably move down the waiting list in the next few weeks. I had heard (anecdotally) that quite a few who intend to go private apply for aptitude places at SMMA as a ‘backup’ state option, particularly those for whom SMMA is relatively local. Those with places and some of those on the waiting list ahead of you may be in that situation, so I think it’s still possible to get a place. Of course it’s hard to say what will happen this year if fewer are choosing private.

Thanks a lot! That’s really helpful. The ranking in the aptitude test was in the low sixties (individual ranking).

Hi , Did you get a place at St Mary Magdalene ?

Not yet, sadly. Do you have any intel on how the waiting list is moving?

Last week moved 6 places

oh great, thank you!

Would be great to hear if anybody else has received a waiting list place yet. My ds was c.90 on the original aptitude test list. Not sure whether to be hopeful!

Hi all -am watching this year's SMMA waitlists with interest since will be applying next year :) Does anyone know where the waitlist is down to for the aptitude test for 2025 intake? Eg anyone who scored in the 50th-60th place etc managed to get a spot for this year yet? Any info welcome!

Could anyone shed any light on how far down they got on the waitlist for governors places for 2025 entry?

School is absolute ass and very unfair. Not as good as its made out to be!👎👎👎