The Sunday Times Top Schools List 2025

[PushPoshPish]

What are your thoughts? Any surprises? Any experience of the schools that feature? Will it influence any schooling decisions for your DC?

You do know that people have a career in the music industry that don’t are not musicians? 🤦🏻‍♀️ so much narrow minds

Thank you for your assessment of my mind.
I happen to know quite a lot about music careers as my DC is specialising in music and it will be very hard for them to make a living.

Non-musicians need GCSE music even less. Facilitating subjects like maths will get them further in any industry they might choose.

Maths is compulsory for GCSE, I don't think doing GCSE music/DT/art will get a student less far compared to subject like history, politics, MFL or biology or chemistry to be honest.Restricting students' choices only narrows their perspectives and reduces their options.

Look around, count the homeless on the streets.
Michaela is surrounded by inner city slums.
Are you saying they're all next Basquiats? He died at 27 btw.

There are well paid careers in music where you need A level or GCSE music and maths eg sound engineering.

Michaela FSM% is on average the same as inner London secondary level, around 30% at year 2023/24. So, it's just the average demographic intake, not the slums as you might imagine.

These students deserve to explore more subjects instead of being framed as having only one way to succeed.

Just on the GCSE music, drama, art etc - the standard required is high and so puts students off who are not at least at eg Grade 5 level of voice/instrument. That is why it is “middle class”.
However, the music offering by a school from Year 9/10 onwards should never be limited to GCSE classes only. And that is the main point to make. All children should be encouraged to continue with music, art, DT, drama etc beyond the GCSE requirements. So in an ideal world schools would get funding for such a block and kids would have set free periods to pursue these. Nobody cancels PE/sports just because kids are not doing PE GCSE. Choirs/African drum groups/music tech/composition clubs/contemporary singing groups etc all relevant including funding to learn instruments. Just like drop in arts sessions - including AI art and using modern technologies. Most schools will have an orchestra or choir but usually kids not already at a certain standard won’t join and that is a shame.

I find the same to be the case with some MML. A lot of children know that eg GCSE/A level French is taken by a lot of bilingual kids and so it is hard to do well. I think the IB has different courses for bilingual and beginners. I feel that should be the case for all.
So you will get kids who love music and are talented but never got the chance to learn an instrument - how are they going to get a 9 at GCSE music if they are competing with kids who had Grade 8 on 2 instruments by age 13? They can’t so they are put of doing it.

Thank you for enlightening me.

Yes, it's slums average intake.
I know some areas around Michaela and I wouldn't go there by myself.

Inner London is NOT equal to slums . The quoted 30% FSM average is across Camden Islington, Brent, Tower hamlets, Westminster as well as Kensington and Chelsea.

Your point about not going to a particular part of West London is?

We don't live in an ideal world though. And it's getting worse by the minute.

Re. music GCSE Birbalsingh say parents are not interested https://x.com/Miss_Snuffy/status/1723031589972500644

And I believe her 99%.

She also saying it is “natural” girls avoid physics A-level because “there’s a lot of hard maths”, and that she did not mind that only 16 per cent of A-level physics students are girls at the school.

Yes, great that you believe her 99%.

Very welcome! 🤗

Have you actually been to those areas? You're saying it like it's something posh 😂 There are lots of ugly and poor and seedy and unsafe areas in Westminster (Kilburn is in Westminster if you didn't know, I was assaulted there in day light) and Ken & Chelsea, Brent and Tower Hamlets - no comments, Camden has been full of junkies for years now etc.

Sorry I find this discussion rather hollow and pointless. You didn't even care to look at the stats but kept arguing just for the sake of arguing 🤷‍♀️

I don't understand what you want - to force girls into physics against their will? 😂

Your hollowless claims on one particular school is for slums ignores the facts and statistics that it isn't. Well, the only argument you have is that you wouldn't personally go there and you assume the children in such a school should not have any other choice and should only belong to a single path.

Seems that your point on music, arts, or DT ain't real GCSE options are worse than against wills. 😂

Actually, denying that sexes have differences in brain hemispheric activation that transpire into different academic preferences and achievements is anti-scientific ignorance at best.

These is difference in brain hemispheric activation. But that does not translate to preference to subject or academic performance. You make such strong statement without showing scientific proof is anti-scientific yourself.

Michaela is literally on Wembley Way. It is not in a slum district! We park a 5 minute walk away from it on a rented out drive when we attend things at Wembley. It's very nice indeed!

Wow! That's utter nonsense. There aren't boy subjects and girl subjects and my sixth formers would like a word!

The UK has a thriving music and arts industry. There are huge fairs that students can go to that explain the careers in these fields. I hope people don’t put talented kids off. If you prefer ‘safer’ jobs these industries also need lawyers and finance people.

I think the issue with GCSE music is that you can’t realistically do well at it solely through school lessons, unlike (almost?) every other GCSE subject. Most if not all pupils doing GCSE music have been learning an instrument outside of school, mostly in private 1-1 lessons for years - this is expensive and also needs to be started well before the GCSE years. Maybe there are some who are self-taught or who are singers for example but I’m sure they are in the minority. It is a shame.

Like a pp I don’t think pushing more students to do GCSE music is necessary - but giving students the opportunity to make and enjoy music as part of their education is. At my (state grammar) school we had a massive school concert every year with the entirety of the senior (age 14-18) school part of a mass choir. We sang one big classical work and then a load of fun songs. Everyone took part from the rugby boys to the serious musicians and it was an amazing and enriching experience for everyone. Sadly I think that these kind of opportunities are just not available in the state sector these days, for all kinds of reasons.

It’s a difficult balance because yes maths and English are essential but so are the arts in a civilised society.

Here is its catchment https://schoolopinion.co.uk/london/brent/michaela-community-school-7544/catchment_area/

There are slums in it.

In my kids state secondary they have a huge choir and lots of music groups organised by two teachers and some older students. It’s not all doom and gloom in the state system!