Our lady of Grace and Blackheath Prep

[HappyNL]

Hi All,

I am Dutch and try to get an understanding of the school system / education in the UK. More specifically London. We live in Blackheath and the primary schools nearest to us are Sherington and Our lady of Grace.

I did some research online and Our lady of Grace looks like a lovely school with great results.

On the other hand I have been looking at Blackheath Prep which has amazing facilities.

Is it worth it to send your child to a private school if there is a school like Our lady of Grace nearby? In the Netherlands we don’t have private schools. I am just trying to understand how people in the UK make the decision. Do kids from private schools have more chance to succeed?

I am a single parent and the benefit of a private school for me would be that I would not have to drive around for after school activities. She can have music lessons or do sports on the grounds of the school. I also love how the day is structured and access to the facilities (e.g. the forest school).

I need to emphasise that if we go down the private route it will take a chunk from my monthly income. I’ll need to make a few sacrifices.

I am trying to understand:

1. if it really matters in terms of opportunities that my child may or may not get in the future.
2. i would like to get some insight on the schools. What are they like?

You are right, there is no need to pick a private school when there are good state schools nearby. My DC went private but there is no real difference up to secondary school for state vs private in my opinion. You can always go for an independent (private) senior school if need be.

I would go for Sherington if I were you, if you live close enough - I believe the catchment area is very small. Do some research into the catchment areas of the local schools before you make your school application.

Hi @TypsTrycks, thanks for your reply :). I noticed that the results of the school are lower compared to Our Lady of Grace. Is there a reason why you would choose Sherington of Our Lady of Grace?

I am in the catchment area of Sherington.

I have also looked at the top 10 secondary schools in London and 86% of the kids that attend these schools come from private schools. I found this information today.

From this information it looks like it makes a huge difference.

Sherington has been famous as a good school for decades, how are you finding that their results are not as good as other local schools?

Have you visited both schools? Our Lady of Grace is a Catholic school and their admissions criteria are on the website. Have you had a look at it, assuming you are a practising Catholic going to church in Charlton?

If you can stretch to independent schools, do that, but in my experience, it doesn't make a huge difference till secondary starts.

when you look at the results of both schools (Sherington and Our Lady of Grace) Sherington is better. Also click on the individual schools to compare the results.

I am currently in the Netherlands but planned to go to church if it’s a requirement.

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/compare-schools?for=primary

Friends of mine have had children at Sherington in the past, and were very happy with it. I think you need to read the entrance criteria very carefully; I think requirements for religious schools usually require regular church attendance for a certain number of years, and some even rank you higher if you have taken on voluntary roles in the church (like helped at Sunday school or whatever). So it is not straightforward. Also, you have to consider whether you would want your child to attend a religious school - my family are atheists and I would not have wanted a faith school at all.

I was meant to say that Our Lady of Grace is better according to the stats:https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/compare-schools?for=primary

Hi @Stoufer , I am happy for my child to attend a religious school. I do need to read the acceptance criteria again. I thought that attendance at the church was sufficient. I didn't realise that they looked at attendance over the past few years. For families that have just moved to the area it will be impossible to comply with this criteria?

I am so confused about the school system especially when on mumsnet the majority confirms that it is a waste of money to go private for primary schools. However, when you look at the data in London for the top 10 secondary schools 85% comes from private schools?

Why do you need your child to attend one of the top 10 secondary schools? I have always wondered why so many feel the need to do this. I am much more interested in my child being happy, and supported, and flourishing, rather than just a single-minded focus on results. I think it is also important that a child does not have to travel too far for secondary school, and that they are able to have local friends from school. I know other parents have other priorities and are okay with these things though.

I agree with PP, the focus on the top 10 (or 100 or whatever) may end up being the wrong choice for your DC. You need to visit the schools and see the atmosphere and teaching for yourself and make an informed decision. The difference between a top 10 school and a top 100 school will be minuscule in the large scheme of things and ultimately your DC will perform based on their aptitude and the parents' attitudes. Definitely go visit your choice of schools.

Also Blackheath Prep entry is not automatic and you will have to go through a test/assessment.

The reply might be late but happened to find this thread and wanted to share my experience. I always find funny that people propose sherington and not our lady of grace (btw sherington had lost it’s outstanding rating while our lady of Grace still retains it) even if probably they never visited the school! I believe it is because our lady of grace is a catholic and more “diverse” school than sherington. My child is attending our lady of grace (OLOG) and we are very happy with the school. Before deciding where to send him we visited all local schools (including sherington which I believe a good school) and the main reason we opted for OLOG is that among the public schools it was the only one that seemed to have the focus on academic excellence similar to private schools. There is lots of attention to each child and they have 4 staff in the reception class (which is not bad at all!). My child which is quite sensitive is doing very well both academically and emotionally. I am myself in doubt between public and private schools for the future education of my child (also in my country there is no such division between public and private schools as in UK) - if you have the means the private schools will offer better facilities and a broader curriculum and environment is less diverse. As a catholic school OLOG has additional criteria to be admitted such as the child would need to be baptised, but they don’t have a catchment area and the admissions follow just a priority order. You might still get in even if the child doesn’t go to church and as a new person in London you can definitely contact the school and ask for advice. But yes, do go visit the schools as the impression you get from visiting is invaluable ( you might think you like one school better than the other, and then you change your mind after visiting). Good luck!

Hi! I am so glad that you replied! We have actually a place at Halstow, but considering Blackheath Prep or the Heath House. Really unsure about what to do! My husband and I are both from countries where there is no big difference between public and private. But here it seems that the difference is huge…

Ah! Halstow.. we have many friends there and were in the catchment area but the philosophy / vibe of the school didn’t resonate with me. There is a lovely community feel but my impression was that wasn’t too academically driven, and for me it’s still a school and that needs to be the priority.
I can’t help when it comes to private vs. Public... I struggled lots myself and ended up turning down two offers from the local private schools … my gut feeling tells me to wait, but only the future will tell if I made the right decision or not.

Thanks for your reply @VMP . It is very helpful :)

Now I understand why people are advising Invicta and Sherington over OLOG. I had a few conversations and as the replies above, to me, they just didn’t make any sense.

I have the same mindset as you and would most definitely choose for academic results and nice community feel over a less ‘diverse’ school. Thanks for clarifying.

Hi HappyNL,

Sorry for being late to the party.

My DC is currently at OLOG. Academically, OLOG couldn't be better, consistent and hard work from both teachers and children on a daily basis. My DC is really happy there and loves this school. I am very impressed on how my DC's learning has progressed over the years.

The downside is that, as already said here, there is no community sense for different reasons and as a parent I feel somewhat disconnected from the school. Anyway, that's fine for me as academic performance was my priority.

About extra-curriculum activities, it does not have a great offer and the interesting ones like music or French do not start until Y3.

I hope this still helps.

Good luck!

Hey @HappyNL - out of curiosity, what did you do in the end (and why if you don’t mind)? I’m facing the exact same hard choices.

Hi @CharlesMarlow,

My daughter attends Pointers School, and I’m really happy with the decision. The teachers, headteacher, and staff are fantastic, and most importantly, she genuinely loves going to school, as do the other children in her class.

When I was deciding, I looked at the schools pupils typically transition to, and the options were quite similar to Blackheath Prep. However, Blackheath Prep felt more academically focused, for example, children need to pass an assessment to enter nursery. I chose Pointers because it felt much warmer and more welcoming.

At the time, my daughter didn’t speak English, and given her personality, I felt she would thrive better in a smaller, more nurturing environment. It really has that “little village” feel.

A big factor in my decision was how well the school fits with our family life. As a single mother, the wraparound care (also during school holidays) has been incredibly valuable. I know that she is in a safe and familiar environment where she plays with kids and caretakers she knows well. The school offers activities like sports, art, and music after hours, so I don’t have to drive her around after work, which makes a real difference to our quality of life.

If private school hadn’t been an option, I would have chosen OLOG. When you compare schools, you’ll notice they have strong funding to support their students, and the headteacher runs the school very effectively. Ultimately, the students’ results speak for themselves 🙂

What I also really like about the Pointers is how diverse the school is. Many of the children speak more than one language. In my daughter’s class of seven, only two speak just English. I really appreciate that she’s exposed to kids with different backgrounds and cultures.

There are two teachers for seven pupils, so my daughter gets the attention she needs to flourish and do well both emotionally and academically.

Thank you very much for the response @HappyNL. It’s great to hear you and your child are happy at the Pointer School which from your description sounds like a very nice place to be at.