Grove Park Primary School, Chiswick vs West London Free School, Hammersmith (and thoughts on Southfield Primary!)

[MumofOne1206]

Hi

My son is currently 2 and a half years old. We will have to apply for primary schools from next September. We will need to move in any event, so are looking to ensure we move very close to an excellent primary school. Our top choices were Grove Park Primary in Chiswick and West London Free Primary School.

We had read consistently great things about Grove Park Primary school online, with reviews online slightly more mixed for West London Free Primary. However, we have now attended open mornings for both, and I was surprisingly quite underwhelmed by Grove Park. Most of the teachers we came across did not seem particularly warm and welcoming, for example, we visited two empty classrooms with a teacher in each, who barely looked up to acknowledge us. The children in their classes did not appear as well engaged as at other open mornings I have attended. It also felt like the facilities were not as well taken care of, with the outdoor spaces needing a bit of attention.

By contrast, when visiting WLFS Primary it felt friendly, but structured, and the children looked well engaged in their learning. I also understand (if I am correct) that WLFS have a teacher and two teaching assistants to a class, whereas Grove Park seem generally to have a teacher, and one teaching assistant for part of the day.

Both schools seem to have very good academics.

I am keen to ensure my son has a balance of nurture and structure, and to be seen as an individual. It would be great to hear from parents with children who attend both schools. I really wanted to love Grove Park, but felt with the visit that it missed the mark, so would be grateful to hear of any direct experiences.

I should say, the other third option we have not yet visited is Southfield Primary School, any thoughts on that one too much appreciated!

Thanks!

Just giving this thread a quick bump for you, OP, to get it back into the list of active conversations.

Hi, any thoughts??

sorry OP I don’t think you will find many parents with experience of more than one of these, they are in different areas and different LAs.

in your shoes I would try and nail down an area to relocate to first, and then research schools. We are in W12 and primaries here and in Hammersmith are well regarded and I am sure Chiswick and Acton parents can similarly make recommendations once you have narrowed it down a bit

All three schools are great academically. However they are in completely different catchment areas hence as previously said you need to target one and move there as your chances of getting in are very slim. Catchment of each one of these schools are very narrow with Southfields (also its a smaller school) be around 0.1 mile I think. Also there are lots of siblings getting into schools hence places are less. Not sure about Southfields or GPPS but I know WLF is an amazing school with great facilities. The headteacher of Southfields was at Grove park before and therefore implemented the same standards I guess to make the school outstanding. Cannot comment on how the schools are as we are not in any of these.

Grove Park school is a great school and extremely popular in the area but it probably has budget challenges like many schools at the moment. TBH I think all the primary schools in the area are pretty good and I wouldn’t overthink it. If I were you, if you’re moving, I’d be looking more long term at being near a decent secondary school.

Hi all

Thanks for your feedback, and should say I am a first time poster!

I probably should have made clear, I have done a lot of research into different areas we would like to potentially move to, and Chiswick and Hammersmith are both two areas that we would be happy to live in. I have also done a lot of research into each of the schools online, and am aware that the distances historically you must live in order to get a place at each of the schools I have listed is tiny (approx 0.25/0.3m for Southfield/Grove Park School and 0.5m for West London Free School), We are mindful of this and would only rent a place within those distances from whichever school we decide would be best.

I have also given thought to secondary schools too, and considered Twyford (we regularly attend church), West London Free Secondary (I am aware the best chance of getting into the secondary is having attended the WLFS primary) and potentially Chiswick school, which are relatively closeby.

I probably should have said it would be great to hear from parents with children who attend either of those schools. I am aware they all have a great reputation but thought helpful to hear from those who have children at the schools about what in particular they like/don't like about them to help us make a more informed decision as to which school to choose, and therefore where we should be moving to.

Many thanks!

@MumofOne1206 feel free to DM me. My kids attended one of those primaries and are currently attending one of the secondary schools you mention.