Best areas for secondary aged DC London

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Inspired by reading a thread about teenagers growing up in London. Which area of London do people think is the best to live in, if you want state schools (not private schools or religious schools)?

Any experiences on here of happy London families with teenagers?

(Disclaimer - I currently live in Greenwich which is great for primary but secondary schools aren't the best.)

It's not a fashionable area but there are some great schools in the Borough of Hounslow, and we have Ealing in one direction and Richmond in the other, both of which have already been mentioned too - or is that too 'burbs' for you?

In this situation google is your friend! Just look up 'best state secondaries in London' and a few lists come up, and just weed out the ones that are faith schools or whatever, and map it out.
People on Mumsnet will generally have a subjective view as to what suits their particular needs.
In my area (Wimbledon) there are five 'outstanding' secondaries and several 'good' rated ones, but each school individually may or may not suit you due the location, single sex, etc.

the area around Muswell Hill has lots of good secondary schools, including Fortismere. There's also APS, Highgate Wood, Archer Academy in East Finchley, Wren Academy not far away

....but wherever you end up buying in this area, you will only be in catchment for one of these. The choice is in where you buy, not in the schools.

Any school which has an outstanding Ofsted from before about 2016 will be due another inspection very soon, and stands a good chance of losing it, due to the much stricter hoops they have to just through to get one these days. Some of London's "best" / highest performing most oversubscribed schools have recently lost theirs in this way. I don't think Ostend is be be all and end all in any way, but don't let an old outstanding resting sway you from one over the other.

Think also about the flavour of the school and what would suit your child - eg I have seen Wren Academy and Fortismere mentioned in the same post above and two more different schools I can hardly imagine, in terms of their ethos and expectation.

I did quite a lot of research on this although in the end we decided to move out of London.

The areas I thought looked most promising were Barnet, East Finchley, Muswell Hill. Also Chislehurst I think but that may be too far out for you.

@mondaytosunday this is exactly why I originally said the question is pointless. It's all so subjective and these posts always end up just getting a bunch of middle class areas suggested.
@Cabbagesandcustard thank you! I can't imagine a fortismere family enjoying wren at all. And vice versa.

Thanks!

Thanks all

@Cabbagesandcustard yes there are lots of inspections due and whilst I don't look to Ofsted for everything it will be an interesting time to keep an eye out over the next few years. Luckily we've got plenty of time to decide.

I don't know much about Wren Academy - is it super strict then?

These conversations maybe Mumsnet subjective but that's the kind of intel it's helpful to have. I don't know any secondary parents so I'm just going by looking at school websites which never give you a real idea. Nearer the time we will arrange to go to open evenings etc but for the moment it's a bit like pin the tail on the donkey.

As I know and love Muswell Hill area that neck of the woods might be worth concentrating on though.

Not a massive fan of south London as it's so less convenient but Clapham / Balham maybe.

Not a massive fan of south London as it's so less convenient but Clapham / Balham maybe.

It depends on the type of school you're looking for. A lot of Balham parents try for Graveney as results wise it's by far the best school in that area. I know people tutoring for it now 2 yrs away. An awful lot of people move out for secondaries although Chestnut Grove has improved a lot. Particularly in Clapham a lot will go private.

I agree with @hollygoflightly - lots of great schools in Hounslow borough, prices are mostly reasonable (as long as you ignore Chiswick) and transport links are good. There are faith schools, but these are getting easier to get into as newer non-denominational schools that are building good reputations attract parents who would otherwise chosen them.

We will have a choice of 4 schools for DC, all within easy distance, all rated either Good or Outstanding, and we'll get whichever we put first.

But even the nicer bits of the borough generally aren't considered fashionable enough for Mumsnet.

I went to school in Wimbledon & a sibling went to Graveney. We did debate about leaving London but decided against mainly due to family. My dc will likely go to faith schools unless I think grammar will suit them. If I wasn't doing the above then I would only chose Graveney in my locale.

It takes me 18 minutes to get into Victoria. But ok.

Ealing?

Twyford is a faith school but excellent
Elthorne and Drayton both good.
Ealing Fields new (6 years open) but now part of Twyford trust

I am thinking of doing the same. do you know what kind of flat they bought (period conversion/purpose built) and how much did it cost and in what area?

It's on a road off Colney Hatch Lane, so not the loveliest bit but still fine, and good for schools. It's a purpose built flat in a 1930s/1950s(?) block. I know she was looking up to £525k but can't remember what she paid. I have a feeling the third bedroom would have been a dining room - their dining table is now in the big living room.

In SE London and my eldest just started secondary. We have friends around a roughly three mile area (East Dulwich through to Hither Green) and our kids are all at different schools and we’re quite happy with all of them. None of them are particularly special or at all selective (one is at one of the Charter schools which doesn’t seem particularly different), all of them (even Charter) have the challenges of being in a big city with a lot going on, but none of us feel we needed to flee the city to find the ‘leafy comps’.

@strengthinnumber drayton and Elthorne are both outstanding but again, two completely different schools.

I guess the only thought would be getting a bus to the tube everyday for husbands early start

Yep, that's why I rule out Muswell Hill and Alexandra Park and live in shabby rundown Walthamstow instead, where you can always get a train. If I was WFH time I might reconsider!

It takes me 18 minutes to get into Victoria. But ok.

It will be 18 minutes on the train but not door to door and not as frequent trains. Also Bromley is like a town. Very suburban feel.

Overall, The average achievement for schools in London is higher than the national average.

On MN when people talk about good schools it is heavily influenced by results, even though as in a school like Graveney the results simply reflect a cohort boosted by a quarter of the intake being Super Selective, or by demography. Aka ‘people like us’ .

One of mine went to Graveney for one key stage. The teaching is good, as it is in many good comprehensives. But my Dc had already observed and commented on the institutional racism and sexually inappropriate practices that were alleged by pupils and staff in a series of meetings in 2020. There is very high drug use amongst pupils, enabled by many that have plenty of money, and very liberal parents.

There is drug use amongst pupils at all schools, but I was shocked about Graveney levels.

It continues to be a good school, but so are plenty of others that are not the holy grail of pushy m/c parents.

Same with some other schools listed on this thread.

Yes but at least their catchments overlap so if you live in the right place you can pick! There are even a few roads where Drayton/Elthorne/Ealing Fields (+Twyford/Cardinal Wiseman if you go to the right church) overlapped this year. That part of Ealing may not have the single "best" school but it's generally well catered for with good state comps.

I don't know much about Wren Academy - is it super strict then?

Yes! Rigidly strict on uniform, homework, talking in corridors, forgetting equipment, phone use. Wouldn't be somewhere my children would thrive and feel valued.

Right!

Two families I know that moved house (to specific streets) for secondary school catchment moved to Twickenham for Waldegrave (girls) and Woking for Gordon’s.

it also has a catchment of 0.3 miles most years if you’re not Christian.

*The ‘people like us’ mentality applied to sourcing the right kind of secondary schools, is kind of toxic though, isn't it? The schools may just have different types of issues (associated with the dominant demographic), as someone pointed up upthread about Graveney.

And perhaps as you go further out towards the surburban 'town' feeling areas, you actually find a better mix of good secondary schools?