West London secondaries - I really can't see any good options

[ThreaderickDorrit]

We live Hammersmith and Fulham. We are not religious. We cannot afford private education. DD1 is reasonably academic but also loves art, drama etc. My heart is sinking when I consider our options. I read threads from South and North London mums and they just seem to have so much more choice.

Can anyone add anything to my summary of choices for children in our area?

Hammersmith Academy - totally untested. Only has year 7s at the moment. Might turn out to be great or terrible and therefore it is a total gamble. It is a technology specialist school and for me that is offputting. All I ever hear is that it has great indoor facilities but very limited outdoor space.

West London Free School - totally untested. Only has year 7s. Might turn out to be great or terrible: total gamble. We can't even assess the facilities as the building is temporary but my understanding is that there will be very little outdoor space. The political will behind this school must increase the chance that it will be successful, but probably only for a certain type of child. It is run by Toby Young who comes across as one of the least appealing characters I have ever read/heard etc. He seems to know nothing about education and I fear he is a risk to the success of the school. I take my hat off to him for establishing it but he really should have stepped back at that point. The Head was once Head of a (very average private) school in Devon where I know some teachers. They do not rave about his abilities. Even setting aside these worries we have to bare in mind that if we want this school we are unlikely to get it. It is hugely oversubscribed already.

Pheonix High School - I actually know little about this school. I dismissed it because of its historic repuation for having a problem with violence and not getting great results. I have assumed its not an option for us but would love to hear from anyone who knows more about it.

Chiswick Community SChool - Satisafactory Ofsted. Huge school. Another Tech specialism. Massive turnover of Heads. Just doesn't sound great.

Tiffin - I did not start coaching the DDs while they were still in utero so I am assuming we stand no chance. It is also miles away.

Burlington Danes - sounds like it is doing well. But if you are not religious and you do not live nearby then you have no chance.

You definitely have to be Catholic - very Catholic - for Cardinal Vaughan. You also have to be a boy, so it would be no use to OP.

ooops, sorry, was thinking of sixth form only.

In response to your question "areyouthere.." the downsides to Holland Park are:

1. Setting by Band (initially by the admission test) and not by individual subject
2. Humanities is taught in the first two years rather than Geog/Hist/RE with one teacher for the lot. 3)the very odd curriculum from year 9 onwards (basically drop music, art, DT, languages, history and geography and choose 5 of them to do as one year GCSE courses over the course of the next 3 years). RE GCSE is compulsory and sat in year 9.
3. GCSEs spread over 3 years - not an advantage in my opinion 5)My child perceives a lot of teachers pets/favouritism 6)It is very difficult to contact the school to discuss anything. In addition student service support staff are exceptionally unhelpful and downright rude - to parents

While saying this in many ways it is a great school, with a very committed and able headteacher and many superb teachers. No school is going to be perfect. When I used to go to the park with my kids when they were tiny and see the non-uniformed teenagers smoking joints and fighting in the park I swore I would never sent my child there. Ten years later it is completely different and much better in my opinion.

Azure -That is so unfair :(
Although we're in the borough & under 3 miles, we're still not that close to the school..... although 1 bus ride away.
I saw somewhere that there were 1,072 applications.
We really want a place there but we're not holding our breath on getting a place esp if people are moving to be closer to the school.

Serendipity, I wish you the best of luck. I think the 50 or so places that will be allocated to those closest to the school will cover a really small area. The remaining 50 or so places (after the music scholars and other priority people) will be a lottery from 1,000 applications - hmm, doesn't look good statistically, does it? Future years will be even worse, as the sibling number will increase.

I am fascinated by this discussion because it all implies that you actually do have a choice of state schools.

Is this really the case?

I live in a small city with several secondary schools but I don't know anyone who actually had a choice of school - probably 98% got their catchment school and the rest had siblings already at another school. Is it really different in London?

The schools choose YOU! For example on my DD's application form we "chose" 2 grammars (far away), 1 church school on language aptitude, 1 new comp (partly church) and our closest comp. We got the fifth choice. We had a sixth but didn't use it. My DD1 got the grammar far away.

In theory we had a choice but in this part of London it is normally an option of religious schools (CofE or RC) or your nearest comp.

Religious school or nearest comp - same choice as us then!
I wonder what percentage of parents get anything other than that choice in reality

Thank you Azure - Good luck too.
I have found the whole looking, choosing and wait for a school quite stressful.
Keep worrying about him getting into a decent school.
We put down 6 options although we didn't really like all of them.
We were told that one child from my sons school didn't get offered a place last year in any of their choosen schools.
Just praying he gets one of them, really don't want him ending up in Henry Compton (no offence to anyone with a child there)
Fingers crossed we both get WLFS :)

Well we didn't get WLFS
We got our 5th choice which isn't even in h&f, shocked that our own borough didn't even offer us a place in any of the schools we picked.

DS got WLFS but will be rejecting the place - hope it will make someone on the waiting list happy.

Anyone know whether it's easy to find out what criteria your DC have been offered a place under (at whichever school allocated)? I'm curious to know if it was a musical aptitude place...

Ahem. As a teacher in West London, I would recommend Hammersmith Academy as a place to watch. I've been round, met the management team and have been extremely impressed. They are not actually untested as they've come from St Pauls (I think).

If my children were at the right age, that is the one which would be top of my list.

DS didn't get WLFS either. Can I have your place then BanditQueen? DS did get Hammersmith Academy. Really bad luck to those getting low preference places.

Your welcome to azure although I'm not sure it works quite like that!

I hope your DS is happy at Hammersmith Academy or wherever he eventually goes.

OMG forget Cardinal Vaughn, and the London Oritary! I'm Catholic and I won't even send my kids there! There is alot of choice and don't rule out Hammersmith Academy. A gamble yes.

I really wish you all the best with this, some schools do select on distance door to door and the only advice I would give you is to really think if the school will suit your DD. Where you live I would try Holland Park, St Thomas More (Chelsea and not not strict Catholic intake) Sion Manning (Same, Ladbroke Grove and I went there) Hammersmith Academy(Gamble but hey) WLFS(another gamble) Vaghn and Oritory are boys schools so say no more. If your primary HT is any good they shoould help and support you with this. It's daunting and not an easy choice to make. Been there done that blah blah

EssentialFattyAcid "I am fascinated by this discussion because it all implies that you actually do have a choice of state schools. Is this really the case? I live in a small city ...... Is it really different in London?"

Not really unless you are willing to move or be hypocritical as marjoumouri did when she says "While not religious I am becoming one with our priest to increase the chances of an Oratory or Cardinal Vaughn entrance. So hypocritical but necessary". Actually, I wouldn't use the word "hypocritical" - I'd use the words "Absolutely Disgusting Behaviour" depriving another (truly) catholic child of a place.... apart from what you are teaching your DC.

Sympathies, OP (we are in Richmond, but not far from Hammersmith as the crow flies). Secondaries are a worry, though hopefully heading in the right direction.

I know several kids, and their families, at Chiswick Community School - via our primary - and they are very happy there. I met one young lad last night at dd's KS2 show: he is about 13 or 14, relaxed, happy, into drama and art, bright and personable. Its only one child, but the fact that he's happy there is good.

Sorry not to know more about H&F schools - how old is your dc?

Sorry OhDearConfused, but why should Catholic children (or more accurately the children of Catholic parents) have a choice of schools denied to those without faith? I don't think it's absolutely disgusting behaviour, I think it's the system that is wrong.
How would you feel if there was an excellent over-subscribed non-faith school that rejected children if either of their parents had been baptised or attended church? That sought proof that nobody in the immediate family went to church?

Saulaboutme - why not CV or TLOS?

We are happy with the West London Free school and our son is fully enjoying the experience both academically and socially. Considering the fact that the school is barely six months old it is remarkable what the head and his staff and governors have already achieved in terms of enthusiasm,dedication and positive energy the school exudes. Yes there are still teething problems, homework loads need to be better calibrated, and it will take a couple of years before they will move into the more appealing Palingswick house site. But overall it has given us and our child the choice - which was non existent in Hammersmith before - of going to a good school that is open to all children and that has the ambition and drive to compete with the best state and independent secondary schools in the area.

PollyParanoia you are missing (I think) my point. Your reverse example can't exist as the Code does not allow a school to admit on the basis of "non-faith". I don't agree with faith schools (I am not a believer in either the big G or the existence of such schools). However, the system is what it is, "we" allow faith schools to set their own criteria for entry - if a school requires a certain element of faith then it is utterly cheating and hypocritical for a school set up for children of catholics to then be used by children of lying non-catholics - depriving people for whom their child being in a catholic school really matters to them.

Sure - fix the system. But until then, live within it and don't disadavantage others by defrauding others - I do think that that is disgusting (as is lying as to where you permanetly live). And - perhaps worst - teaching your children that its ok to lie - very catholic that!

PollyP was being hypothetical - she knows that what the reality is, all too well.

It is worth asking yourself how you would feel if you were excluded from meeting the entry requirements of a local state-funded school purely because of your engagement with religion.

I think Chiswick is a good school and is becoming an academy (along with most Hounslow schools) for financial reasons I would have thought. Many teachers will stay I would imagine as fewer non-academy alternatives. You can apply from out of borough and would have a reasonable chance of getting into Chiswick.