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.

I got the impression that marjoumouri was a Catholic, just not a very religious one. She has read the oversubscription criteria of her chosen schools and will work on achieving them. The parents of truly Catholic children also have the opportunity of attempting to fulfill those criteria. Though for the truly Catholic, there a plenty of less oversubscibed Catholic schools to apply to.

IndieSkies I would feel upset and think the system unfair. It doesn't mean I would lie and cheat though. I am in fact upset that desirable schools in London most often than not select on the basis of distance (and would rather they select on the basis of something my DC children are good at), but I will not rent and lie about where I truly live to increase my chances.

CecilyP marjoumouri used the word "hypocritical" and wrote "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".

Your reading is benign, and if what she is really saying is the equivalent of "I attend church once a week, but really I also need to meet some addional hurdle (eg 'becoming one with our priest' (what's that then?))" that is different I perfectly accept. (Analagous I suppose to learning an instrument (when a DC hates music) to get in on music aptitude).

However, to me the word hypocritical does to me make it sound as if she is lying about something. I don't know these schools but I bet being "not religious" takes you outside the criteria - and that she was plannign to lie. If not, then I take it back not disgusting at all. If lying however ..... its quite not alright to lie to get into a school thus depriving someone else who honestly meets the criteria.

But, hey, we are hijacking the thread here ..... this lying debate has been had on many others...

To clarify, I do attend church weekly, so I am not lying but to my church/parish commitment would need to increase significantly in order to get full marks from the priest as the catholic primary in our parish has many people who are more visible. I like the analogy to earning an instrument to increase the chances of acceptance- that is us.

Thanks IndieSkies for seeing my point. Of course I know such a school doesn't exist, but I agree with you that it's useful to imagine a situation in which it did. The furore would be immense.

Hi ThreaderickDorrit , Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but unless you or your partner and child were immersed in Catholicism from birth, you wouldn't stand a chance of getting a place at either Cardinal Vaughn or Oratory. You can not 'become' catholic to get a place there and so I hope you are not being misled. My son has just been offered a place at Cardinal so I know the criteria quite well. Note also that even those who meet the criteria are still unable to get places (I know of two) as both schools are incredibly oversubscribed. You would have to meet the following criteria to be amongst the priority group of allocations:

• At least one parent has to be a baptised Catholic (proof of baptism will be required)

• Child needs to be baptised before 6months of age unless VERY special circumstances prevented you from doing so (proof required)

• Child needs to be confirmed (proof required)

• Weekly attendance of Mass (proof required)

For the Oratory:
All of the above plus active member of the church community, ie: son an alter boy or you or hubby do flowers, offerings etc.

It's best to know so at least you can give more thought to your options:)

Hope that helps.

Hmmm, sounds a bit like what has happened to Holland Park School - but much as I dislike our council (Kensington) the plans were relatively clear from the beginning and tbh it will be a better environment for DD when the building is ready in September; even though I have to grit my teeth at land in public use being sold for rich peoples' housing.

I feel this is somewhat different. What is the council's agenda? To get rid of the school altogether? To force it to become an academy? DH works for Wandsworth Council which are a pretty nasty employer and somehow I don't think they have the best interests of the families that use the school at heart and want to basically privatise everything. A local library has basically been turned over to a private school. Are you a parent Ed?

Too late to the thread I know, but I was just about to post the same question 4 years on..
Identical situation. Reasonably academic daughter who also loves art etc. No religion, Can't afford to go private.
If this isn't just a zombie threas, I would love to know if anyone has found the happy answer to which school works best or where your DS went ThreaderickDorrit!

chaos I think you are best of starting your own thread, as I doubt any of the original posters will be following this thread now.