London Secondary State Schools. Best Advice.

[jtsoi]

I need to find the best state secondary schools in London, and would like to know where I can get the best advice or information on either websites or other sources to make the right decisions. Also, is there a single list of secondary state school league table for London, and not split into individual boroughs?
Can anyone help?

Much appreciated.

It depends a lot on where you live. Distance is a huge consideration, both practically and because the vast majority of secondary schools have distance from the school as one of their admission criteria. There is therefore usually absolutely no point in applying to a great state school in Brent, for example, if you live in, say, Bromley. There are probably some exceptions to this that prove the rule- maybe some of the few remaining super selective grammars in London or schools with a particular religious ethos. Is your child in year 6?

The Good Schools Guide is pretty much the school "bible".

It can get ridiculous. I remember a neighbour telling me that there was one street in London where you were guaranteed to get your child into an outstanding primary and a famously popular secondary, with a chance of applying to a range of grammar schools into the bargain. She told me about the hell her friends had been through attempting to buy a house in this one street.

I do wonder if it's all a crazy fad, though. One of my friends is firmly of the opinion that all this "the best school" thing is a delusional mania, equivalent to the "tulip frenzy" of ages past, and in a generation we'll look back on it and think it was madness.

The schools that are highest in the league tables are the few remaining grammar schools in outer London boroughs such as Kingston, Barnet etc. This doesn't make it the best school for your child and there is no guarantee your child will get in.

Your first option should be to look at your own borough's website and the Transfer to Secondary School advice booklet which should give details of each school and admission criterial. Our borough also has a choice advisor who can advise you. If you post which borough you are in and schools you are considering you may get good advice here.

In my opinion, you do not choose a school, they choose YOU and ultimately most places are decided on proximity or religious commitment.

You can sort the performance tables on the Department for Education's website to show London Secondaries then sort by GCSE only which will show you which schools get 100% A*-C GCSE etc. See link below

I'm not sure if you can filter the Independent schools out if you are only looking at state.

I would suggest looking at an area with a couple of good secondaries rather than for a single stellar school (unless you are 100% sure you can meet all its criteria and get a property opposite the front gate)

www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/group.pl?qtype=GOR&superview=sec&view=aat&set=2&tab=52&no=H&sort=ks4_11.ptgac5em&ord=desc

What do you mean by the "best" schools? % of pupils getting 5 A-C with Eng and Maths at GCSE? A/A at A2? Sports facilities? Pupil wellbeing? If you're just after raw results regardless of the intake the then DFE website is the place to go (but it's still showing 2011 results). For an overall picture you'd have to find a list of schools and look them all up on OFSTED, whose reports can be years out of date unfortunately.

I want to know more about the tulip frenzy

"Tulip mania" is the correct phrase, I think

Best in what sense?

To meet what needs?

The schools with the highest average results may in many cases be the schools that reflect the intake rather than the actual education on offer to every child.

The best for a bright but lazy child, an average ability but hard-worj=king child? A child who needs lots of pastoral support?

Do you want recommendations, or what?

The most detailed stats on schools are on the DoE website, where they give the achievements in relationship to the baseline ability of the pupils.

That is truly fascinating FamiliesShareGerms, I've learnt a proper new thing via mumsnet!