Emanuel - is it true they are pulling their socks up academically?

[Alsoflamingo]

Just that really. Was always regarded as second fiddle to the uber academic schools - and that is probably still the case. But Head claiming (as is Good Schools Guide) that they are improving on the academic front and just wondered if anyone could confirm or deny that is the case. Basically wondering if it would be a good bet for a child that is v. bright, but might not quite make it into the crazily competitive schools. So really wondering about how ambitious it is for the bright kids/quality of teaching etc. TIA.

Doesn't that put it roughly on par with (or slightly better than) Dulwich?

Don't confuse GCSE and A level grades. Dulwich get over 50% A* at GCSE.

Ah. Thanks.

well, Irisha clearly has her issues with the school and its staff. Each and every school has a different impact on every individual parent and child. Fortunately.

TheLovelyBoots, I suggest you should not be put off a school by one comment from one person on mumsnet who doesn't appear to have a child at the school.....

Emanuel may not get the mega grades of some other London schools, which is partly due to its less selective intake, but it also depends on how you look at statistics.

Yes, "only" 23% of grades A at GSCE, but nearly 10% of pupils got 8A or better and nearly 40% of pupils got all AorA*.

I went to a very mediocre private school and came out with all As and Bs, went to a Russell Group university and got a 2:1 degree. My sister went to the best girls school in the country, went to the same university and came out with identical results from GCSE through to degree. She is far brighter than me, but she was made to feel so inferior in her highly academic, pushy school and she really struggled (still struggles), not to keep up, but with self-confidence.

So to be quite honest, I would much rather send my ds to a school where he is happy, has lovely friends, is stretched but not stressed academically, and has the time and head space to enjoy all the other opportunities that the school offers. Emanuel gives him all of this, and so yes, as a parent, I would definitely recommend it.

If you want hothouse academic 20 A* GCSE, only Oxbridge level pupils, then you are better off elsewhere.

This is what the Head says:

At A2 level 87% of the grades were awarded at A- C (with 66% at A - B). Fifteen students gained AAA or better (out of 82). Three students confirmed their offers at Oxford and one at Cambridge and the most popular choices of university this year were Bristol and Durham. The majority of those going to university this year will be going to universities which are members of the Russell Group.

The AS results were the best set of grades we have seen since AS began in 2000. 21 students gained AAA or better this year (with 12 getting AAAA) out of 81 students.

At GCSE level there were 41 pupils who gained 8As and A or better. Ten students scored 8A or better and the top student scored 12A. Just under 60% of GCSEs were graded at A and A (and this could increase following some remarks).

Moreover all the year groups from Y11 downwards have the potential to produce similar, or even better, results in the future given the strength of our intake nowadays. Within the next few years our results will place us comfortably in the top 100 schools in the country (if we wanted to put our results into these tables) but that is not what all this is about. What matters is the way each student grows and develops while they are with us and that is our main focus at this school.

bit of a U turn statement from Emanual, a couple of years ago the head wouldn't even answer any results/league based questions during an open evening saying they weren't interested in that sort of thing!!

A lot of parents made their minds up then and there.

The other thing to note is no one ever fails the entrance exam or fails to get in. Telling.

It's known locally as an acceptable plan B for parents (and I mean the Parents not the children) who don't think their kids will get into any super selectives and don't want their kids to mix with 'abnormal' kids that might lurk at the other local schools they might get offered instead - Ashcroft, Chestnut Grove, Ernest Bevin etc etc

I use 'abnormal' as someone used 'normal' upthread which indicates their prejudice quite nicely.

Plenty of kids get As and A*s at these other schools as well and plenty of educated middle class parents in the school communities which also happen to be diverse and appropriately represent the local demographic.

It's a real art to be able to teach a relatively mixed ability cohort well, and setting and banding from the earliest stages (with differentiated tasks and levels of support) are some of the key elements.

Oh dear, this comment has made me giggle. I didn't realise that there was a "real art" in teaching the (approx.) 88% of children in this country who attend non-selective state schools in this country, I simply thought it was what teachers do. Silly me for not realising.

Now I know that you're discussing yet another London private school, I'll go.

Yes, stickerrocks, that's might be what teachers do in teaching 88% of children in this country - they just do it badly in a lot of cases. So, yes, doing it well is a real art. Were it not, we wouldn't be having such s* results in many of these 88% case and people wouldn't be paying mega bucks to send their children private and/or to selective schools.

Having lived in quite a few other countries, it's only here I've seen such deep division between private and state, such dismal overall standards in education and such obsessive discussion on schools and avoiding the nearest sink comp - tells you something.

I don't think that the fact that most teachers have mixed cohorts makes teaching to a mixed cohort any less of an art. Irisha is quite right that few do it well.

Um....brassbrass its not true that no one fails to get in. Absolutely not. I know of several families whose kids haven't got in.

And as they have 600 applying (and cap the test numbers at that) every year, and not that many places, its not possible anyway.

We looked at it for dd, and liked it - but it wasn't dd's favourite (she prefers a local school, as it turns out) and in any case they moved the closing date and we missed the new deadline, which settled it

they do however offer massively more places than they have as it is (as many posters have said) very definitely a Plan B for most families, so it's pretty difficult to fail ...

brassbrass ... what on earth are you talking about? "No-one fails the entrance exam ..."? Do shut up ...

I have three boys currently at Emanuel and they are very happy there. I'm hoping with all my heart that my youngest ds will go there when he's old enough. It is true that my boys were not firing on all cylinders in year 6 academically, but having worked their socks off to pass the entrance exams they have all thrived in the school's positive environment. They are pushed academically in the classroom and physically on the playing fields.

This school is a perfect fit for some, not for others - 'twas ever thus ...

We're thinking about 6th form here so that's at least 7 years of discussing this topic with other parents we've met along the way.

In all that time I have never known anyone not get into Emanuel. Regardless of ability.

I know several kids who didn't get in. It's a very popular school with 600 competing for 80ish places.
Brass maybe the kids you know all headed to LEH and Hamptons!

Well know for a fact quite a lot of children who want to go to Emanuel don't get in - certainly more competitive at 13+. I don't know much about Emanuel from personal experience (did know someone who went there in the olden days and did very well) but it is one I considered and rejected because of the journey. On paper it meshed well with what we wanted - loads of different things to do, not restricted to an academic focus but sufficiently focused to do the academics well enough for the children to do what they are capable of. The fact that went with a fairly broad ability range has pros as well as cons so wasn't necessarily a negative point. I expect it is getting even more difficult to get a place now not only because of numbers but also because that is what a lot of parents want - happyish children doing loads of good stuff and achieving results without a nervous breakdown (acknowledging there is always hard work and pressure of some degree about exams).

Back to the OP for a minute - in my humble opinion, if your child is hitting levels 5&6 regularly in maths and english you should be looking for the more academically challenging schools (Hampton, LEH, St.Pauls (yikes), Kings College Wimbledon). If your child is hitting levels 4 & occasionally 5, you should look at Emanuel, KGS, St. Benedicts or Ibstock. Can't comment on the girls schools I'm afraid. All these schools are improving year-on-year, but the best way to be sure you're fully informed (and not taking others opinions as your own) is to go and look for yourself.

Hi Everyone,
has anyone any update on this ? one year on ? I would be interested to know if you have gone back or have sent your kids there at the end. this school is close to us.
thanks,

bump

My ds has gone to year 7 at emanuel- he got level 6 maths and 5a in other sats snd he's not top set there. The academic pass mark has increased massively. I know many who sat the entrance exam similar standard who did not get offered places so it's rubbosh to say it's for level 4 and 5! Btw you would not stand a chance of getting into ibstock or KGS without level 6 in one of the subjects in my opinion. My ds thriving there very friendly environment with mix of prep and state entry - pushed but not a hothouse and very few stuck up parents

I would agree with Lottie, the pass mark has increased rapidly. The head was asked last year the reason why it was getting so hard to get into and he was very honest, and attributed it largely to their intake raising the bar for everyone, and to the fact it is becoming a very popular school as it is one of the few co-ed in the area, and as a result, the passmark has gone up. We know a few families did not get offers last year, and that only a few made it on the waiting list. The fact that only 700 children applied is a case in point as I know someone who just made it through the gate, and this is just to sit the exam!

Good luck with it all.

"The other thing to note is no one ever fails the entrance exam or fails to get in. Telling"

What a ridiculous thing to say BrassBrass .... my son didn't get in 2 years ago and he was bitterly disappointed (and he is not stupid).

Also need to consider the sibling policy, where they don't have to score as highly as new external applicants. They also took 2 Hill Forms this year (2015), so I'm sure they will be keeping the numbers tight this year (2016 yr7) .

I think the suggestions about school vs sats levels from Oct 14 are a bit out of date. My ds ultimately got 6 5 5 in his sats and he didn't get an interview at KGS in January this year.

I agree always frank 6 5 5 got us offers at emanuel did not get us interviews at KGS and Hampton. With 2 year 6's now it will be even harder to get in. And as mentioned I know plenty who expected offers this year and didn't get.

They may be pulling their socks up but still have a way to go. In 2014 their A/A A level percentage was 34% and in 2015 it was 44.7%. Over the last two years as a whole these results are similar to/arguably worse than Holland Park (45.5% in 2014 and 39.6% in 2015) which also had its best ever set of AS results this year. By way of comparison most of the more academic London private schools are between 60-80% A/A with the best such as SPGS and Westminster between 80-90%. Due to the large influx of middle class Euros/foreigners all the London private day schools have vastly more applicants than say 10 years ago which means that even the less academic schools can afford to be more choosy about who they take. I'm not saying it applies here (and I know kids who are happy at the school) but IMO schools often claim the credit for improving standards when these are really the result of demographics. I would have thought a very -but not super- bright kid should at least be aiming for the schools in the 60-80% A*/A bracket.

Since it is becoming harder every year to get into any of these London independent secondaries, then of course all of them are seeing their results improve. With pupils from Russia and Asia taking a large percentage of places at the likes of St Pauls, Westminster and KCS, then very able pupils are now going to the 'so called' B league schools, including Emanuel. I do wonder how up to date some of these postings are and how recently any of them sat their children for these incredibly competitive entrance exams.

Actually what it also asks is how much success is really down to the school and how much is down to the pupils they manage to cherry pick. I always think of a friend's son who gained an A* grade for his Maths iGCSE exam at St Pauls but was not allowed to do A level maths at that school because he didn't score 100% in the exam. You have to ask what value add the school is providing if they can choose perfect pupils!