Schools in Wandsworth/Southfields area

[anotherbusymum14]

Hello, we are moving this summer quite probably to the Wandsworth area, and I am looking for some more recent information on the local state secondary schools for my daughter. She will be entering Year 7 so we may have to wait until the school year starts to put her on any waiting lists but essentially I believe she will be classed as an "in year admission" as the schools have already (mostly) filled their rolls for September 2015.
So as we look around and enquire, does anyone have any knowledge or experience of knowing any children at these schools or going to these local schools namely, Saint Cecelia's, Southfields Academy, Ashcroft Technology Academy, or any others that I may not know about? And what has been their/your experience - good or not so good, even if you just have some advice about the schools and head teachers on this really. Thank you so much.

Do have a look at Burntwood too - all girls (if you are ok with that), particularly good languages.

I have boys, but had a look at all of the ones you mentioned, Rough impressions were -

Ashcroft - very strict, run a bit like a military academy (Headmaster is ex-RAF I think) but extremely oversubscribed and has good results.

St.Cecilias - good pastoral care, strong in music, but difficult to get into if you're not a regular church goer.

Southfield's Academy - the less said, the better.

As KingscoteStaff said, Burntwood is considered a good option for girls so I'd have a look there too.

Everything in this area is hugely oversubscribed though, so unless you're planning to move next door to a school be prepared for a while on the waiting list for your preferred school.

Graveney is the state school most people want but very difficult to get into. If you are a CoE church goer, then Lady Margaret in Fulham is very popular for girls but again massively hard to get into. If Catholic, then London Oratory and Sacred Heart are the top choices but again pretty impossible to get into ( (unless you are an MP in which case the doors magically open).

We are so lucky we have great secondary school around Southfields, my ds is going to Aschcroft in Year 7. I was not very keen because of the strictness but he is dead set on it. I like ST Cecilia. Heard burnt wood and Ricards lodge are great. Southfields community collège : avoid.

Hate to depress you OP, but we were in a very similar situation a few years ago - late Y7 entry - and were offered Elliot or Battersea Park School - the only Wandsworth schools with vacancies once all places had been allocated. Given that we were not convinced that either school would meet DS's educational needs and we could not take time off to keep him at home at the start of the school year - we ended up going down the private school route. So you might want to have a back up plan.

Don't despair!

I was at the planning appeal for an independent school in Wandsworth that wanted to expand so girls could stay on for secondary recently and as part of the evidence the Council gave lots of info on secondary place availability within the state system.

Ashcroft was heavily oversubscribed (along with Graveney) with more people putting them as first choice than they have places but with the expansion of Burntwood there were apparently surplus places so definitely look there.

Have a look at the local site for Wandsworth too as we get a lot of school threads.

You can go on the waiting lists the minute you move, and the waiting lists are kept in order of how far you meet the criteria, so if you move onto the doorstep of a school you will be ahead of earlier applicants who live further away.

You can go on multiple waiting lists.

I didn't mention Graveney because if OP lives in Southfields they wouldn't get in on distance, and they've missed the Wandsworth Test so I don't think they can get in on that either (apart from the fact very few do!). But yes, a very good school!

There's also Bolingbroke Academy, a bit further east, supposed to be very good but I imagine getting a space might be a challenge.

I hear good things about both Burntwood and Ashcroft.