St Augustine's priory Ealing-secondary school

[Toooldforthat]

Any parents with girls at the secondary school? My DD is at the primary school and loves it, wants to stay for secondary. It bothers me that this school is considered like a fall back and that lots of bright girls are leaving for "better" schools at secondary. Will the few bright girls left thrive there? Is the teaching good enough to not let them down? Should I embark poor DD in intensive 11+ drilling? She has no motivation in doing so as her alternative is fine by her.

Sorry, not a parent, but bumping for you - and giving my view from a quick browse:

Pretty good GCSE results (54% A star/A) - how good this really is depends on how able the intake is. (If average, then pretty good? The ISI report might say something about the ability level of the intake)

BTW, the claim to best in Ealing does not stand up for anyone with half a braincell or who uses a source that counts the exams fairly; I have never visited this school, but NHEHS (which impressed us greatly) would be the natural choice for an academic girl who gets in - and it has 90 percent. (Actually it has 58 percent A stars, so more than St A has A and A stars. Of course the selective intake explains much of this)

Now, a bit too early to worry about, but I noticed the weak A level results. It is telling that there are subtotals for the GCSEs but you have to add up and do the depressing percentages yourself for A-levels! This irritated me enough to do it - so if my very quick counting did not let me down, it was (13 of 84, so) 15% A star/A! And don't fall off your chair, it seems that all of those are As, i.e. not a single exam at A star! (They conveniently omitted the A star row in the table). Probably a far too small 6th form cohort of about 25 kids. Perhaps it is a really lovely and gentle school, but I would not count on top exam results from this 6th form...

Yes, I was really annoyed about their claim of best school in Ealing since the league table they refer to does not take into account iGCSEs which NHEHS must have done. Nevertheless I agree that the GCSEs results are decent but could they be better IYKWIM? Is the teaching up to scratch? I will re-read the ISI report with emphasis on the secondary school this time. I really like the primary school, it is fun and exciting, and DD too, she can't wait to go back next week. But I would really like to hear from current parents of the secondary school.

Why don't you repost in the Ealing local area? it's a bit quiet but you might get some more responses.

Someone did in July and had no reply. I bumped it, let's see.

It was a bit tumbleweedy in there the last time I looked I was hoping it had picked up...

Quite weirdly, their banner outside their school claimed they were the '2nd best performing school in Ealing' or similar, their direct marketing conflicting messages with this in-house post....both clumsy, given the glaring omissions of the other local indies to the DfE table!

I think your real challenge is with what your DD wants to do, as from your other thread post you state you only moved her recently, and she is now just entering Y6. It's quite soon to be making another big move, that will potentially mean scrumming up against the numbers of applicants in Jan 16 for Y7 entry...is she ready for this process, given her request to stay put for now?

You know your local indies, mixed and single sex and they all come with a mix of successes and issues. You will always find that some of those who have stayed in the through-school will be getting twitchy feet by GCSEs and ready for a potential move 16+ (no different at NHEHS), so if GCSE results are good at ST As, then this may be the next right appropriate time to move her, given her age and maturity at that stage to know what she wants.

Half the battle of going through the 11+ entrance hoops is having a motivated child who wants to move. It's otherwise a crap process for parents who have to drag the reluctant ones through it...

You are quite right, she wants to stay and she is happy, she is above average but far from being bored, I think it a great school for her at the moment, I am just worried she will not be motivated to work her best and will coast at secondary school if the ethos of the school is not pushy. That's why I would like to hear from current parents. And it is a bit delicate to ask directly I found.

It's true. I am not a parent there either but agree with the sensitivity, as it must be difficult to always justify why you stay on at senior with the reputation being against them compared to the other schools you mention. For what it's worth, I know a few children that are in senior of St As and are doing very well there, and some who have left post A levels. The ethos of the school meets these girls' personalities, and by all accounts the teaching works/worked for them.

Good luck with seeking first hand info. For what it's worth - I do know that the same question is asked by parents of other local schools, and you may be asking the same question had you chose St B's or NH as your junior. I think this is generically down to the "Ealing factor" which has a safe, nurturing, surburban feel compared to the perceived edgier (and therefore competitive) draw of the inner London schools, e.g. Hammersmith/North London.

Sorry - a little repetitive. I should learn not to post when tired .

Cannot also make up for the lack of ealing parents to come forward to help you as I think they're a shy bunch!

I think she should stay if she wants to and is happy and doing well. I think it is better for her self esteem to be in a mixed ability school since at the moment she sits at top of middle set for English and maths and middle of top set for the rest. Let's say against all odds she manages to get in NHEHS with hardly any tutoring she might be miserable there giving the competitive nature of the place. And Twyford for 6th form has an excellent reputation if SAP does not improve by then. I need to bite the bullet, I think I was getting really annoyed by the reputation of the school as fall back.