London secondary school ideas for sporty/musical girl - advice?

[martiniDirty]

My DD is in Year 4 now and I am wondering what might be the best secondary school experience I can achieve for her.

She is quite lively; on all the A teams at school, on development teams in tennis, sailing. Musically writes songs will have Grade 2-4 in two instruments. Academically she is above average in French, Science, Maths but nothing extraordinary.

Am renting so can move to east or west London. Considering free schools like Mossbourne but wonder if I should attempt a fee paying schools (e.g. Putney High?) where we may get a bursary? Would the experience far outweigh the financial sacrifice?

Many thanks for any advice in this matter.

It is good to know that the school can offer an award with the guitar, as normally they prefer orchestral instruments. Also can someone kindly explain what is the county level in football?

Ah! No, different Habadashers! The one you're talking about is an Academy owned by the original Habs Askes in north London / Herts, which is the one I was talking about. Sorry for confusion!

I think Forest is co-ed, thank you. Have not heard of Mill Hill will investigate. Do you know what Blackheath is like?

I can comment on Forest, I don't have children there, but I do know many families with children there. Everyone is very pleased and it has a reputation of being a rounded, kind place. Though, don't be mistaken, it is competitive and I also know DC who have failed to gain places.

It is coed with a "diamond" structure. The prep school is coed. The highschool (yr7 to GCSEs) is single sex with a boys school and a girls school on the same campus sharing lunch and sports facilities. Then back to coed for 6th form. A lot of families find this structure particularly appealing, sort of a best of both worlds situation.

Forest gives out scholarships for music and academics and they are quite generous. They give a lot of scholarships each year and they give up to 50%. Once a child has a scholarship they can then apply for a bursary as well. You cannot get a bursary without a scholarship.

Other schools in my area, Chigwell and Bancrofts, also have scholarships up to 50%. They just don't seem to have as big a pot each year as Forest and seem to give fewer.

Forest runs multiple musical ensemble groups for children as extracurriculars as well as many sports teams. They have a good reputation for running as many teams as needed to give all interested children a chance, so opportunities for all, not just the stars.

I think Forest is co-ed. Have not heard of Mill Hill will investigate. Any opinion on Blackheath?

Sorry did not see that my previous message had gone through - apologies!

That sounds really interesting SettlinginNicely. Thank you!

Any thoughts on Christ's Hospital is entrance extremely difficult?

Read a bit more and think that a good all rounder MIGHT work here but also there seems to be talk of less assistance available these days. I think she may fit into a quirky atmosphere such as this. Like the idea of not being the only poor kid who is not off skiing during breaks etc.

If you could get into Mossbourne, how will you manage to move house into another catchment, in time to put in your CAF application form at the end of October, ready to start secondary the following September? If you move into catchment for many of the places mentioned you are gong to have 2.5 terms of travelling impossibility!

Have you looked at Haggerston, closer to home? Children actually do very well indeed in the vast majority of London schools, you may have a gem on your doorstep, even though it is not one of the famous few.

No knowledge of Blackheath, but I forgot to say that Holland Park is very highly regarded. It's another popular choice for MP's children.

DD is age 8 in Year 4 for reference so have a year to make a change if it seems a good idea.

I have been in the Haggerston building and it looks vibrant but I am a bit concerned that the league tables suggest that it is struggling a bit academically with only 46% achieving 5+ A-C or equivalents including A-C in both English and mathematics GCSEs':

GCSE league table .

I want DD to go somewhere with strong Maths, Science, Sports and Music and a culture of high achievement led more by inspiration than fear of stick. That I can afford. And a unicorn. LOL.

I have just noticed something called Hackney New School:

'Our core vision is to provide students with access to the widest range of opportunities in life by fostering academic excellence and instilling self-belief, intellectual curiosity and responsibility towards others in society.'

Going to research this also!

Thanks for all this support, very grateful.

I have been in the Haggerston building and it looks vibrant but I am a bit concerned that the league tables suggest that it is struggling a bit academically with only 46% achieving 5+ A-C or equivalents including A-C in both English and mathematics GCSEs':

Not sure where you got htat figure from: as far as I can see, the current figure is 61%, which considering the intake is impressive. 2015 GCSE results

You may be making the mistake of assuming that a school's headline GCSE statistics equate to the chances of your dc leaving with 5 A-C grades. Of course Haggerston have a significant number of dc who will not reach the magic target - you've seen the catchment, the school has very high indicators of deprivation and takes in a signficant number of dc who are not high achievers. But scrolling down that link, there are dc getting grades at Haggerston that any school would be proud of. The overall A-C percentage just tells you about the intake - as long as there's a reasonable number at the top of the cohort getting a good spread of A* and A grades, then there's no reason any child of similar ability can't do the same.

OP, you asked about Christ's Hospital. I know two very happy children there. But it obviously raises a big new question of boarding... They have an extraordinarily large number of major bursaries that really help make boarding feasible - so although trying to attract some more full-fee paying students these days, it is (among?) the most generous. Thorough intake tests but not superselective, so I would think an above average kid who wants to board has a fair chance. Like you, I am attracted by the more diverse intake relative to similar schools - so if we wanted or needed boarding, this would be high on my list.

Hi Agonybeetle
I take your point that results can be massively misleading particularly with selectives where they are in no way a reflection on teaching. However, I had slight reservations in putting Haggerston first on the basis of results being 46% last year. All I would say about the percentage of kids coming from deprivation and free school meals is that schools like Central Foundation Boys achieved 84% the exact same year! This is a school that has a far more challenging cohort with 70% FSM in recent years! This is where, I believe results matter. In my opinion, that's an incredible achievement that needs supporting. For this reason Central Foundation Boys was my first choice.
All that said, I loved Haggerston and feel sure my DS would thrive there also. I think results are improving too. My point is really that elements of deprived backgrounds cannot be an excuse, which is what I feel Highbury grove hide behind and they are situated in leafy middle class Islington avenues. Central Foundation Boys blows all those theories out of the water IMO.

Hi martinidirty
Im sorry, previous post was meant to go to you too..

No worries, thank you both very much. On a Primary level Orchard and Queensbridge achieve quite a lot I know.

I do know children who are happy at Haggerston and at Mossbourne for that matter but feel that this is my chance to open my window up a bit before I have committed to anything.

I would miss my daughter if she boards but then she may really enjoy it and like being part of a community of diverse but motivated children. I think the uniform would be character building and quite a uniting experience. It seems a world away from sexting and mobile phones and X Factor/footballer culture etc.

Sport and Music is very strong at Queenswood near Potters Bar in Herts. Lots of girls from North London. Look at their web site for sports covered but girls have to be very good at sport to get a scholarship and even then it is worth very little financially. No harm in asking what their bursary programme covers.