Secondary Schools Cheltenham

[Greeneyes73]

Does anyone know anything about Pittville Secondary School in Cheltenham - good or bad?? Looking to move my son to a school in Cheltenham and Balcarras are unable to offer a space. Thanks for any help.

Pittville is a 'good' school and I think the teaching is great. The children that go there are generally from a more deprived background than Balcarras. It would depend on what sort of child your DS is. Easily led and distracted, maybe Pittville isn't for him. Bright and head down, should do fine as their value added is usually good.

Balcarras has the advantage of being in a leafy suburb with a lot of parental support, teaching there isn't difficult. Pittville has less parental support and teachers have to work hard to make lessons engaging.

I would prefer Pittville over All Saints anyday, and Pittville vs Bournside would be a close call. I would avoid Balcarras if there are any SN, they are not very inclusive. Any SN I would look at Bournside and Cleeve first. Pittville has quite a few DC with SN, less autism, more with behavioural issues and general low ability. All classes are set, though, so support can be targeted.

Why is your DS moving schools and what year is he in?

Thanks for your reply. He is in Yr 10 and is very bright but is just not happy at current school. He has lost all enthusiasm and motivation and feels surrounded by people who are bringing him down.

Greeneyes, halfway through Y10 is very late to be moving schools. Nearly half of the GCSE course has already been done. I don't think moving in Y10 is a good idea unless he's very, very unhappy. His GCSEs will suffer. Does Pittville do all his current GCSEs? Exam boards will probably be different, making it hard to transfer as the courses might be quite different for even the same subjects.

Sorry to be so negative.

We went to open evenings evenings years ago at Cleeve and Pittville five years ago. Despite the fact there were teachers/students in the main corridor at Pittville, we received no welcome, so we walked around the school on our own. DD particularly wanted to see the Drama Studio which was closed. I know things can go wrong, but the children in the science department had clearly had no preparation of what was expected of them. We got talking to two students about their work and they ended up telling us how awful their teacher was. Our DD is fairly bright and we had three teachers who seemed totally focused on special needs/those struggling and how they cope with that - no one told us what they could do for our brighter child. I'm certainly not a snob, but I didn't think DD would fit in and I thought she'd come across as being a bit too polite and posh (even though we a run of the mill family).

Things can certainly change, but this was the opposite of what the experience we got at Cleeve and there was no contest. It may be a bit far out for you but my DD is really happy at Cleeve and they clearly want what's best for them. It's a big school so is more likely to have the subject he's doing now on offer.

If there's a place for him, do a couple of visits at different times and make sure you speak to the teachers about what they can offer to him.

Many thanks for your honest opinions.