State Secondary Schools - West London.

[MsGameandWatching]

Up to my ears in applications. All the decent schools seem to be faith schools and we are not religious. Is it still worth applying?

Any experiences of:-

West London Free
Fulham Cross Girls
Kensington Alderidge
Hammersmith Academy

Many thanks.

Kensington Aldridge is the school by Grenfell and has relocated to portacabins by Burlington Danes for the next year or so. It is now oversubscribed and the catchment is quite small.

Burlington is worth a look, church but has a wider intake. Very strict but genuinely caring teachers.

I know people with kids at Hammersmith Academy and Fulham Cross and they are happy with them. I would go along to the open day and see which one your DC prefers. I would be realistic though and look carefully at the admission criteria.

(Watching this thread with interest)

My DC is at the west London free school. Despite the terrible press it gets now and again mainly due to its founder I think it's pretty good and the parents of other kids also seem happy. It's not perfect but I'm not sure any school is.. Its M expects all the students to have high expectations and most of the teaching is really good. There are times when great teachers move on but I think that is a natural london movement thing. The music is trully outstanding and open to all and the art is also great. What else would you like to know?

The head of English at WLFS taught my DD at Holland Park and she is wonderful. If all the teachers are of that calibre, that would be fantastic.

Have you considered Holland Park School, St Marylebone School or Grey Coat Hospital School they all have great reputations

I really need a school that's quite local as dd has some additional needs and she won't be able to travel herself and I need to be able to get there quickly. With that in mind I don't think she'd function massively well in a highly academic environment so not sure Holland Park would suit. Will take a look at the other two you mention.

Thanks for replies. We start the open days and evenings this week 😱

Ha! Holland Park is not highly academic, it's still a comp. I wouldn't personally recommend it for reasons often said on these threads. Grey coats and St M are both CofE. Where about are you - you need the be realistic about your choices - for most schools it ultimately goes to distance.

I'm being realistic about my choices in that I know I cannot send an autistic child to a school so far away that she has to travel on the bus/tube each day, a journey she is highly unlikely to be able to do herself for a good few years, if ever. If I cannot find a school close enough I will put her on wait lists and Home Educate if necessary. That is the reality.

I'm in Hammersmith.

Have you looked at Aldridge's provision for ASD and see if it applies to you? Not sure how they allocate those places. Then the 220 if the school is still in Wood Lane or the 295 otherwise.

Are you close enough for HPS - they do definitely have ASD kids there and have support networks, as I would expect do other schools.
I would definitely look at Burlington as well - if you are near very committed and supportive staff and an excellent SENCo.

I don't think Holland Park would be a great fit. How about Chelsea Academy? 50% of the places are for community rather than faith.

Also yes to Burlington Danes.

From a friend's experience HP not great for ASD. I have heard a really good SENCO recently moved to WLFS.

Thanks this is really helpful. We're going to open evenings at all mentioned schools except HP. I have consistently heard that it wouldn't be a good fit for a child with ASD so it seems pointless to go. Also heard some good things about Chiswick School, so gave booked a tour there too.