Why is it only Southfields Academy with spaces in Wandsworth?

[justaboutontopofthings]

Looking for secondary in year transfer and there seem to be a lot of spaces here when other schools are massively oversubscribed. I have read a little about the school's past but Ofsted says good and results look ok (or are they not all they seem?) Appreciate any local opinions if you have children there or know why this school doesn't seem so popular.

Sorry for being offline all morning. Really appreciate all the input. We will visit the school and thanks for the info about a personal tour SW18Poster. The other info is really useful too to think about in relation to my DDs personal preferences and abilities. Her dyslexia makes all "wordy" subjects tough going. But I'd be unhappy if she felt pressure to come in each breakfast time and stay late after school ends to get good grades in her GCSEs. How long did that go on for and why was that necessary. Yes you need to work hard for those year(s) but she doesn't perform well under lots of pressure so that wouldn't work for her.

RE: the positive progress 8 results. Less academic schools can play the system to get this sorted.

They dont let any children do triple science or a language and they make them do a lot of very easy dodgy subjects like The European Computer Driving Licence GCSE. So they make good progress but dont learn very much. You can recognize this by very low Ebac.

I see that SA has very low Ebac and does a lot of vocational qualifications. Its attainment 8 is below LA average and its English and Maths are below LA average. Also its attendance is lower than national average and it has approx twice as many boys as girls on the roll (that by itself would put me off).

On paper not a school I would recommend.

They dont let any children do triple science or a language and they make them do a lot of very easy dodgy subjects like The European Computer Driving Licence GCSE. So they make good progress but dont learn very much. You can recognize this by very low Ebac.*

Progress 8 score: This score shows how much progress pupils at this school made between the end of key stage 2 and the end of key stage 4, compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2. This is based on results in up to 8 qualifications, which include English, maths, 3 English Baccalaureate qualifications including sciences, computer science, history, geography and languages, and 3 other additional approved qualifications.

Would The European Computer Driving Licence GCSE be one of the three additional approved qualifications?

Would The European Computer Driving Licence GCSE be one of the three additional approved qualifications? It is currently an approved GCSE equivalent. School near me uses it to get good Progress 8. But it is being taken off the approved list next year.

On the basis described here and Level 8 progress it doesn't seem to be operating as a co.prehensive school, ie, meeting the needs of all ablities. Is that really possible though and should we accept that all children are different and one size of school doesn't suit or meet the needs if all children. Perhaps that's an argument for another day?

Out of interest I drove through Southfields at 4pm today. The Ashcroft children all looked very well turned out and well behaved. St Cecilia's were a rather mixed bag.

Please op, just visit the school on open day. Also get a personal tour and interview if you can.
I sigh at the blinkeredness off some on this thread... Ebacc is not the sodding b all and end all. Some parents want their kids to go through exam sausage machines....

I didn't say the Ebac was the be all and end all. I was just pointing out that it doesn't look like an academic school, its probably a good school for a vocational student. However I would worry a lot about having twice as many boys there as girls.

www.schoolguide.co.uk/schools/southfields-academy-wandsworth

I'd take a look at this (and take from it whatever you want). Yes the ebacc results are low, but they're dealing with an incredibly high portion of students who speak English as a second language and are on free school meals. For many of those the ebacc just wouldn't be feasible - imagine writing history essays in a foreign langauge or learning Italian in french!

Lower than average satisfaction ratings so you might want to check out why that is, but as others have pointed out a strong progress 8 score and there's also a good teacher/pupil ratio.

If your daughter isn't the most academic then it certainly looks like they know how to cater for that - the pupils are clearly getting good grades in their qualifications, whatever those happen to be.

As others have said though - definitely go and look around before making your decision. Best of luck!

And, while the ebacc may not have a high score they have a good percentage passing 5 including English and maths - which are the ones that really count in terms of moving on to further education.

Thanks Dizzy and Rose0 and others. This is helping our thinking about this school, and others, and we'll have a better idea of what we want to see and ask about when we do visit.

Here's my experience. We moved my stepson to Southfields Academy mid-year 10 last year and I've now moved my son. Stepson has dyslexia and he'd been at previous school for over 2 years with no diagnosis. At SA he was identified and tested in a week and now has support. My son (one year below) moved this term and found the classes are much better controlled (much less low-level disruption) than at his previous school. I was a bit wary because of Southfield Academy's 'reputation' but I'm really impressed - both for their handling of SEN and my son, who's identified 'gifted & talented'. He just got his first English essay returned to him and the feedback was so thorough it could have been marked in a top independent school. Of course nowhere is perfect - he has a couple of dud teachers (they're new to the school this year) but he had dud teachers at his old school too. But overall, I'm really impressed and the head seems to be a good mix of strict plus caring about students.