Evelyn Grace Academy Brixton

[RitzyRita]

Hello,

I am wondering if any Mumsnetters have a child at Evelyn Grace Academy Brixton?

This is the school we have been allocated for my daughter, and we don't know every much about it. We put it last on our CAF because it is very close, but we are further away from the schools we visited and liked.

Will it suit an academic, studious quiet but sociable child? I have been reading the website, some of the policies seem quite draconian (45 minute detention for lateness).

Anyone?

I’m fairly local but don’t know much about it either I’m afraid except it’s the one with the architecturally prize winning building??
In case you haven’t already looked there’s a lot of good advice on Making the best of it (think that’s what recent thread is titled) and towards end of Countdown to school allocations 2018 thread, for and from parents in your situation some in years gone by.
From reading them and my own experience have to say it is easy to be v pleasantly surprised here in London by schools which look Rough (from “naice” point of view) from outside but are actually amazing when you get to know them.
One piece of good advice if you are not happy with allocation is to get yourself on waiting lists for less popular but actually pretty good local schools. . Lambeth Academy is one; a neighbour of mine goes and it sounds as if it might suit your child.
Also the waiting lists you ARE on will probably shift a lot over the next few months.
It is incidentally symptomatic of MN membership that you can put it a query about, say, Roedean, or even Henrietta Barnett and get an instant page of replies. But ask about Evelyn Grace and it’s like, what? Who is that??
Sorry not to be more help.

Hi Ritzy, i don't know the school but i had a look at the behaviour policy to see if it looked more draconian than normal. It goes into a lot more detail than the one for my own children's comp, but i wouldn't say it was stricter than normal. The only exception is that i think at my dc school they get one chance of being late before getting a detention, but that would be more of an issue for people relying on the transport system. Your dd will be at an advantage as she lives so close.
If your dd did get a detention for something minor it would probably be pretty low key and not frightening. Just sitting in a room for a little bit. My dd has had a minor break time one for forgetting something and it was fine.
On the school's ofsted report it says "Pupils’ behaviour is exceptionally strong and has a positive impact on their social
skills, personal development and learning. There is a studious, mature learning
environment in classes and around the school. Pupils are engaged and participate
in their learning and are proud of their achievements. They are polite and orderly
around the school and were a credit to the school during the inspection."
So their system must be working and it would benefit your dd to be in that sort of environment. Your dd sounds very sensible and I'm sure the teachers would soon get to know her and recognise that and she'd be fine. They'd be focussing on dealing with any badly behaved ones. If you help them with their organisation and making sure they've got the right books/equipment each day in the beginning that helps them avoid detentions early on.

Thank you all, there are some great points here.

(yes, it is the school designed by the architect who designed the Olympic swimming centre)

I know Evelyn Grace. I would suggest you ask for another look around. You will get a good idea about behaviour and teaching on a normal school tour. In addition take a look at the DFE progress scores for the school. This is a really valuable indicator of how well a school is doing with its cohort