Graveney, Burntwood, Chestnut Grove...

[LaMigraine]

I'm sure this topic has been done to death, but can't find any very recent thread comparing these three schools. Basically we would def get in to Burntwood and Chestnut on catchment, Graveney not a hope so would have to rely on a selective place. Have seen all three schools now and my main questions are: Burntwood looks amazing and I got a really good impression from it, so why aren't the results better/why is the catchment so big?

Is it worth the stress/money of tutoring to aim for a selective place at Graveney - would it really be significantly better than the other two for a child who is very bright (not a genius) and from a home who would encourage and support? She does need a bit of a push to do her best sometimes, so would Graveney help or hinder in this respect? I also found the deputy head's speech incredibly snobby (the head's, not so much).

And Chestnut, for all its lovely new buildings and great-seeming head teacher, seemed a bit 'meh' on the inside when we visited - the others seemed more buzzy, loads more work/art/displays everywhere, the library seemed tiny and not very well stocked (this may all be because they haven't had time to get everything established as many of the classrooms are so new...)

Help!

I'm not sure about them anymore OP, but I can tell you that many years ago I went to Burntwood and I look back with fond memories! I think it's been changed alot now and it looks amazing! My sister went to Graveney sixth form and really enjoyed it too, I think it was better than the Burntwood sixth form at the time.

Soryy, not that much help but didn't want to read and run. I'm also applying for schools for my son now and I'm in North west london now, my daughter is in year 5 and if I still lived locally, I'd choose Burntwood...

Have you looked at the progress 8 stats for all of them?

Have you looked at La Retraite?

No idea about results but the facilities are great at Burntwood. My concerns were it was a very large school and I thought my child would get lost there. We were a bit far for Graveney and Chestnut so opted for St Cecilia’s. I was really impressed with the school because it was a little smaller and I thought they had great pastoral care and were good at keeping tabs on behaviour (mostly) or more that I had seen elsewhere.

I can share my two very different recent experiences of Graveney: DS1 got in on catchment, put in extension (grammar stream) and flourished. Good GCSEs (better than predicted grades), chose another sixth form and is now at Uni. DS2 got in as sibling and was put in upper stream and was not really inspired by school, I think he flew under the radar, and never seemed motivated or inspired like his brother had been. I found pastoral care to be lacking, with absolutely no contact from tutor or class teachers so no idea if things were going well or not, until parents evening at the end of the year, which as any Graveney parent will tell you is a bit of a bun fight, and if an issue is raised at that point you do think "why haven't you told me this before?" They do talk about school-parent partnership but this has been severely lacking in my experience.

It is a great school with good opportunities and some amazing and inspiring teachers and served DS1 well, but if I am completely honest I think DS2 would have been better suited to a different, smaller secondary, and I do kick myself. Also, there were certain incidents and recurring themes over the years that both my sons either witnessed or were told about by friends involved that I found totally alarming but are probably commonplace in all inner city secondaries. There is a whole new senior leadership team in place supporting the principal who has been there for years, so things may change. I'd say it's a great school for independent, confident, bright kids - the sort who would flourish in any school. The SEN department does its best but does not have enough staff for the size of school. As for your average teen, I'd say they may be better off in a smaller school. This is all my personal opinions and other parents will offer you theirs.

Can't help you with CG or BW. My advice would be to visit during the day when the kids are in classes and observe how the teachers and students speak to each other, take the head teacher's talk with a large pinch of salt and if possible to speak to current students and parents about their experiences. Also, although stating the obvious, do remember that you are 'choosing' a school for your child (not for you!), so let your biggest influence be: where do you think they would best fit in and have opportunities that suit their interests and aspirations.

Good luck and trust your instincts.

@ItsalmostSummer Can you share your experience of Saint Cecilias? I’m wondering whether there or Ricards would be best to put first on the CAF for dd, and apart from the obvious (mixed sex versus single sex, better music at Saint Cecilias versus better Progress 8 at Ricards) I don’t have much of a feel for either of them.

I saw that the pastoral care was good. If we had a problem the staff responded and supported us. The music seemed to be great too although we weren’t really a part of that but if your child was they would be supported. I liked how they were very clear as to behaviour - what was acceptable versus unacceptable - and they responded to not great behaviour.
It felt safe and fun for our child. We moved away but I wish we had stayed. Of course it had its issues, every school does but what I saw made it work for us and they were key points for us : pastoral care, safety and dealing with behaviour issues.
Also the education was good, maybe not top 10 schools category, but very adequate and I trusted if we stayed my child (average to above average) would have been fine. They encourage aiming high beyond school into university (my perspective). I actually thought their parent evenings were one of the best we saw in London - teachers were accessible and kids a part of this.
We were a part of three secondary schools in London. That would be my top one out of the three, and one school was considered a top one. So without saying to much it depends on what you want and what you think makes a good education but I really liked St Cs.

@FlumePlume

Thanks! ItsalmostSummer - really useful insider info.

Hello OP
I have a DD at CG in yr7. She really likes it. She says all her classmates are kind, she does loads of clubs and finds the teachers very approachable. I really like the atmosphere there - there is a lot of energy and they seem to really encourage different interests. It doesn’t feel like an academic conveyor belt in the way that some schools can be. DD is bright and quite self-motivated and I think she benefits from being at a school where she is academically near the top.
I hope this helps.