good secondary schools in London

[fedda]

Hello, I'm looking for good secondary schools in London. Any recommendations are very gratefully received. It doesn't matter what part of London as we are happy to move if we know of a good school. Ta very much.

For a boy, please. I don't mind mixed schools actually. Ta.

Bump

given that there must be hundreds of secondary schools in London I don't think you're going to get many useful answers to such an open question.

I suggest you consider what would make a school "good" for you, get hold of a good schools guide or equivalent and look for those that meet your criteria.

Work your way through this list? Bearing in mind that the comprehensives will have only 20% of the number of children of the academic ability of the selective schools....

Do you want it to have good sporting, or drama, or science facilities? Outer-London or the urban metropolis if the centre? general area or 'within reasonable commuting distance of...'? Competitvely academic? Laid-back community spirit? Faith school? You have to give something to go on!

State schools, I know of two - one in Mill Hill (called Mill Hill County I think), one in Hanwell (nr Ealing) called Drayton Manor. There must be loads more.

Fedda, are you already living in London? You'd need to be much more specific are schools are one thing but living within the right catchment areas could be very expensive.

Buy this MN-ers house! She says it is near a good London state secondary! here

Drayton Manor sounds perfect but they have 1000 applicants so it's not much chance. I'm looking for a good academic but not pushy school with good community spririt, not worried at all about sports, drama or music but interested in math, literature and science, In London or grater London. Ta.

All schools thought to be good in London will be very very over-subscribed. The ones near us have over 1500 applicants - but then many of those applications are the same people on mor than one list, and many applications will be'no-hopers' from miles and miles away etc. But, competition for any good school will be tough. So, pick a school - maybe one which has other good schools nearby so that there is a contingency, and study the admittance criteria and (if relevant) buy on the doorstep.

What blu said.

There are so many different types of school that you really need to define what you are looking for:

co-ed or single-sex?
large and buzzy or small and cosy?
academically selective?
high league-table position?
mixed ability or setting?
traditional or liberal?
religious or secular?
uniform or not?
range of extracurricular activities?
middle-class or mix of backgrounds?

Then you need to look at whether you could realistically afford to buy within the immediate area of the school, since for most non-selective schools proximity will form all or most of the admissions criteria. As a random example of schools in north London, Fortismere in Muswell Hill is generally considered a good mixed comprehensive, but it has an arty liberal middle-class ethos that is not to everyone's taste, and is an expensive area to buy in. Similarly Dame Alice Owens is a school people fight to get into, and there are non-selective places for people who live on the doorstep. But it is often considered to be very academically pushy, and low on pastoral care and general cuddliness. Conversely, you might find a small cosy school with a less elevated position in the league tables that might really bring out the best in your child.

Your question is too general to be helpfully answered. Get a copy of the Good Schools Guide, look at the league tables for a general picture of education in a particular borough, look at ofsted reports and school websites to get a picture of individual schools, check on rightmove to see what you can afford, and then draw up a shortlist of likely schools/areas and visit them.

Thank you very much for all your comments. You're right, it's too general aquestion to get a specific answer. I'll do my best in following your advice. I was simply hoping that may be some people could name the school they are happy with and let me know what makes their child happy there. It would be very helpful to know of some not so oversubscribe schools which are good in terms of carying place, good academically but not pushy, a school with good lidership and dedicated teachers. The rest isn't that important. Anyway, I'll try to investigate. Ta very much.