Fortismere or APS, which secondary should I buy near to?

[twinmumPS]

Hello All,

Having recently moved to Muswell Hill with kids in primary school, we fell in love with the area and would like to buy something in the vicinities of either Fortismere or APS, so that we would be near one of these when the time comes. What are the key differences between the two schools? What should I base my decision on? Any feedback would be enormously appreciated. Thanks!

APS- Traditional, stricter, uniform, amazing SEN provision.
Fortismere- Pretty much the opposite of the above.
People typically love one or the other. I'd go to both open evenings but don't base your decision on that as they're horrendously overcrowded and horrible. Try and get a place for a morning tour too. I also wouldn't worry too much if your children are v young. School reputations change a lot over time. Fortismeres is suffering a bit atm but 7 or so years ago APS was no where near as popular as it is now.

My children go to APS and they both love it and are doing well. My son has an EHCP and the SEN support, as Malmontar says, is excellent. My younger child is in year 8 and is much more academic, she is also doing very well and has made lots of friends. I do find it to be a very inclusive school and the pastoral care is great.

They are strict on the uniform, personally I'm not a uniform fan but as uniforms go it's ok. They are also strict on discipline, which I do think is a good thing. They have a set of core values and do a lot to encourage the pupils to live up to these values. I've found the communication between the school and parent/carers is great.

I don't know a great deal about Fortismere, we didn't consider it because their SEN provision isn't anywhere near as good as APS (at least at the time we applied). I think is a much less strict school so it really depends on your child's personality.

I agree that it's a good idea to go to the evening and the day time sessions, you get a more realistic impression of the school on the open days. You don't need to wait until year 6 to do these visits, I started going when my son was in year 4.

There might still be some areas/streets that are in the catchment for both schools, around Muswell Road, but I know the distances get smaller and smaller each year so this might not be the case any longer. Check the Council's website for last year's catchments, well the furthest offers on the distance category.

We used to live very near both. For my money I'd go APS every time. Go stand outside each school and see how they behave. The APS kids were always well behaved and kind. The Fortismere kids come across as entitled and obnoxious. We have lots of friends happy with APS but several who have moved children out of Fortismere.

You might consider joining the Muswell hill mums Facebook group and asking your question there. Good luck!

Personally I would not consider Fortesmere. Historicly it's got a good reputation which now is somehow maintained due to the extensive private tutoring that is going on. You will pay for this "reputation" with the price of your property. Please save your money.

Teaching is avarage to low quality. Huge(!!) School. SEN and pastoral care poor or non exsistance. Facilities in really bad condition, dont make a nice environment to learn and play in. Not sure what people find in this school. Moved DC end of yr7.

DP has a friend with kids at Fortismere (ok eldest has now left). Both kids have needed a bit of support from.the school which wasn't great. Academically I think they find it good.

It used to be that Fortismere was the school everyone wanted to get into locally, but it seems to have been eclipsed by APS in recent years. I've heard nothing but great things about it.

Hi I thought I’d post here having read the thread when we were trying to decide what to do about ds secondary school. Everything I read online about fortismere was negative, apart from the best schools guide…

I spoke to the neighbours and they didn’t have a bad word to say, their ds now doing a levels, and as it was our closest school we went with it. At that stage we were choosing between private and Fortismere and decided on Fortismere (sept 2021).

I know it’s early days, but we have not been disappointed. My son loves it, he says the teaching is excellent, and has made many great new friends. He only knew 4 people from his old school going there. There are apps for parents (as I think there are in most secondaries) showing positive and negative points, any lateness etc, and google classroom for homework. There was an introduction evening for year 7 parents which helped us feel connected. His form tutor replies to my emails promptly and is really helpful. My son is happy and engaged… long may it last!

We were also offered APS after a couple of months, as we stayed on the waiting list just incase. We spoke to our ds, he didn’t want to move, and as I have said, we were really happy with Fortismere. It seemed like a better follow on from Rhodes where he went to Primary. Most of his friends went to APS and they are also happy. They seem to learn the same stuff, have the same homework projects, aps uses detentions, fortismere tries to get the child to self motivate and teach through collaboration - which I’m sure aps does too. Fortismere is the biggest school in Haringey and has bigger grounds. I am sure Fortismere is not for everyone, no school is, so think about your child.