Coombe Boys School, New Malden

[Pumpkinnose]

Hello

Does anyone have any recent experiences of Coombe Boys School please?

Thank you

Only second hand experience: A colleague, who's a teacher, moved her year 9 son from there last year as she wasn't happy with the teaching and pastoral care.

Most kids I know are very happy there. The general sense locally is that it is on the up since joining the Academy with the girls school.

My Year 10 son is quite happy there and his younger brother will be joining him in September.

We chose it for DS1 because it's smaller than many secondaries, is a very arty schoolwith lots an amazing dram department and is very unmacho in ethos, unlike other schools we looked at. We've personally found the pastoral care to be very good.

But I think you really need to go and look for youself, when you can. Anectodal evidence is desperately unreliable and will never give you the full picture. Houseplantmad says she has a teacher friend who moved their child from Coombe because she was unhappy. I have a teacher friend who moved their child from another local and outstanding boys' secondary to Coombe because of the other school's failure to address the awful bullying their son was subject to, but I would imagine most parents with a child at that school would tell you how wonderful it is, if you asked them.

Sorry, don't know what happened with that middle paragraph! Hope you can make sense of it.

My son is due to start at Coombe in sept unless his first choice at another local boys come up. I have not had any negative feedback on the school I think it has a lovely ethos. Good luck x

Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated.

Hi, did you send your son to coombe in the end (i know its 4 years ago) and if yes, is your son happy there?

My son is now in year 8 at Coombe. My experience is entirely positive and their pastoral care is excellent. Lots of clubs for all interests. My son has needed extra maths support & they've done so much to support him.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Do you know if the school has good SEN support? I would love to hear first hand experiences of parents of boys at Coombe with ASD/ADHD.

Do they set for maths and English?

Has there been much turnover of teachers while your son's been there?

No staff turnover in my son's classes although I'm guessing there must be some, just like any school.
There is a SEN provision yes - there's some open events going on soon, best to speak to them directly about specific needs which can be so varied. They are good at recognising strengths in all children.
Visiting may help you get a better feel for your child. Personally, one year in, I continue to feel confident in the school.

... they do set for maths yes. Not English but maybe that comes later...