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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

St. Benedicts Ealing

22 replies

GoldTulip · 13/02/2021 15:41

My DS has got an offer from St. Benedicts for Y7 entry.
My son is in a state school now. Feedback on pastoral care and how academically pushy the school is please?

Are the teachers accessible for feedback and are they supportive for giving extra attention for children who need any additional support?

OP posts:
Springquartet · 13/02/2021 15:55

My daughter left the sixth form at St Benedicts in 2019 having been there from Y7. Prior to that, she attended a state primary. Based on her experience, I would highly recommend the school. The pastoral care was excellent and any issues were resolved very quickly. I also found that I was able to get to know other parents in her year group - which I was always told didn't happen at secondary school. My daughter loved the school and has continued to follow them on social media. From what she has seen, they have been very proactive in the delivery of education during lockdown.

Springquartet · 13/02/2021 15:58

Just to add, the school caters for a wide range of abilities and has become more academic since a new head started a couple of years ago. I would say that there is the right amount of balance in terms of the individual child's capabilities. My daughter was expected to do her best, but the targets and the amount of work were always realistic.

Original poster
GoldTulip · 13/02/2021 16:08

Thanks for your feedback. What is like for non Christian students?

In addition, given junior school students will be continuing to senior school, how is the settling process? Currently we dont live locally in Ealing and hence considering commute to the school from North West London.

OP posts:
hopsalong · 13/02/2021 16:14

Read up about its history. I'm sure the school has improved. But I would never send my child to a school with a long recent history of child sexual abuse. (FWIW, I used to go to the associated Ealing Abbey with my parents and never had any sense of the priests being dodgy. But they were. It was all happening in a very cleverly concealed way; and that's why I would never completely be able to trust it isn't still happening now.)

This is from the report. Absolutely shocking. Priests were going round to boys' houses after school, inveighing their way into the bathroom, and abusing them there! See: www.iicsa.org.uk/news/inquiry-publishes-report-ealing-abbey-and-st-benedicts-school

' a culture of abuse spanning over 30 years. Since 2003, four members of staff connected to St Benedict’s have been convicted of multiple offences for the sexual abuse of over 20 children. Another teacher was convicted of offences relating to the possession of indecent images of children in 2016. The total scale of abuse can never be known, but it is likely to be much greater.'

Utility · 13/02/2021 16:58

The historic St. Benedict's abuse issues have been extensively documented and are awful.
It is now a well-balanced, caring, coeducational school with improving academic results. It is now renowned for its pastoral care.

IdesMarchof · 13/02/2021 17:01

Look at the Confessions of a Skeptic website. This would hugely put me off

Toddlerteaplease · 13/02/2021 17:03

The English Benedictine congregation was heavily criticised for not acting on things they'd were told to improve on in previous enquiries. If the school is still being run by the EBC. I would t send a child there.

Jelly7 · 13/02/2021 17:54

As a parent at the school I can confirm that the school has been entirely separate from the Abbey for years now and has its own lay board of governors. It has had very good inspection recent inspection reports to confirm this which you can see on its website. My own children are very happy at the school. Better to judge for yourself and hear from current parents than look at the history of how the Abbey ran the school in the past.

TomorrowOnce · 13/02/2021 18:19

We did consider SBS for our DD. We visited at least twice and felt that the kids here exuded kindness and quiet confidence. Both girls and boys were happy with their school.

The school should be aware of the bad press. I was hoping that a current parent should clarify this. Thanks @Jelly for doing just that.

Original poster
GoldTulip · 13/02/2021 18:47

Thanks everyone for the feedback. It is good to know that the current kids are doing well and happy

OP posts:
Springquartet · 13/02/2021 19:19

Re your earlier question, we are not Christians and found that it was fine. As it is an RC school, the expectation is that all pupils attend RE and mass - but my daughter learned a lot from this experience. Just to reiterate, it is a now a totally different school from that of the past.

hopsalong · 13/02/2021 23:30

There are so many other schools. Why pick one associated not with one or two minor scandals or even one awful case (like Colet Court, at least they cared enough to change the name!) but one where for decades boys were abused in the most appalling ways by the staff? Choosing this school over the many others in the area (including some excellent state choices) is wrong, and condones (under the 'oh it's all fine because it was a long time ago, now it's wonderful') things that no one should ever accept. It ought to have been closed down and would have been if the Catholic Church gave a shit.

There was a very nice priest at Ealing Abbey, a teacher at the school, when I was being confirmed. He has a heart attack one night and we were asked to pray for him. His essential goodness, they said, was illustrated by the fact he tidied up his room before the ambulance could get there. I have a very different interpretation of his goodness now!

IdesMarchof · 13/02/2021 23:31

I agree @hopsalong

flicksan · 12/02/2022 18:13

I live in Ealing and know lots of kids there. All very happy.

My son also got an offer and will be going. I know the history but as others have said it is an entirely different school now, run separately from the abbey. Entirely different staff from 30-50 years ago!

Ridiculous comments about history. Yes awful - but it was 30-50 years ago it is probably one of the safest schools around now because of it. I know someone who taught there until recently and she says it was extremely rigorous hiring process vs all other private schools she has taught at.

flicksan · 12/02/2022 18:16

@GoldTulip do feel free to get in touch if you want. If you decide to choose Bennies then we could even introduce our boys - and my son’s 3 friends who are going before they start.

DoubleDeckerSwimmer · 12/02/2022 18:28

@flicksan

I live in Ealing and know lots of kids there. All very happy.

My son also got an offer and will be going. I know the history but as others have said it is an entirely different school now, run separately from the abbey. Entirely different staff from 30-50 years ago!

Ridiculous comments about history. Yes awful - but it was 30-50 years ago it is probably one of the safest schools around now because of it. I know someone who taught there until recently and she says it was extremely rigorous hiring process vs all other private schools she has taught at.

Your kids, your choice but it is very misleading to say it happened 30 - 50 years ago. Abuse was ongoing over 30 + years and was occurring really quite recently. e.g. two lay teachers until 2008, the deputy head (hired after the scandal, arrested in 2015: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3353705/Deputy-head-leading-Catholic-school-stored-child-porn-office.html)

The report on the historic abuse only came out in 2019 and the Holy See did not cooperate. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/24/child-abuse-st-benedicts-school-ealing-abbey-iicsa-report

flicksan · 12/02/2022 18:43

I am not playing down. My daughter was sexually assaulted by another pupil at another local high school. Unfortunately no school is ever going to be exempt .

The fact is what your saying is like blaming Germans living today for Nazi war crimes.

There’s not a single member of staff there now that was there when these terrible events occurred.

I just heard today of another West London school where a teacher was abusing pupils for years. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58072825

If you think it could never happen at your child’s school I am sorry but you are definitely deluding yourself!

DoubleDeckerSwimmer · 12/02/2022 18:48

@flicksan

I am not playing down. My daughter was sexually assaulted by another pupil at another local high school. Unfortunately no school is ever going to be exempt .

The fact is what your saying is like blaming Germans living today for Nazi war crimes.

There’s not a single member of staff there now that was there when these terrible events occurred.

I just heard today of another West London school where a teacher was abusing pupils for years. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58072825

If you think it could never happen at your child’s school I am sorry but you are definitely deluding yourself!

I am well aware it could happen anywhere. I never said that it could not. Not sure why I am being accused of being deluded.

I merely said "it is very misleading to say it happened 30 - 50 years ago". Which I still believe it is. I am sure that we can agree that 2008 is only eleven years ago. 2015 is actually only seven years ago, though it seems no students were impacted by that crime, so perhaps it is not fair to include.

For someone seeking advice on the school, it seemed reasonable to me that the dates be more accurate.

DoubleDeckerSwimmer · 12/02/2022 18:49

2008 is only eleven years ago - well, no need to agree with that typo! 14 years ago....

flicksan · 12/02/2022 19:12

Absolutely re the dates but still stand by the point that it is an entirely different school even from 2015. Not sure if you actually know the school personally. The new headmaster has completely turned it around. I brought up the school’s past at the open day and didn’t find him defensive in the slightest.

TheyWentToSeaInASieve · 25/09/2023 12:09

Any more updates on this school? How does it compare to other easier to get into schools in the area?

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