Is Chiswick secondary good?

[newchiswickmum]

Hi,
We are moving to Chiswick next Saturday and we have put my Dd in year 9 down for Chiswick school. She would be moving from an outstanding girl's school in Fulham to Chiswick school. Blogs, I've read online have had mixed opinions on Chiswick school. Does anyone have any recent experiences at the school? Is it quite rough? What are the kids like etc
Also my Ds is in year 4 and we have put him down for strand on the green and cavendish. Does anyone have an opinion on either of these primary schools?

Welcome to Chiswick! We have a daughter in Y7 at Chiswick and another at Grove Park Primary which is also an excellent school. Strand and Cavendish are also good I believe. Have you considered Grove Park Primary? I can honestly say that Chiswick School has completely exceeded our expectations. The leadership is inspirational, teaching is excellent, beautiful grounds, and lots of opportunities due to its size.
You are right that its reputation has been a bit up and down in the past, but it is firmly on the up now and the Head is expected to stay put for quite a while. Our daughter is absolutely loving it there and her class all seem very bright and motivated. Behaviour policy is clear and any issues are dealt with extremely quickly. Online provision, support and communication from the school during lockdown has been excellent. I know some are put off by its size, but bigger school means that they can offer more options (for example French, Spanish, German and Latin for languages), all the DT options you can think of, rowing, music, drama and dance clubs…..also more pupils means your child has more chance of meeting like-minded friends. My daughter did go with a cohort of primary buddies but has also made some great new friends. There is a very active and welcoming PTA. Now, I’m just relieved we don’t have to traipse around looking at other schools for our younger daughter.
I’m very happy to give you more detailed info on our experience with the school either here or feel free to contact me privately.

Thank you so much!!!
That is so reassuring and my Dd is so excited.
We were looking at local primary schools before deciding to move and Grove park was one of our choices but unfortunately, we were told they had a very long waiting list.

(Quick wave to Minty)

My ds left last summer with excellent A level results and they had their highest Oxbridge success ever last year. It has had its problems but the new head and her team have an absolute vision of where it is going and have already taken it from RI to Good with Outstanding features. Friends with dc still there have been so impressed with how they have taught over lockdown and they have fantastic community initiatives going to get used computers from within the local area recycled and out to kids who don’t have access, getting food out from the kitchens to kids on FSM etc. The car boot sale, which will be back soon, normally raises a huge sum every year which the school ploughs in to equipment and enrichment and helps with the school’s hardship fund. The school runs lots of trips - language trips to Germany, Spain, France, Rome, History/Politics trips to places like Washington and NY, Geography trips all over including Iceland as well as the annual ski trip (when people can travel again....). And, most importantly, it has inspirational teachers.

Grove Park Primary is terrific (ds went there) but if you can’t get in there then Strand and Cavendish are both excellent, with Strand possibly just having the edge.

I know many people with kids at Strand who are very happy with it indeed. It's much bigger (3 or 4 form - I can't remember) than Cavendish which is 1 form entry. I don't know a great deal about Cavendish. Loads of Strand kids will move on to Chiswick. My daughter's y7 class seem to have mainly come from Grove, Strand and Cavendish.

@MintyIguana Thank-you so much! Sorry forgot to tag you in the previous message addressed to you.

@mimbleandlittlemy Thank-you so much! Wow, that's amazing that they go on all those trips. Let's hope we're able to travel again soon. I'm really hoping my Dd gets a chance to go on a trip during her time at Chiswick school (if she gets in). All those initiatives sound great!
I'm glad you think both cavendish and strand on the green are good schools! I put Cavendish down as my second choice (after Belmont) but may change to strand on the green second and Cavendish third.
Grove park sounds amazing and me and my Dh are still debating whether we should put Belmont first or Grove park as we know they both have very long waiting lists.

My dd went to Cavendish and left about 9:years ago, but I have stayed connected as a governor, as have several other ex-parents. I chose to do this because it is a fantastic school, with a great school community. It serves families from a diverse range of backgrounds and has a team of staff who are absolutely committed to getting the best from their pupils. It backs on to Dukes Meadows where there is a playground that provides a natural meeting point for families after school. It also has lots of links with Chiswick School, which is just across the road, from Cavendish.

@Springquartet thank-you that's very helpful to hear as I didn't know much about Cavendish school. I'm glad to hear it's very nearby to Chiswick school as that would be convenient if my daughter ever needed to pick my son up.