Thinking of moving to Croydon or Purley - can anyone help with info on secondary schools?

[MrsBobbington]

My DD will be applying in September, so entry to secondary in 2022. I'm really struggling to pin down an area as I imagine we won't be able to visit the schools before we apply.

Could anyone help with info about the schools in the area please? I've been researching Riddlesdown Collegiate but it's so hard to get a good idea of what it is like in reality.

My daughter is fairly quiet at school, fairly hardworking, loves reading. She has had a couple of male friends in primary so I thought a mixed school would work well for her rather than all girls. I thought the facilities and curriculum look great but I'd really appreciate some first hand experiences!

Riddlesdown has a good reputation locally, there is also the superselective grammar in Wallington if she's likely to pass the 11+, it admits the top 100 on score alone so it doesn't matter where you live. Woodcote in Coulsdon is good too, a relatively new head and things improving rapidly by all accounts. Harris Purley has a banding test and admits a certain number of children from each band, so it's truly comprehensive but trying to work out if you'd get a place or not is a bit of a minefield.

Riddlesdown Collegiate is good, friends' kids were very happy there.

Warlingham school is also very good, my son loved it.

I looked at Oasis Coulsdon and thought it was dreadful.

I can’t recommend Riddlesdown I’m afraid - especially if your DD is quiet, she’ll get eaten alive. I feel the school is just too big and easy for kids to get lost in the system, particularly if they are struggling to fit in. The school’s attempts to be strict are a bit old fashioned in my opinion - shouting and putting kids in isolation for days just doesn’t sit easy with me. Warlingham is a lot more nurturing I think. Have you looked at Coombe Wood too? Great facilities and happy kids.

@MrsBertBibby you said your son loved Warlingham, does that mean that he has left now? When did you look at Oasis Academy Coulsdon? Just curious if your opinions on these schools are based on recent years? I know Oasis Coulsdon wasn't the best several years back but I thought it was pretty good these days.

Warlingham seems to have a good reputation but I don't know too much about it other than I used to hear parents say, if your child is academic send them to Riddlesdown and if not send them to Warlingham. I'm not sure if that is still a thing but if it was it would put me off Warlingham. Warlingham's results didn't seem as good as Woodcote, Riddlesdown and Oasis Coulsdon on the gov.uk website if results matters a lot to you although they were ok. Also if you want a school with a 6th form, Oasis Coulsdon doesn't have one. Coombe Wood has a focus on health related fitness and is very popular but as it is quite new there are no results yet.

I have friends with children who are happy at Warlingham and it would seem to me that you can definitely do well there if you are academic but if you are not they will guide your child on a path that suits their needs in order to get the best out of them. I was however surprised by the low percentage in students that entered the baccalaureate but perhaps there is an explanation for this.

Riddlesdown gets very good results compared to the other local schools although a small percentage would have been admitted based on passing an exam which means they were already clever to begin with. It's a very large school which brings both positives and negatives. They promote the fact that they have different colleges so that it will feel like a small school to your child rather than the huge school that it is.

The current head of Woodcote has only been there a year or two and has made lots of positive changes and improvements to the school whilst he has been in charge. He has however been on leave for months due to "personal circumstances".

Well my kids are at Warlingham and I think it just depends on your child. My DD has struggled there as she is so quiet but I think that would have been the case at any large secondary. My son is more confident and has been fine. Riddlesdowns Collegiate system seems to work well in ways but also creates a lot of rivalry between the colleges. Warlingham is more homely and has some lovely teachers. It does suffer from a fair amount of movement and a lot of NQTs come and go but I think that is the case with most state schools nowadays. I think I would still choose Warlingam over Riddlesdown if I could do it again. Remember that Riddlesdown is partially selective as 10% of its intake is through an entrance exam so you can't compare it for results with the other local schools without taking that into account.

@Titsywoo did the school do anything to help your DD when she has struggled? or do you know if there is anywhere for the children to go if they are lonely at break and lunch, such as the library or special groups for children that aren't settling in or feeling isolated or was it not really anything that required any input from them? Is there a lot of movement with children moving to different schools or is it just the NQTs? That's a very good point about Riddlesdown and their entrance exam. That's definitely something to consider when comparing results.

They were pretty good and got her a referral to CAMHS for her anxiety and gave her access to The Bridge whenever she needed it - this is a place for kids who are stuggling with MH/friendship etc issues to go to chat or hang out. So that's where they can go at break or lunch if they feel isolated but they can also go to the library which has lots of stuff to do. There are lots of clubs which is where she made some friends in the end. Movement isn't with the kids just the NQT staff - the waiting list for Warlingham is long and not many kids seem to leave bar the normal ones that move away etc.

I went to Riddlesdown and Warlingham's open days in 2019. I thought they both have pros and cons, and I would be reasonably happy for our DC to go to either. I was more impressed with Riddlesdown's head, and I think the difference between their results in recent years is more than can be explained by the small number of selective places that Riddlesdown used to have. However, that could easily change in the next few years, and a new head has started at Warlingham since then.

Warlingham has good sports facilities including a swimming pool and astroturf pitch. Riddlesdown's arts block is very good, but their MFL provision is poor - students can only do one modern language and can't choose which one they study - two colleges do French and two do Spanish. Most students at Riddlesdown do 11 GCSEs, which in my opinion is too many.

People we know with children at both schools are generally happy with them. The only complaints I have heard about Riddlesdown (pre-covid) were about the dinner hall being a scrum, and it being difficult to get into sports teams because of the school's size.

My DD is at Riddlesdown. She’s fairly quiet too and into computers etc.
I did worry she might feel lost at such a large school but it was the opposite in fact, because of the number of students it’s enabled her to ‘find’ her kind of people and because of the many clubs on offer she hasn’t shied away from the more geeky subjects she prefers.
She has friends at Warlingham & Coombe Wood and they’re happy too so I guess it comes down down to what’s best for your DD. Good luck!

The selective places at Riddlesdown have been scrapped now, there is no longer an entrance exam, as have the feeder school places. Admissions are based now on distance (obviously after the other higher ranked criteria of children in care, siblings etc) Wonder if this will affect the results longer term?

I've got two dc at Warlingham, (one in the Sixth Form.) I've been very happy with it. Both dc are happy and have progressed very well. I felt that the bright kids were pushed/catered for appropriately with GCSEs and a lot of them did very well.
There are a lot of long standing, experienced teachers which I like. I was pretty happy with the teachers that dd1 had for GCSEs and now in the Sixth form.
Dd1 was less happy at Primary School. The cool kids looked down on her and could be unkind, but things improved for her greatly at Warlingham as she found a group of lovely kids and the cool kids don't seem to bother the geekier ones. I'm pretty grateful to the school that she's been happier there.