Help my friend: secondary school in Greenwich

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Dear mums,

I'm helping my friend to ask for more information about the below secondary schools in Greenwich/Eltham as they are going to move here:

Thomas Tallis school
Harris Academy Greenwich
St Thomas more Catholic Comprehensive School

Please help to share your views on their teaching and students behaviour if you know it.

So much Thanks for your help!!

Secondary in SE10, SE3, Lewisham and Lee www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3997674-secondary-in-se10-se3-lewisham-and-lee

Hi. The catchment areas are really tight so it massively depends where you are living. Harris and Tallis are the best rated but have very, very different ethoses. Harris is known for being very strict, Tallis for being much more laissez faire. Other good schools include Leigh Academy Blackheath and Eltham Hill Girls. John Roan is improving but still has challenges. If you are in West Greenwich you can apply to Deptford schools eg Addey and Stanhope or Isle of Dog schools.

If your friend is catholic and has girls St Ursulas is highly thought of although we find the girls a bit giggly. St Matthew in Blackheath is also ok.

I dont know schools further east so much.

You can use this tool to look at catchment areas

www.locrating.com/school_catchment_areas.aspx?lat=51.478931481035346&lng=-0.010861377557127476

Tallis is anarchy

Tallis is also enormous, more than 2000 students

We're taking a gamble on John Roan, they seem to be improving greatly and quite a few things we like about it

St Thomas More generally regarded very highly, great ethos and does well both academically and pastorally.

Thomas Tallis I would not recommend, it's huge and very unruly.
Harris Academy has in recent weeks had some very serious incidents involving pupils and knife crime (both hospitalised, one died-all very widely reported. However, the letters from the Head and councillor support appears to be very much determined to eliminate this, but so frightening and really shocked the community. Kicking out time at Harris is quite a sight and the local parks and MacDonalds are now "banned locations" for anybody in uniform.

John Roan is in trouble as since achieving academy status have slashed their teaching and support team with no consultations and SEND parents have been forced to start their own legal fight via crowd funding.

St Ursula's is a very high achieving school but yes a bit giggly...

There's also the Greenwich Ark Academy which is worth a look but very strict.

If your friend has budget, Blackheath High and Colfe's are excellent all rounders, sometime scholarships are available too via bursaries or talent promotions.

Greenwich ark academy is brutal. My friends daughter has been left with damage to her back after being forced to sit bolt upright relentlessly, hour after hour after hour all day every day, with an immediate detention issued if she bent even slightly

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Greenwich ark academy is brutal. My friends daughter has been left with damage to her back after being forced to sit bolt upright relentlessly, hour after hour after hour all day every day, with an immediate detention issued if she bent even slightly

I'd heard yes it's very strict though there do seem to be many families who think it works for their children, the children attending seems very happy and courteous whenever I see them drifting in and out though

It may suit some children, but many others have a terrible experience. I am all for discipline in schools, but there is a line that is not reasonable to cross

Greenwich free school puts discipline above education, and thinks nothing of making whole classes spend lesson time standing on the playground in straight lines, silently, with their arms in the air, purely to stamp their authority on them. The children are required to stand in line with arms straight up in the air and get a detention if they are not standing with one foot on either side of the line perfectly, with their elbow completely straight up

I’ve seen this when my friend has taken me to pick up her daughter at the end of the day. Children spending lesson time standing in silence in the playground with arms straight up in the air

Friends daughter and her friends said that in a typical day , all added up together, this would normally be 30-60 minutes. Well they may be exaggerating, but I saw at least 30 minutes of it that day

The other reason my friend removed her daughter was the standard of education.

The DH in charge of teaching and learning is a language teacher, apparently, with no understanding of other subjects.

The children spend hours every day rote learning, very little explanation or exploration. This is the priority in every lesson every day. This will seriously limit grades in any subject except languages. You can’t really get above a 4 like that in many subjects.

Of course, no exams for the past 2 years, so they haven’t had to show their results

St Ursula's has good results for Greenwich, probably anywhere else they would look like they were ok and good but not special. No sixth form though?

St Thomas More has an antiquated application form which I think you have to hand in by hand.. but not sure if that has changed.

Thomas Tallis - I would avoid based on the experience of children I know who attended and what they experienced.

Shame about John Roan but it really is seldom going to be anyone's first choice. It has had some shocking results, but I suppose with all the secondary schools in Greenwich if you want your child to do well you may as well make sure they are self starters and think about how you can help them.

Not enough is know about Leigh Academy or the St Mary Magdalene Secondary. No exam history as others have said.

Greenwich is a great area and primary schools are good but when it comes to Secondary Schools it is challenging.

People try for Kent and Bexley Grammars, or those schools like the one in New Cross where they sit some kind of aptitude test (all very unfair).

Hi
I have lived in Greenwich for close to 20 years and have seen lots of local children thrive in local schools. Currently know kids who have been at John roan now at med school and other Russel group uni, thallis kids now also at uni and kids at st ursula. No idea where the idea specifically of giggly comes from for st ursula! All the girls I know who go or have gone there are hard working and have done very well.
Ultimately, well supported kids will do well here and no need to travel afar. I currently know of 6 local kids who went to local schools and are holding oxbridge offers. There are stories behind the statistics. not all kids can get 7-9 at gcse whatever school they are at and sometimes a 4 is a great achievement and can be a great school for that child.

STM gets good results but it is really hard to get into. They require evidence of weekly mass attendance since the child was 5 and they require the Priest to sign that off.

Bizarre strict rules as well about haircuts and the like. My nieces and nephews went there and they did well but I'm glad DS didn't go there in the end.

My DC used to attend here and it's behaviour policy seems to get more attention than education sadly and if you ask children from that school how they find it, they'll tell you they make robots out of us!!
I wouldn't recommend this school at all!!!

Admittedly, it's been a few decades since i lived / went to school in the area, but I do follow my old school with (occasional) interest. Crown Woods in Eltham is perhaps worth a look?
Posting this with a caveat that I haven't even lived in the UK for quite a while so I am probably hopelessly out-of-date about all things!